Many of our clients invest in properties near their businesses and over time property taxes become a big expense that needs to be managed. Hansen-Balk Steel came to us in 2013 and acquired ownership of five industrial properties. They weren’t sure if their properties were fairly taxed, so we began the analysis and process that led to over $26,919 in annual tax savings.
Now that our client had ownership of many other properties, they had to find a way to utilize the properties to generate income. One property was owner occupied and the remaining four were leased to other tenants or vacant. We checked the current lease rates against the market, and came up with market values based on the potential income of each specific property. We brought our analysis to the client and presented our opinion of value. It appeared that there was a potential tax savings possible for all five properties.
A few of the properties owned by our client were vacant and required a significant investment in order to command the type of lease rates common for that use in that market. Using our knowledge and experience in appraisal and property value, we incorporated that cost into our opinion of value. The client shouldn’t be taxed on a value that isn’t possible without an investment to command and support that value.
Our appeal of value began in 2013 and took over 24 months to complete. However, when our reduction of value was achieved, the client was refunded for over paid taxes for the 2013 & 2014 tax years. They also enjoyed the locked in annual tax savings for 2015 and going forward of $26,919.
