However, from someone who has worked in those offices and understands what the day to day is like, Noguez appears to be very guilty. Keep in mind, for every $1 million reduced in value a homeowner saves $12,500+.

“…formal complaint filed by employees in the assessor’s Sylmar office, who allege that Noguez sent three top officials from his downtown headquarters to “chastise” a low-level appraiser who had disagreed with Salari about the value of a property he represented…” from http://articles.latimes.com/2012/feb/23/local/la-me-tax-assessor-20120223

I worked for the Assessor for 4 years and I NEVER saw or heard of anything like this. If there is an issue of consistency then the Assessor would hold a regional meeting for all the appraisers to address this. Additionally, appraisal in and of itself has a level of consistency because all valuation that is done is based on comparable sales or cost schedules for new construction. Each appraiser may have a slightly different opinion, however that is part of appraisal, it is an art, not a science.

The fact that Noguez went to that office at all with an outside agent and his top executives to have a sit down with 1 appraiser is completely and totally professionally inappropriate and would cause a huge upheaval with the staff. All valuations done are also approved by the supervisor and so obviously there wasn’t an issue with the value. That type of behavior is like ganging up on a weak kid in grade school. Not something that is done in a professional environment where there are steps to take and chains of command that he clearly overstepped.

Assessor Noguez’s behavior indicates a cover up of some sort. Assessor Aurbach never went to any district office unless it was a scheduled event or meeting. Never ambushed an appraiser for a value on ONE house.

My presentation had color pictures of the Comps and along with it I presented the analysis just like in your book for appraisals. The county gave a recommendation for my property value at $735,000 and I presented the value at $525,000. I received the Assessment Appeal Board’s decision of fair market value is $600,000!

Overall it was a good outcome, since I thought that there was no use to appeal because most persons do not know how, or think is almost impossible to go against a government agency on their own.I have been able to save more than $1,500. Additionally, the experience was educational and worth it and using your books was an excellent guide not to mention the support you provide, which very few persons do when they sell their service products.”

Undivided Interest – an interest in a property that is not distinct from the interest or interests of one or more other persons as to the time during which the interest is possessory or as to the portion of the property to which the interest attaches, for example, the interest of a joint tenant or a tenant in common.

Unencumbered Value – the value of property without consideration of any detrimental environmental contamination.

Uniformity – the equality of the burden of taxation in the method of assessment.

Uniform Standards of Professional Appraisal Practice – annual publication of the Appraisal Standards Board of the Appraisal Foundation: “These Standards deal with the procedures to be followed in performing an appraisal, review or consulting service and the manner in which an appraisal, review or consulting service is communicated…sets forth criteria for the development and reporting of mass appraisals for ad valorem tax purposes or any other universe of properties.” (p. 1).

Unit – the property being appraised. Includes tangible and intangible property.

Unit Cost – a valuation guideline expressing the relationship between cost or value of property and some unit of measure for example, cost per square foot or per employee.

Unsecured Property – property on which property taxes are not a lien against real estate. Generally, unsecured property taxes are tied to the individual as opposed to the real estate and if left unpaid will be posted to the individual’s credit report as opposed to having a lien placed on real estate.

Usable Area – the area of land that can be used or the equivalent area after allowance for irregular topography.

Use Code – a code (used on a property record form) to indicate a property’s use class, or, less often, potential use.

Utility – (1) the quality of a property or service that enables it to satisfy human wants (2) the satisfaction obtained from the goods and services that a consumer consumes.

V

Vacancy and Collection Loss – the amount of money deducted from potential annual gross income to reflect the effect of probable vacancy and turnover or nonpayment of rent by tenants. Vacancy collection loss is commonly expressed as a percentage of potential gross income and it should be based on market research, not actual rent history of a property.

Valuation – (1) the process of estimating the value-market, investment, insured or other value of a specific parcel or parcels of real estate or of an item or items of personal property as of a given date (2) the process or business of appraising, of making estimates of the value of something. The value usually required to be estimated is market value.

Valuation Date – the specific date as of which assessed values are set for purposes of property taxation. This date may also be known as the “date of finality.” See assessment date.

Value – (1) the relationship between an object desired and a potential owner; the characteristics of scarcity, utility, desirability and transferability must be present for the value to exist (2) value may also be described as the present worth of future benefits arising from the ownership of real or personal property (3) the estimate sought in a valuation (4) any number between positive infinity and negative infinity

Value, Assess – see assessed value

Value, Cash – market value in terms of cash

Value, Fair – for property tax purposes: market value

Value, Investment – the present worth of an investment property.

Value, Market – see market value

Value in Use – the value of property for a specific use; the concept that holds value to be inherent in property itself, that is, the value is based on the ability of the asset to produce revenue through ownership.

Vendee – one who purchases. Synonymous with buyer.

