REAL ESTATE

On owned locations and applicable leased locations, Nickel & Company will review the value for appeal to the assessor and boards of equalization at both informal and formal levels. Due to the current economic situation, there are more opportunities for value reductions than there have been in many years.

Normally when analyzing a real property value, we review the three basic approaches to value to justify an appeal. However, we believe it is also very important to review every aspect of the county’s valuation. This includes a review to determine accuracy of the legal description, a review to verify the buildings and ancillary improvements are accurate, improvement square footage, property classification, etc. We pride ourselves on the detail of our work and the personalized service we provide in this regard.

Many of the retail properties we represent are in large shopping centers. Therefore, Nickel & Company has developed a special expertise in analyzing billings from landlords. We review and analyze lease information. We conduct site visits on both leased locations and owned locations. Also while visiting sites, we visit the assessors office to obtain parcel maps and appraisal records. Thus we have a better understanding of each property. As a result, we are better able to identify inaccuracies in a landlord’s billing, as opposed to someone that works only from their office and conducts little or no fieldwork.

Since most multi-location retail clients now lease many of their locations, our review of landlord billings has produced significant savings for those clients. The issues involved in reducing landlord billings are diverse. This can range from share issues, sewer fees, special assessments, incorrect parcels and many others.

We have found over the years there is considerable potential for double assessments between both real estate and personal property. More and more auditors are picking up leasehold improvements and adding them onto personal property even though they are already assessed on the real property. Thus, our research and knowledge of the real estate value is very helpful on the personal property side as well.

Tax Payments
We approve all direct pay properties as well as review and approve billings from landlords. Our clients reimburse landlords based on approvals provided by Nickel & Company.

Estimate Reports
We provide updated estimates as notices of new value are received throughout the year. As requested by our clients we provide estimate reports for budgeting the future year.

Website Access
Our website provides clients access to their value history, tax history and estimated tax liability on each property. It also provides historical information for all properties paying tax based on landlord billings.

Real Estate Scope of Work

Obtain information from client
Address of location
Store open date
Construction cost of buildings
Building and land square footage
Closing statement of owned locations
Copies of tax statements of owned locations
Commencement dates (if leased)
Lease documents (including site plan and amendments)
Copies of previous landlord billings of real estate taxes (including all tax statements)
Authorization letter for Nickel & Company

Set up each location in our system
In-depth review of information obtained from client
Enter information into our database.

Site visit and assessor visit
Visit sites
Compare site visit with information obtained from client & assessor
Note impressions of site and area where applicable

Research subject property
Research county value
Research parcel maps
Research landlord information on subject

Research comparables
Research comparable sales
Research comparable leases

Analyze property Value
Analyze value based on comparable sales
Analyze value based on income approach
Identify locations for appeal
Negotiate value with assessor
File appeals to counties
Prepare information for hearings
Attend hearing of appeal

Analyze landlord billings
Review tax clause and lease information
Compare tax clause analysis with landlord billing
Communicate with landlord in regard to the issues identified
Finalize issues with landlord

Calculate tax estimates
Research current year values and provide estimates to client for budgeting
Update for current and future year budgeting
Update estimates due to changes in value

Reporting provided when needed by clients
Tax Estimate Reports
Year End Reports
Appeals Reports
Savings Reports

We can customize reports for clients with special needs.