Some in Lee County now ask for higher tax bill

Drops in TRIM figures not always beneficial

By DICK HOGAN • news-press.com • September 5, 2010

Lee Property Appraiser Ken Wilkinson is used to
fielding complaints from people who think their
property assessments are too high.
After all, a higher assessment translates into higher
taxes.

But what a difference the housing crash makes.
Now some people have a new complaint: “My
assessment is too low.”

“Before two years ago, I never got a call,” Wilkinson
said. “This year I got two calls. They wanted higher
value because they wanted to sell it.”

The News-Press also received calls from people
upset about low assessments since Truth in Millage
Notices were sent out with home values and tax
rates last month.

Things changed when property values fell sharply
after the residential real estate boom ended in 2006
and commercial property followed suit two years
later.

On this year’s county tax roll, for example, of
properties the use of which hasn’t changed,
459,226 went down in value (compared to 2009);
only 36,716 went up; and 22,525 stayed the same.
But those who want to sell or refinance aren’t all
happy about the declining values.

“Our lot is appraised at $18,000? That’s insane,”
said certified public accountant Leslie D’Alessandro,
who with her husband, Peter, has owned a three-
bedroom, two-bath house in Caloosa Yacht &
Racquet Club along the Caloosahatchee since 1999.

The value of their property on the notice sent out by
Wilkinson’s office last week was $169,279, which
Leslie D’Alessandro also considers a lowball figure.

Insurance companies and banks deciding whether
to refinance don’t rely on the property appraiser’s
figures to make their calculations, Hagen said.
A higher assessed value would help only when
trying to sell a house.

“There’s no question a potential buyer may look at
the property appraiser system, see what their
opinion is,” he said.

Bill Davis thinks his property value is too low but
doesn’t blame the property appraiser.

Davis, a retired banker who lives in Marietta, Ga.,
owns a unit in the Renaissance condominium on
Winkler Avenue.

Over the past three years his assessment has fallen
from $133,000 in 2008 to $76,430 in 2009 and
$22,200 this year.

His unit is worth more than that, Davis said, but
lenders who are dragging their feet on foreclosures
keep the complex in limbo.
Dominic Calabro, president of

the Tallahassee-
based taxation watchdog group Florida Taxwatch,
said there’s some concern about overly low
assessed value by commercial property owners.
“They have a myriad of different loans to support
the activity and they’re often leveraged,” he said. “It
does (cause problems) in the sense that it can affect
whether you have a net loss of value: whether the
banks will continue to renew loans for the appraised
value.”

But generally, Calabro said, it’s a perfect storm of
low property values and a difficult lending
environment that has some people in denial.
“Florida’s seen some property tax declines once
every 30 or 40 years,” he said. “It’s just we haven’t
seen the decline in value at the same time as tight
money.”

One thing remains constant, he said.
“Property taxes are a lot like the weather: People are
never happy with them,” he said.

It’s down from $282,020 in 2009 and $390,730 in
2008.

“It concerns me as far as homeowners insurance,”
she said. “How much is the replacement value?”
Refinancing the house also would be more difficult
because of the low assessed value, D’Alessandro
said, and selling would be even harder.

“I’m just glad we don’t have to sell our house,” she
said.

Wilkinson said his hands are tied. Even though
property owners would pay more taxes if their
property were adjusted up in value, state law
requires he assess everything equally.

The notices sent out by the property appraiser every
August also are not intended to reflect current
value, he said; they’re based on comparable sales
no later than the end of the previous year.

They’re also more conservative than a private
appraiser’s estimate, Wilkinson said. Sales costs are
deducted from the total figure, for example.

Mike Hagen, an attorney who handles property tax
value appeals, said he hasn’t been asked to get
anyone’s property value higher. But he said that
typically he’d advise someone making the request to
leave well enough alone.

FILING A CHALLENGE

Here’s how to file a challenge to your property
appraisal in Lee County:

• FIRST STEP: You can talk to a county property
appraiser’s official about your assessment: call 533-
6150

• VALUE ADJUSTMENT BOARD: You have a right to
make your case to the county value adjustment board

• HOW: For details, go to the Lee County Clerk of
Court site: leeclerk.org.

• MORE INFORMATION: Contact the board at 533-
2328 or email: InfoVAB@leeclerk.org