Vendor – one who transfers property by sale. Synonymous with seller.

W

Warranty Deed – an instrument in writing by which real property is transferred and whereby the title is guaranteed by the grantor.

Wasting Asset – a property or other thing of value whose value diminishes with the passage of time. For example, buildings are a wasting asset, but land and gold are not.

Y

Yield Rate – (1) the return on investment applicable to a series of incomes that results in the present worth of each such as interest rate, discount rate, equity yield rate and internal rate of return (2) the required rate of return on equity capital; a component of the capitalization rate that must be separately specified in band-of-investment analysis and mortgage equity analysis.

Z

Zoning – the exercise of police power to restrict land owners as to the use of their land and/or the type, size and location of structures to be erected thereon.

Tax, Ad Valorem – a tax levied on a base that is measured by value. Often used only with property taxes although applicable to other types of taxes.

Tax, Classified Property – an ad valorem property tax that in contemplation of the law, is administered uniformly with respect to two or more classes of property, except that the effective tax rate differs by law for different classes of property either through the use of different tax rates or different fractional assessments.

Tax, Direct – a tax that is intended to have its incidence on the person whom it is levied; for example, a poll tax, an income tax and usually a property tax.

Tax, Indirect – a tax that is intended to have its incidence on some person other than the one on whom it is levied, for example, an import duty, a sales tax.

Tax, Land Value – an ad valorem property tax based on the difference between the total assets and total liabilities of the taxpayer.

Tax, Property – any tax that is imposed on persons on account of their ownership or possession of property and is measured by the number of units, the value, or some presumptive evidence of number of units or value of such property.

Tax, Recording – a property tax, generally nonrecurring, paid on recording with a designated public officer or body such as the Recorder’s Office. Also called Recordation Tax.

Tax, Severance – a tax imposed on the privilege or act of removing or severing a specified natural resources, such as minerals or timber from a state of nature.

Tax, Special – (1) generally an unusual, extraordinary or unique tax (2) a property tax levied subsequent to the levying of the regular annual property tax or a property tax levied for a single purpose rather than for general purposes of government.

Tax, Transfer – the tax payable to a state upon the sale of real property and the recordation of the transfer, the payment is usually proportional to the sale price and is commonly used by appraisers in the absence of more accurate information to deduce the price for which the property sold.

Taxable Value – the appraised value minus all applicable partial exemptions. Property taxes are levied on taxable value.

Tax Agent – a person representing other persons for a fee in all or specified tax matters.

Tax Base – the aggregate of the values or units to which the tax rate or rates are applied to determine the tax liability of a person or a group of persons.

Tax Calendar, Property – a calendar of the assessment year that lists important dates in the property tax system.

Tax Deed – if no redemption is made from a tax sale within the time provided by law, the property is deeded to the state or city by the Tax Collector.

Tax District – (1) In general, a state or any political subdivision thereof having or exercising the power to levy taxes (2) as applied to property taxes, any area, whether coterminous with or within a state or a political subdivision thereof, within which the tax rate levied by such state or political subdivision is required by law to be uniform on properties of the same class.

Tax-Exempt Property – property entirely excluded from taxation because of its type or use. Mostly religious, charitable, educational or governmental properties.

Tax Levy – (1) the act by which a legislative body fixes either the amount of taxes to be placed in collection or the rate to be applied to a predefined tax base (2) the amount of taxes authorized to be placed in collection by competent legislative body.

Taxpayer – a person who pays a tax in the first instance; generally defined in law to include all persons liable for payment of a tax whether or not they actually pay it.

Tax Rate – for property tax, the percentage of assessed value at which each property is taxed in a given district.

Tax Roll – an official list showing the amount of taxes charged against each taxpayer and/or each property within the jurisdiction of a tax district. Also called assessment roll in the property tax arena.

Tax Sale – sale of a taxpayer’s property by a public authority so that delinquent taxes may be collected from the proceeds; usually preceded by a period during which the taxpayer can pay delinquent taxes, and followed by a period during which the taxpayer can redeem the property from the purchaser.

Tenancy – the act of using or occupying property, especially real property whose fee title is vested in someone other than the occupant.

Tenancy, Joint – a state of tenancy involving two or more persons owning undivided possessory interests which have arisen out of single conveyance, no one of the tenants being free to create interests in the estate without the consent of the others, and the surviving tenants acquiring the interest of any tenant who may die.

Tenancy by the Entirety – a state of tenancy recognized by some states, in which the husband and wife are considered as a single person, neither one being free to create interests in the estate without the consent of the other and the survivor acquiring the whole interest upon death of either. Similar to joint tenancy.

Tenancy in Common – a state of tenancy involving two or more persons owning undivided possessory interests that have arisen out of separate and distinct conveyances, any one of the tenants being free to create interest in his or her portion of the estate and the heirs or devisees acquiring the interest of any tenant who may die.

