Mineral Point Valley Ltd. Partnership v. City of Mineral Point Board of Review

2004 WI App 158, 686 N.W.2d 697, 275 Wis. 2d 784, 2004 Wisc. App. LEXIS 572
CourtCourt of Appeals of Wisconsin
DecidedJuly 15, 2004
Docket03-1857
StatusPublished
Cited by6 cases

This text of 2004 WI App 158 (Mineral Point Valley Ltd. Partnership v. City of Mineral Point Board of Review) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering Court of Appeals of Wisconsin primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Mineral Point Valley Ltd. Partnership v. City of Mineral Point Board of Review, 2004 WI App 158, 686 N.W.2d 697, 275 Wis. 2d 784, 2004 Wisc. App. LEXIS 572 (Wis. Ct. App. 2004).

Opinions

DYKMAN, J.

¶ 1. Mineral Point Valley Limited Partnership appeals from a judgment upholding a property tax assessment. The partnership contests the method the city assessor used to calculate the 2001 property tax on Fairview Heights Apartments, a subsidized housing project in the City of Mineral Point. Both the City of Mineral Point Board of Review and the trial court affirmed the assessment. On appeal, the partnership asserts that the assessor should have included an interest rate closer to the market interest rate of 8.75% when valuing the property, rather than its subsidized 1% rate. We conclude that a capitalization rate based on the subsidized interest rate is impermissible and reverse.

BACKGROUND

¶ 2. The partnership's real estate is a Rural Rental Housing Program project under § 515 of the federal 1949 Housing Act. This housing program provides low-income renters in rural areas with affordable housing by giving developers incentives to build there. One incentive is that the federal government provides developers interest credit for financing the property. In return, developers rent at below-market rates to people that meet the eligibility requirements of the program. The property is subject to numerous conditions and restrictions in return for the federal subsidy. For instance, the program restricts the owner from receiving [788]*788annual income exceeding more than 8% of the owner's original equity payment for the life of the contract.

¶ 3. Here, the partnership's initial investment in the. property was 3% of the development cost. It obtained a fifty-year mortgage in 1990 at a commercial rate of 8.75%. In accordance with the housing program, the partnership pays a 1% interest rate and the federal government subsidizes the difference between the 8.75% and 1% rates.

¶ 4. For 2001, the city assessor used the 1% interest rate in his capitalization rate for the property, yielding a property value of $491,200. The partnership objected to the assessment. The board of review held a hearing and affirmed the assessment. The partnership appealed to the trial court, which remanded to allow the partnership to complete its cross-examination. After further hearing, the board reaffirmed the assessment, and the partnership appealed. The trial court affirmed the board. The partnership appeals.

STANDARD OF REVIEW

¶ 5. Because this is a certiorari review under Wis. Stat. § 70.47 (2001-02)1 we review the "record made before the board of review," not the trial court. Nankin v. Village of Shorewood, 2001 WI 92, ¶ 20, 245 Wis. 2d 86, 630 N.W.2d 141. We look for "any error in the proceedings of the board which renders the assessment or the proceedings void." Wis. Stat. § 70.47(13). We consider four factors:

(1) Whether the board acted within its jurisdiction; (2) whether the board acted according to law; (3) [789]*789whether the board's action was arbitrary, oppressive or unreasonable, representing its will rather than its judgment; and (4) whether the evidence was such that the board might reasonably make the order or determination in question.

Nankin, 245 Wis. 2d 86, ¶ 20. More specifically, an assessment "made in accordance with the statutory mandate must be upheld if it can be supported by any reasonable view of the evidence." Id., ¶ 21. We will not make an independent assessment of the property; instead we remand to the board for further proceedings if any errors render the assessment void. Id.

DISCUSSION

¶ 6. The parties dispute a narrow issue: When an assessor uses the income approach to assess federally subsidized housing, should he or she use a capitalization rate which includes the subsidized or actual rate of mortgage interest? We recently addressed the valuation of federally subsidized property for tax purposes in Bloomer Housing Limited Partnership v. City of Bloomer, 2002 WI App 252, 257 Wis. 2d 883, 653 N.W.2d 309. In that case, we explained the law governing property valuation generally, and subsidized housing specifically:

The law governing property valuation for tax purposes is found in Wis. Stat. ch. 70. Wisconsin Stat. § 70.32(1) provides that real property be valued at the "full value" which could ordinarily be obtained at a private sale. "Full value" means the fair market value, that is, the amount the property would sell for in an arms-length transaction between a willing buyer not obligated to buy and a willing seller not obligated to sell. The statute also provides that property be valued [790]*790according to the Wisconsin Property Assessment Manual, although use of the manual is improper when its provisions would not arrive at the "full value" of the assessed property.
In terms of subsidized housing, the assessment manual suggests three approaches to valuation: (1) the sales comparison approach, reflected in Wis. Stat. § 70.32(1), based on a recent arms-length sale of the property or a reasonably comparable one; (2) the cost approach, based on the expenses involved with creating the housing; and (3) the income approach, which values the property based on the income it generates.

Id., ¶¶ 14-15 (citations omitted).

¶ 7. The parties here, like those in City of Bloomer, agree that the income approach is the most appropriate method to value the property. "The income approach converts the future benefits likely to be derived from the property into an estimate of present value." Id., ¶ 16. The Wisconsin Property Assessment Manual instructs on how to use the income approach. 1 Wisconsin Property Assessment Manual 9-28 (rev. Dec. 2000) (hereinafter "manual"). One of the steps in applying the income approach is to derive a capitalization rate, which has included in it a mortgage rate. Generally, the manual directs assessors to "be aware of what is happening in the market. All of the information needed for the income approach is either obtained or verified by what the assessor finds in the marketplace." Manual at 9-8. With regard to federally subsidized housing specifically, the manual directs the assessor to consider mortgage terms and conditions in the income approach. Manual at 9-30.

¶ 8. Here, the parties dispute which mortgage rate must be included in the capitalization rate. The [791]*791city contends that it should be the 1% subsidized rate because that is what the partnership actually pays on its mortgage. It also asserts that the subsidy benefits the property, not the tenants, and that the property value should reflect this benefit.2 The partnership contends that the mortgage rate should be closer to the stated market rate of 8.75% because numerous restrictions affect the property. It argues that the subsidy benefits the tenants and that an investor would not consider it a value-enhancing feature because of the restrictions on rents and annual profits.

¶ 9. Both parties assert that the manual permits the use of their respective rate, which might suggest that an assessor has discretion in how to account for the mortgage rate.

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Mineral Point Valley Ltd. Partnership v. City of Mineral Point Board of Review
2004 WI App 158 (Court of Appeals of Wisconsin, 2004)

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Bluebook (online)
2004 WI App 158, 686 N.W.2d 697, 275 Wis. 2d 784, 2004 Wisc. App. LEXIS 572, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/mineral-point-valley-ltd-partnership-v-city-of-mineral-point-board-of-wisctapp-2004.