04-21-2010 Council Minutes Board of Appeal & Equalization

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i,. , . CITY OF ORONO Local Board of Appeal and Equalization Wednesday, April 21, 2010 7:00 o'clock p.m. Mischke stated he reduced it from $534,000 to $501,000. White requested Mr. Mischke provide his information to the assessors. Murphy noted that the real estate market last year and the year before has been in a state of decline and that it is difficult to find comparables. The Board attempts to find obvious discrepancies in the valuations, such as an extra bathroom being included in the valuation. There are a number of 50 -foot wide lots on the lake. Developers are not buying property and the amount of development has declined in this market. Kunik stated there are sales that are not arms - length transactions available but that the Assessor's Office is not able to utilize those by state statute in valuing someone's property. Mischke asked why they are exempt. Kunik stated there are a number of things that the state considers non -arms length sales, such as bank sales and foreclosures. Stulc stated those types of sales will influence the market but that they are not allowed to take those into consideration when determining valuation of properties. is Kunik pointed out the Assessor's Office has certain parameters that they are required to follow. As the • assessor looks at a property, they look at sales that are deemed good and use those as comparables. Steve Harris, 3850 Watertown Road, noted that foreclosure sales accounted for 43 percent of the house sales in Minnesota last year. Kunik stated they are only looking at this area and not the rest of Minnesota. Foreclosures are generally not considered a significant influence and are not used as comparables. The Board directed the Hennepin County Assessor's Office contact Mr. Mischke to review his property and documentation. 2. BRAD BLANKENSNIP, 2605 LAFAYETTE ROAD, PID #21- 117 -23 21 -0007 Blankensnip stated he would have been in here last year to complain about his valuation but was unfortunately in the hospital. Blankensnip distributed some information to the Board. Blankensnip stated that he has a copy of an appraisal that was done by Molly Brown for a refinancing of his home and that he feels this appraisal is accurate. The process of the appeal was very thorough and is well documented. The difference between Hennepin County's valuation of $1.9 million and the real estate appraiser's valuation of $1.5 million is too great to ignore. Blankensnip noted that all of the comparables used in his appraisal are located on Lake Minnetonka. The comparables are properties that are roughly in the same condition as his and were built between 1947 and • 1952, which at today's standards would probably be a tear -down. Blankensnip stated that unfortunately some of the comparables are too far away to meet the standards, which is typical in this type of PAGE 2 of 6