Tenancy in Severalty – a state of tenancy involving one person who owns a divided possessory interest.

Tenant – one who holds or posses a property.

Tenement – (1) real property and the rights to ownership, especially those of a permanent nature that relate to and pass with the land (2) a building intended for rental residence.

Three Approaches to Value – a convenient way to group the various methods of appraising a property. The cost approach encompasses several methods for estimating replacement cost new of an improvement less depreciation plus land value. The sales comparison approach estimates values by comparison with similar properties for which sales prices are known. The methods included in the income approach are based on the assumption that value equals the present worth of the rights to future income.

Time-Adjusted Sale Price – the price at which a property sold, adjusted for the effects of price changes reflected in the market between the date of sale and the date of analysis.

Time-Share Unit – a residence, usually a condominium at a vacation or resort site, whose ownership is divided among the owners by weeks or months giving each owner the right to occupancy for a specified time each year.

Time Value of Money – the principle that an amount of money anticipated as income in the future is always worth less than an equal amount in hand at the present time.

Title – the union of all elements constituting proof of property ownership or the instrument that is evidence of ownership.

Title Search – an examination of public records to ensure the quality of the seller’s title to a property. Preparation of an abstract of title requires a complete title search, as does preparation to foreclose on a property in a delinquent tax suit.

Total Economic Life – the period of time or units of production over which the operation of an asset is economically feasible, not necessarily the same as its physical life.

Town – (1) a small unincorporated or incorporated political subdivision of a state (2) a civil township (3) a small urban area.

Township – an approximately thirty-six-square mile division of land used in the Federal Rectangular Survey System. Townships are bounded by two successive range lines on the east and west and two successive township lines on the north and south.

Township Line – one of a series of survey lines running due east and west at six mile intervals on either side of a base line, used for locating parcels of land under government survey.

Trending – adjusting the values of a variable for the effect of time. Usually used to refer to adjustments of assessments intended to reflect the effects of inflation and deflation and sometimes also, but not necessarily, the effects of changes in the demand for microlocational goods and services.

Trending Factor – a figure representing the increase in cost or selling price over a period of time. Trending accounts for the relative difference in value of a dollar between two periods.

Trust – a n agreement whereby the owner of a property (the settlor) transfers legal title to a second party (the trustee) such property to be held, managed, or disposed of for the benefit of a third party (the beneficiary) or the settlor or both.

Trust, Investment – a corporation or trust association whose assets are largely or exclusively stocks and bonds purchased for investment purposes rather than as a means of controlling the principles of other corporations.

Trust, Revocable – a trust in which the grantor of the property held in trust retains the legal right to repossess the legal and equitable titles.

Trust Deed – written document by which the title to real property is conveyed as security for the repayment of a loan.

Trustee – one who holds legal title to property under a trust agreement.

Trust Estate – the aggregate interests of a trustee in a property of all sorts held under a trust agreement.

Turnkey – describes a project (property) in which the manufacturer, builder or contractor delivers a completed product or facility; the tenant, user or owner has only to “turn the key” to begin operations.

Sale, Conditional – a sale, especially of chattels, in which the transfer of title is made to depend on the performance of a condition subsequent to the making of the sales contract and delivery of goods.

Sale, Distress – a sale made to meet the immediate and pressing needs of the seller at whatever price the property will bring.

Sale, Forced – a sale made pursuant to law; usually an auction sale that is involuntary on the part of the owner.

Sale, Normal – a sale in which neither the buyer nor the seller acts under legal or economic compulsion, in which both parties are reasonably well informed, and in which both are primarily actuated by economic motives.

Sale-Leaseback – a sale and subsequent lease given by the buyer back to the seller as part of the same transaction.

Sale of Conveyance – a sale designed to correct defects in a title, create a joint or common tenancy, or serve some similar purpose. Such sales generally are transacted at only a nominal price.

Sale Price – see price, sale.

Sales Comparison Approach – one of three approaches to value, the sales comparison approach estimates a property’s value by reference to comparable sales.

Sale Terms – the amount of down payment, the interest on the mortgage, and information on points and other fees involved in a real estate sale. Also called terms of financing or financing terms.

Secured Property – property on which the property taxes are a lien against real estate. Generally, where the real estate is tied to the amount of property taxes due as opposed to the individual owner.

Separated Rights – rights to property that have been separated by deed, such as air, mineral, water and leasehold right.

Short-lived Items – items of a structure that have a shorter life than the basic structure. For example roofing, water heaters, floor covering, and interior finish.

Site – the location of a person, thing or event.

Site Analysis – a study that determines the suitability of a specific parcel of land for a specific purpose.

