Hideaway Holdings v. Douglas County Assessor

Oregon Tax Court·Decided March 28, 2012·No. TC-MD 091292C·Unpublished

Opinion

IN THE OREGON TAX COURT

MAGISTRATE DIVISION

Property Tax

HIDEAWAY HOLDINGS ) and LAWRENCE JAMES SACCATO, ) TRUSTEE, )

)

Plaintiffs, ) TC-MD 091292C )

v. )

)

DOUGLAS COUNTY ASSESSOR, )

)

Defendant. ) DECISION

This appeal involves the real market value (RMV) of a ministorage building Defendant added to the assessment and tax rolls (the rolls) as omitted property. The building is identified in the assessor‟s records as part of Account R37121 (subject property). On April 2, 2009, Defendant added the building at issue to the rolls as omitted property for tax years 2005-06 through 2008-09, inclusive. Defendant filed a written Answer to Amended Complaint on May 27, 2011.

By order issued April 11, 2011, this court granted Defendant‟s Supplemental Motion for Summary Judgment. That Order basically concluded that Defendant acted properly in adding the building at issue, referred to by the parties and this court previously as the ninth ministorage building, to the rolls as omitted property for the years at issue (2005-06 through 2008-09). The case then went forward on the question of the value of that building. Pursuant to the agreement of the parties, affirmed by the court in a Journal Entry issued May 24, 2011, the valuation evidence focused only on the January 1, 2005, assessment date for the 2005-06 tax year.

A trial on the valuation issue was held by telephone on August 8, 2011. Valynn Currie (Currie), Plaintiffs‟ representative, appeared on behalf of Plaintiffs. Also appearing and

DECISION TC-MD 091292C 1 testifying for Plaintiffs were Steve Gerlt (Gerlt), Plaintiffs‟ other authorized representative, Lawrence Saccato (Saccato), owner of subject property, and Rick Poland (Poland), a local ministorage owner. Paul Meyer, Douglas County Counsel, represented Defendant. Brian Lif (Lif), Registered Appraiser 3, appeared and testified on behalf of Defendant.

Plaintiffs‟ Exhibits PE-1 though PE-8, and Defendant‟s Exhibits A, B, and C were admitted without objection. Optional closing statements were submitted by the parties and the record closed on September 16, 2011.

I. STATEMENT OF FACTS

The subject property is a complex of ministorage buildings known as Hideaway Storage, located on 2.77 acres that slopes uphill from the front of the property to the back. (Def‟s Ex C at 7.) The complex is located “in the Green District approximately 6.5 miles south of Roseburg [Oregon].” (Id.) As indicated above, the dispute centers on the RMV of one particular building that the parties refer to as the “ninth” mini warehouse building (ninth building). (Id. at 4.) In 2008, Plaintiffs filed a petition with the county board of property tax appeals (BOPTA) concerning the 2008-09 tax year. During the course of that “appeal,” Defendant became aware of the ninth building per a 2004 aerial photograph.1 (Id. at 6.) The property was added to the rolls in April 2009. Defendant‟s 2009 omitted property assessment valued the ninth building at $58,500 for the 2005-06 tax year. (Id.) According to Defendant‟s appraisal report, before the assessment of the omitted ninth building, /// /// ///

1 The omitted property assessment increased the RMV, maximum assessed value (MAV), and assessed value (AV) for tax years 2006-07, 2007-08, and 2008-09, as well.

DECISION TC-MD 091292C 2

“* * * the complex consisted of 19,800 square feet of buildings and carried an RMV on the improvements of $445,500. The building RMV of $445,500 divided by 19,800 square feet is $22.50 per square foot. That same value per square foot was simply applied to the 2,600 sq. ft. of the omit building when it was added to the tax roll for 2005.”

(Id.)

Plaintiffs request the court to decrease the RMV of the ninth building to $24,000.

(Ptfs‟ Ex PE-1.) Defendant requests that the court sustain the $58,500 RMV on the tax rolls.

The subject property consists of terraced ministorage buildings, and the ninth building is located at the rear of the property, highest on the hill. (Def‟s Ex C at 6.) Saccato testified the ninth building is a metal shell with metal frame building that has roll up metal doors. The building has no insulation, no electricity, and no plumbing. The total area of the ninth building is 2,600 square feet and it sits atop a concrete slab of the same size. (Id. at 4.) Saccato testified the concrete slab was built prior to the construction of the ninth building.

Both Plaintiffs and Defendant agree there is an oversupply of ministorage buildings in the market area where the subject property is located. That oversupply has led to a decrease in unit rental rates and occupancy rates. (Id.) Poland testified that rental rates have decreased to approximately 40 percent of what they were five to six years ago due to the oversupply of ministorage units. Poland also testified that occupancy rates have decreased. He had a waiting list for storage units in 2003 and now he has an occupancy rate of 50 percent. Defendant acknowledged the effects on the subject property‟s value during a 2009-10 tax year BOPTA appeal: “[d]ue to an oversupplied market of mini warehouse properties and its impact for 2009, the valuation of the subject property was reduced.” (Id.)

Saccato testified regarding some additional problems with the ninth building. The building is located at the end of a steep gravel road, farthest from the storage unit entrance. On

DECISION TC-MD 091292C 3 occasion, vehicles heavily loaded with items for storage had difficulty navigating the steep drive to the ninth building. Saccato also testified that he had occasionally decreased the rental price of units in the ninth building to $65 per month because of the steep road.

In determining the 2005-06 real market value of the ninth building, Plaintiffs‟ agent, Gerlt, testified that he relied on the cost approach and the income approach. Gerlt testified that the income approach is less relevant because the occupancy levels for the ninth building have not stabilized and the occupancy data is therefore less accurate. Defendant‟s Registered Appraiser, Lif, relied on the cost approach, market approach, and income approach, with primary emphasis on the market approach. (Id. at 10.) A. Market Approach Plaintiffs did not conduct a market approach. Lif determined the price per square foot by considering 10 ministorage building comparables in Douglas County. (Id. at 26.) The sales were recorded on: March 26, 2002; March 26, 2002; May 27, 2003; July 30, 2003; April 19, 2005; June 2, 2005; July 31, 2007; August 24, 2007; April 24, 2008; and September 26, 2008. (Id.) Lif testified that he started with the total complex price, and then subtracted out the land value and miscellaneous adjustments to determine a building residual. He calculated a cost per square foot by dividing the building residual by the total square feet. Lif determined a mean price per square foot of $23 for sales from 2002-2005 and a mean price per square foot of $35 for sales from 2005-2008. (Id.) He put the most weight on the “Riddle Self Storage” sales comparable. Lif concluded a total value of $22.50 per square foot, or $58,500, under the market approach. (Id. at 10.)

On cross examination, Lif admitted that, unlike Hideaway Holdings, Riddle Self Storage is not on a hillside, and is partly paved and surrounded by razor wire. Additionally, Lif testified

DECISION TC-MD 091292C 4 that he did not time adjust the sale comparables to 2005, or adjust for lack of yard improvements. Gerlt questioned the accuracy of the land values, specifically noting the difference between the land value of $150,000 used for Winston Mini Storage, and the stated land value of $167,714 on the Winston Mini Storage Commercial Sales Verification sheet. (Id. at 26, 27.) B. Cost Approach Plaintiffs relied on a “Proposal” from 2000 by Mako Structures, Inc., to establish cost.

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