Homeowners obtain mixed results before Property Assessment Appeal Board

Appellants from West Vancouver and Richmond lost their cases, whereas a Vancouver couple received a reduction in land value

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      It's been a brisk housing market this summer, with sales reaching historic highs in Metro Vancouver in July.

      And this has coincided with homeowners obtaining mixed results in recent attempts to gain lower assessments from a provincial review board.

      On August 25, Property Assessment Appeal Board panel chair John Bridal tossed out a case filed by a West Vancouver appellant.

      Liwei Ji sought a reduction in the $4.62-million assessment of a $7,191-square-foot single-family dwelling and lot in the Queens-Dundarave area.

      According to the ruling, Ji argued that it should have been at the "low end of the $4 million range to $4.3 million range". The area assessor, on the other hand, argued that the home actually has a market value of $4.9 million.

      Bridal concluded that the assessor’s estimate was "the best available indication of the subject’s market value as of the July 1, 2019 valuation date".

      "Regarding the equity of assessment, I find no persuasive evidence to demonstrate the subject’s assessment should be modified for reasons of unfairness or inconsistency," Bridal added. "I note the subject is assessed below its market value. 

      "However, with the Assessor not seeking an increase, I will not order one," he continued. "Therefore, I conclude the subject’s assessment should be maintained."

      Kits and Richmond residents also appeal  

      Eight days earlier, the board reduced the assessed value of residential land by $93,100 in Kitsilano.

      Property owners Diana and William Schmidt maintained that they deserved a break of $141,100, basing this on nine property sales in the area. They own a 95-year-old one-storey home in the 3100 block of West 10th Avenue. 

      The assessor argued that some of those sales were not comparable—and that needed to be taken into account by the board.

      Panel chair David Lee found that, with one exception, the assessor "adequately reflected the market value for the comparables".

      "Given the information the Appellants provide, I do not see any evidence of an inequity in the value of the Property, particularly in light of the new value I have found," Lee wrote in his decision.

      In another board decision on the same day, Richmond homeowner David Chui was unsuccessful in his attempt to obtain a lower assessment on his home in the 3600 block of Williams Road in Richmond.

      Chui felt that a valuation of $1,948,000 was more appropriate than the assessor's ruling of $2,134,000. Both Chui and the area assessor submitted data concerning seven property sales in the area.

      The panel chair, Kimberly Jakeman, rejected one of them because it was only for land and did not have any buildings.

      MacDonald's Restaurants of Canada isn't proceeding with an appeal of the assessment of its restaurant at the corner of Boundary Road and Lougheed Highway.
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      Corporations walk away

      The real-estate rebound also coincides with several large enterprises abandoning appeals to the board.

      For instance, Wal-Mart Canada Corp. chose not to proceed with an appeal of its assessment at 110151 King George Boulevard in Surrey.

      TransLink withdrew its appeal to the Property Assessment Appeal Board for its site at 12444 King George Boulevard. 

      In Vancouver, Jim Pattison Group did not proceed with an appeal of its assessment at 1670 Georgia Street in Vancouver.

      Also in Vancouver McDonald's Restaurants of Canada abandoned appeals for properties at 3600 West 4th Avenue and 3695 Lougheed Highway.

      And in Burnaby, the Carter Auto Family dropped its appeal of an assessment at 4550 Lougheed Highway. Down the road at 5180 Lougheed Highway, the Beedie Group is not proceeding with its appeal. And Shape Properties abandoned its pursuit of a lower assessment at 4150 Halifax Way.

      Also in Burnaby, Cressey Development chose not to continue appealing an assessment at 5100 Capital Drive. And Dorset Realty pulled its appeal for its property at 7175 Pandora Street.

       

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