Decision and Order
IN THE MATTER OF AN APPEAL PURSUANT TO S. 50 OF THE ASSESSMENT ACT
CONCERNING:
Shih-I Feng
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Assessor Of Area #10 - North Fraser Region
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Appeal No.: |
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Refer to as: |
Lin et al. v. Area 10 (2010 PAABBC 20101060) |
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Date of Decision: |
July 29, 2010 |
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Property: |
784 Sprice Avenue, City of Coquitlam |
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Heard: |
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Submissions: |
From the Appellants received May 5, 2010 |
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From the Respondent received June 25, 2010 |
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Board Panel: |
Cheryl Vickers, Panel Chair
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INTRODUCTION AND ISSUES
[1] The Appellant, Mr. Lin, is dissatisfied with the manner in which BC Assessment has calculated the area of his home for assessment purposes. As a result, he believes the assessed value attributed to the improvements is excessive.
[2] For the 2010 roll, the Board must determine whether a property is assessed at actual, or market value, as of July 1, 2009. In considering whether a property is assessed at actual value, the Board must consider the total assessed value of the land and improvements together. The Board may also ensure that a property is assessed consistently with other similar properties in the municipality.
[3] The issues, therefore, are whether the total assessed value of the property reflects the property’s market value as of July 1, 2009 and whether the property has been assessed in a consistent manner with other similar properties.
FACTS
[4] The property that is the subject of this appeal is a two storey plus basement single family residence on a 6,858 square foot lot in Central Coquitlam. The Review Panel determined the property’s actual value as of July 1, 2009 to be $855,000, comprised of land at $457,000 and improvements at $398,000. This determination reduced the original assessment of the property by $8,000, a reduction wholly attributed to the value of the improvements.
[5] BC Assessment measures homes from the outside walls or takes the exterior measurements of a home from building plans or as calculated by an architect on building plans. In this case, BC Assessment calculated the area of Mr. Lin’s home, inclusive of basement, to be 5,059 square feet. Mr. Lin’s calculation of the interior living space in his home is 4,174 square feet.
EVIDENCE AND ANALYSIS
[6] The only market evidence before me is found in a written submission prepared by Joanne Sviatko, an appraiser with BC Assessment. Ms. Sviatko provides evidence of four sales of similar single family residential homes in the same area as the subject occurring between April and August 2009. The sale prices for these homes range from $738,000 for a slightly smaller home on a slightly larger lot, to $930,000 for a larger home on a larger lot with an in ground pool. The market evidence supports the overall assessed value of the subject.
[7] Ms. Sviatko’s evidence is that the subject sold in June 2006 for $835,000. Two of the four 2009 sales provided by Ms. Sviatko also sold in 2006. The 2009 sale price for one of the homes indicates an increase of approximately 8.2% and for the other property an increase of approximately 1.2%.
[8] Mr. Lin believes the Review Panel’s reduction of less than 2% to the value of the improvements is inadequate given that his area calculation is approximately 20% less than BC Assessment’s. He believes the improvement value should have been reduced by about 20%. A 20% reduction to the assessed value of the improvements would result in a total assessed value of $781,800, or approximately 6.5% less than its 2006 sale price. Such a decline in value is not supported by the market evidence before me. The 2010 total assessed value of $855,000 reflects an increase of approximately 2.4% in keeping with the market evidence that values increased from 2006 to 2009.
[9] Ms. Sviatko’s evidence is that BC Assessment’s practice of measuring homes from outside walls, or using the exterior measurements as shown on building plans, is applied consistently to all residential properties and that the building areas for all sale properties are also calculated based on exterior measurements. As long as in analyzing the sales data BC Assessment is applying the same method of measuring homes as applied when determining assessed value based on the market evidence, the assessed values will properly reflect market value and all similar properties will be assessed consistently. If BC Assessment uses external measurements to analyze sales data and then applies that market information to homes measured on the basis of internal measurements, the resulting estimates of value will not reflect market value accurately.
[10] I am satisfied both that the assessed value of 784 Sprice Avenue reflects its probable market value as of July 1, 2009, but also that it has been assessed in a consistent manner with other similar properties. BC Assessment’s use of external measurements has not resulted in the property being over assessed.
ORDER
[11] The Board confirms the decision of the 2010 Property Assessment Review Panel as follows:
Roll No. 10-43-305-22821-013:
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Land: |
$ |
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Improvements: |
$ |
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Total Assessed Value: |
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$ |