This article originally appeared in the August 24, 2007 issue of The Lawyers Weekly, published by LexisNexis Canada, Inc. Reprinted with permission.
Canadians who are owners of real estate in Florida will soon be receiving from county property appraisers Truth in Millage (TRIM) notices concerning assessed valuations and proposed real estate taxes on those properties. It is important for Canadian owners of real property to understand how the real estate tax system functions in Florida. The Value Adjustment Board (VAB) plays a key role in this process for property owners who wish to challenge the assessed valuations of those properties. Upward spiraling real estate taxes in Florida in recent years have resulted in the VABs in each county becoming institutions of critical importance.
What is a VAB? Until recent years, the VAB was virtually unknown, as real estate taxes were generally moderate and appeals of real estate valuations were uncommon. However, in the current climate, where real estate taxes have often increased dramatically over the last few years, petitions to the VAB have soared.
Each August property owners are notified by county property appraisers of their current year's assessed and market values in TRIM notices that also show the prior and current years' taxes, with and without budget changes. The VAB offers property owners the opportunity to contest assessed valuations of real or tangible property or appeal classifications, and, in case of disputes, the VAB serves as the decision maker.
The VAB's procedural rules are strict. For example, petitions must be filed by property owners within 25 days of the August mailing of the TRIM notice, which means that petitions usually must be filed by mid-September. As it happens, that is a time when many Florida residents and Canadians are on vacation or otherwise not in the state. In the past, many property owners who wanted to file a petition were not able to do so because they were outside of Florida and unaware of the deadline.
Once a petition has been filed, the VAB clerk schedules a hearing before a special magistrate appointed by the VAB. The property owner is responsible for gathering all evidence necessary to overcome the statutory presumption of correctness of the property appraiser's determination, and evidence to support the property owner's assessed market value, tax exemption classification, or deferral. The evidence, which can be quite extensive depending on the situation, must also be submitted within a certain timeframe. The process provides for a pre-hearing exchange of evidence between the property owner and the property appraiser's office. If the matter is not settled at that point, a hearing will be held before an appointed special magistrate. If property owners are not successful at the hearing, they may bring an action in Circuit Court to contest the adverse decision; this action must be filed within 60 days of the final VAB decision.
It is important that once a property owner receives the TRIM notice that it be examined immediately. If the property owner wishes to challenge the assessment, action needs to be taken right away as explained previously in order to be able to challenge the assessment. Don't let the deadline go by!
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