Cook County Board of Review v. Property Tax Appeal Board

918 N.E.2d 1174, 395 Ill. App. 3d 776
Appellate Court of Illinois·Decided November 13, 2009·No. 1-08-2703·Published·Cited by 13 cases

Opinion

PRESIDING JUSTICE TOOMIN

delivered the opinion of the court:

In the instant matter, we consider the quantum and quality of evidence submitted in a real estate assessment appeal and the interplay of the administrative rules on the content of those proceedings. Following a hearing, the Illinois Property Tax Appeal Board (PTAB) issued a decision modifying the assessed value of the property at issue for 2003, 2004, and 2005. Thereafter, the Cook County Board of Review (Board) petitioned for review of the PTAB’s order. On appeal, the Board contends that (1) the PTAB erred as a matter of law in reducing the assessed value of the property; and (2) the findings as to the market value and tax assessment were against the manifest weight of the evidence. Both the PTAB and the Fulton House Condominium Association (Fulton House) are responsive parties to this action. For the following reasons, we affirm the PTAB’s decision.

BACKGROUND

The subject property is located at 345 N. Canal Street in Chicago, Illinois. It is improved with a 16-story building comprised of 94 residential condominium units, 18 commercial units, and 1 industrial unit. Originally built in 1905, the property was utilized as a cold storage facility until 1978. In 1980 and 1981 it was renovated to its current status as a mixed-use building.

The Board issued tax assessments on the property of $2,874,995 for 2003 and $2,884,333 for both 2004 and 2005. These amounts were based upon an estimated market value of $14,857,490. In turn, Fulton House appealed each of these assessments to the PTAB. These appeals were consolidated before the PTAB and Fulton House and the Board each submitted documentation for the PTAB’s consideration. Fulton House provided an appraisal prepared by Schlitz Appraisal Services, Inc. (SAS), a professional appraisal company. The Board’s submissions consisted of a document entitled, “Board of Review Notes on Appeal,” as well as three memoranda prepared by employees of the Board or the Cook County assessor’s office. After the administrative record was closed, a hearing was convened before a hearing officer on October 18, 2007.

Fulton House called Robert Schlitz, the president of SAS, to testify regarding the appraisal he prepared for the subject property. Schlitz was tendered as an expert in the area of condominium appraisals. Based on his qualifications, designations, and experience in conducting thousands of condominium appraisals, the hearing officer accepted the proffer. Schlitz’s testimony essentially concerned the appraisal report he prepared and submitted to the PTAB. 1

Schlitz testified that he appraised the subject property on numerous occasions during his professional career, including twice when he was employed by the assessor and as many as six times subsequently in private practice. For the purposes of the instant appeal, an appraisal was prepared by SAS with an “effective date of value of January 1, 2003.” Schlitz described the history of the building, its makeup, the problems associated with it over time, and its condition at the time of the appraisal, which he described as “average.” He likewise described the building as an average condominium, rather than a deluxe condominium. Schlitz valued the property based on the three traditional approaches used in establishing property values, namely, cost, income, and market with adaptations. He relied most heavily on the sales approach in assigning a value to the property, as this is the traditional approach.

Utilizing the “direct sales approach,” the land on which the building is situated was valued at $900,000 “As Though Vacant.” This value was arrived at based on comparisons and evaluations of sales of comparable properties in the immediate area of the building. The appraisal then turned to the “Cost Approach to Value.” This method takes into account the estimated value of the property if it were vacant, “estimating the replacement cost new of the improvements and deducting the appropriate accrued depreciation determined from the market of similar improved properties that recently sold.” Utilizing this approach yielded a value of $12,800,000 as reconciled.

The appraisal report then utilized the “Income Approach to Value” or “Income Capitalization Approach.” This method looks at “the net present worth of the property’s prospective current and future potential income and/or benefits during the remainder of its productive life.” While this approach is not typically fully relevant to condominiums as they are most-often owner occupied, because “the property can not [sic] be sold out as a condominium leasing becomes the only viable alternative and the Declaration permits subletting it must be considered as to valuation.” This methodology likewise considered comparable properties in the area. Three values were ascertained, a “Mortgage Equity” value of $11,220,198, a “Gross Income Multiplier” value of $12,253,494, and a “Direct Capitalization” value of $12,649,868. Considering these values, the “purpose and function” of the appraisal, and other relevant factors, SAS concluded that the value of the property would fall somewhere between these three values. The report concluded that by using the income approach, the building had a value of $12,250,000.

The appraisal report next examined the “Direct Sales Comparison Approach to Value.” The report describes this approach as follows:

“In the Sales Comparison Approach, sales and offerings of similar type properties are analyzed and adjusted for a value indication of the property being appraised. This approach reflects the actions of buyers and sellers in the market and is primarily based upon the principle of substitution.”

In this case, the analysis focused on properties that were converted to residential use, like the subject property. This method of determination yielded a value of $12,750,000 for the property.

A subset of the sales comparison approach was a multiple regression analysis, which involves examining individual sales, when they took place, the sale price, the unit’s percent of ownership, location in the building, the floor height, number of bathrooms and bedrooms, the buyer and seller, the real estate taxes, the tax rate, information from the recorder of deeds on prior sales, and mortgage and financing information on the most recent sale. This methodology compared “sales within the subject to one another.” Schlitz did not think it was possible to validly evaluate the units as a whole without taking these factors into account because of the way he believed they influenced the value. Here again, the property was appraised at a value of $12,750,000. His report also included a detailed table applying the multiple regression analysis to each of the individual units in the subject building thereby providing a value for each. The total value of $12,750,000 was similarly broken down reflecting an aggregate value for the residential, mixed-use, commercial and industrial units by category.

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Cook County Board of Review v. Property Tax Appeal Board, 918 N.E.2d 1174, 395 Ill. App. 3d 776 (Ill. Ct. App. 2009).

918 N.E.2d 1174 (Cook County Board of Review v. Property Tax Appeal Board) — published by Counsel Stack Legal Research, free access to 12M+ legal documents.

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