Website Critique: Property Assessment Appeals in Canada

Property Assessment Appeals (Canada)

Property assessment appeals in Canada

Orientation

Google 'Property Assessment Appeals in Canada' and one of the first links which appears is from Colliers International Property Tax Services. On its website, Colliers advertises itself as "dedicated to reducing the amount you pay for your property tax. We will review your commercial property tax assessment and help you appeal that assessment if it is too high" ("Property tax services," 2014). The motivation behind this website is clearly to advertise the services of the organization. People who feel that their property has been overvalued will likely be looking online for assistance. The website presents its information in a relatively objective and matter-of-fact manner. It hopes it may initially draw people simply looking for more information after they are unhappy with their assessment and then will turn to Colliers as a trusted source of data first and as a source of help second.

Main points or concepts

The first point of the website is that property tax assessments are not written in stone and are open to appeal. However, the average person does not necessarily know how to deal with this situation. The website is designed to inform people of the firm's services. The tone of the website is informational and avoids a 'hard sell' approach. "Our property tax assessment professionals work closely with our valuation team, brokerage network and property managers, sharing transaction/operational knowledge and market expertise to ensure you pay only your share of property tax" ("Property tax services," 2014). The website also provides practical details about the fee structure, which is flexible. "In many cases, we can provide our services so that you only pay us a percentage of what you save. Our fees structure is flexible depending on your specific needs" ("Property tax services," 2014). No fee is charged if the reassessment is unsuccessful for the client (this obviously acts as an incentive to contract the services of Colliers). The website also contains a list of dates relating to commercial property tax appeal in Canada, which are generally useful to all homeowners. One again, by providing information, Colliers helps to build a relationship with potential consumers.

What is the relevance of the site to real estate practitioner?

Property taxes are obviously concern of sellers and buyers when they are considering selling or purchasing a new home. If a house's value is reassessed, this may affect the value of the houses in the area over the long-term and selling prospects. Elements which go into a property tax assessment are similar to those which inform the assessment of an entire property, including a comparison of recent sales; trends in the area; the assessed value of similar area properties; and costs of home ownership.