810-227-5225

Utilities: 800-881-4109

Hours: M–F 9:00 a.m.–5:00 p.m.

Board of Review

HELPFUL HINTS FOR THE BOARD OF REVIEW APPEAL

  • Appointments are limited to 10 minutes - Stay focused on the value of your property. The Board of Review is already aware of the general state of the economy and housing market. No need to repeat information the Board already knows.
  • Have all your contentions in writing and verbally bullet-point your appeal - Having your appeal in writing allows the Board of Review to refer your appeal contentions at the time of their deliberations.
  • General characteristics of your property - Review square footage, basement type, number of bathrooms, etc. for accuracy.
  • List of comparable sales - Appropriate adjustments indicating your estimate of true cash value.
  • Appraisal by a certified appraiser - Be aware the Board of Review is not bound to the value determined by the appraiser. The Board will review the quality of the comparable sales and adjustments.
  • Mortgage appraisals are not acceptable.
  • Actual sale price is not true cash value - The law defines True Cash Value as the usual selling price of a property. The Legislature and the Courts have very clearly stated that the actual selling price of a property is not a controlling factor in the True Cash Value or State Equalized Value as calculated by the Assessor. For this reason, when analyzing sales for the purpose of determining assessment changes, the Assessing Office will review all sales but exclude non-representative sales from the assessment analysis.
  • Foreclosures - Inherent in the definition on usual selling price is the assumption that the Sale does not involve any element of distress from either party. The State Tax Commission has issued guidelines concerning foreclosure sales when calculating values for assessment purposes. For this reason, all distressed sales, such as sales involving mortgage foreclosure or sales involving transfers to or from relocation companies, are not considered as typical sales in the valuation of property for assessment purposes nor are they reliable indicators of value when making market comparisons for current assessed values or appeals.
  • Purchase of Property - Must bring purchase agreement and closing papers including settlement statement.
  • Percent of change - Not a valid argument. The only issue for the Board of Review is the true cash value of the property.
  • Assessment goes down and Taxable Value increases - Taxable Value is statutorily established. This is an anomaly of Proposal A. Neither the Assessor nor the Board of Review has the authority to change Proposal A. Any change to this anomaly would require voter approval.
  • L-4035 - Will be prepared by the Assessing Staff at Genoa Charter Township for you to fill out at the time of your appointment.
 
Related Documents

Related Documents

Understanding your Property Assessment and Taxable Value Understanding your Property Assessment and Taxable Value
Information for residents to understand their property assessment notices
Related Web Links