Situs – the actual or assumed location of a property for purposes of taxation. In personal property, situs may be the physical location of the property or in the instance of highly mobile property, the more-or-less permanent location of the property owner.

Special Benefits – any benefits that remain with a property after partial taking by eminent domain.

Square Foot – a unit of area equal to a square one foot in length on each side.

Statute – a written law that comes from a legislative body.

Statute of Limitations – legal provision putting a limit on the period of time during which a tax bill can be issued for unbilled assessments.

Structure – any man-made improvement that rises above ground level.

Subdivision – a tract of land that has been divided into marketable building lots and such public ways as are required for access to those lots, and that is covered by recorded plat.

Subject Property – the property being appraised.

Sublease – a lease in which the lessor is a lessee in a prior lease.

Supply – the amount of a good or service that would be offered for sale at various prices during a given period.

Rate-driven Levy – the property tax rate to be applied is specified in the budget or tax levy ordinance of a taxing jurisdiction, as opposed to the usual situation in which the total revenue to be raised is specified and the rate is calculated.

Real Estate – the physical parcel of land and all improvements permanently attached. Also referred to as real property.

Real Estate Transfer Documents – the various kinds of deeds whereby real property is conveyed.

Real Estate Value – value of both land and improvements.

Real Property – see property.

Realty – (1) any tangible thing whose free ownership constitutes real property, that is, land or improvements (2) a synonym for real estate.

Reassessment – (1) the relisting and revaluation of all property or all property in a given class, within an assessment district by order of an authorized officer or body after a finding by such an officer or body that the original assessment is too faulty for correction trough the usual procedures of review and equalization (2) the revaluation of all real property by the regularly constituted assessing authorities, as distinguished from assessment on the basis of valuations most or all of which were established in some prior year.

Recapture – a portion of the overall capitalization rate in an income approach representing the return of an owner’s investment in property, expressed as the current year’s percentage of the remaining economic life.

Recapture, Straight-Line – the recovery of capital invested in a wasting asset in equal periodic amounts over the remaining economic life of the asset.

Recapture Rate – the return of an investment; the annual amount that can be recaptured from an investment divided by the original investment; primarily used in reference to wasting assets (improvements).

Receiver – one who is appointed by a court of equity as its representative to manage property owned by an insolvent debtor until the claims of creditors have been met or to manage property that is the subject of a law suit pending its outcome.

Reconciliation – the final step in the valuation process wherein consideration is given to the relative strengths and weaknesses of the three approaches to value, the nature of the property appraised, and the quantity and quality of available data in formation of an overall opinion of value.

Recordation/Recording – the filing of documents affecting real property for public record, which usually requires the witnessing and notarizing of the document.

Recording Date – the date a deed to real property is recorded by the county recorder.

REIT – Real Estate Investment Trust; combines capital of many investors to acquire or finance real estate through formation of a corporation whose shares are traded in a market.

Remainder – (1) a remainderman’s ownership interest in a property. The remainderman will acquire full title to a property when a life estate ends. (2) in eminent domain cases, reminder is used to refer to the property that remains after a partial taking.

Remaining Economic Life (REL) – as of the appraisal date, the number of years in the future over which the operation of an asset is anticipated to be economically feasible; often expressed as a percentage of the total economic life (REL %).

Remodel – to improve a structure by changing its floor plan, functions, or characteristics.

Rent, Economic – (1) in appraisal, the annual rent that is justified for the property on the basis of a careful study of comparable properties in the area; market rent (2) in economics, the payment received by an owner of something being bought or rented in excess of the minimum amount for which he or she would have sold or rented it.

Rent, Gross – the total amount received by a lessor from a lessee without deduction for taxes, maintenance, or any other payments made by the lessor on account of the leased property.

Rent, Ground – the rent paid for the right of use and occupancy of a parcel of unimproved land, or that portion of the rent paid for the right of use and occupancy of a parcel of improved land that is imputed to the land as distinguished from the improvements.

Rent, Net – the amount remaining to the lessor out of gross rents after deducting taxes on the property, insurance, repairs, expenses of management, and any other operating and maintenance expenses payable by him or her on account of the leased property.

Rentable Area – a specified unit area of leasable space.

Replacement Cost; Replacement Cost New – the cost including material, labor, and overhead, that would be incurred in constructing an improvement having the same utility to its owner as a subject improvement, without necessarily reproducing exactly any particular characteristics of the subject. The replacement cost concept implicitly eliminates all functional obsolescence from the value given; so only physical depreciation and economic obsolescence need to be subtracted to obtain replacement cost new less depreciation.

Replacement Reserve – an allowance in an annual operating statement for replacement of short lived items that will not last for the remaining economic life of a property.

Report – any communication, written or oral, of an appraisal, review, or consulting service that is transmitted to the client upon completion of an assignment.

Reproduction Cost; Reproduction Cost New – the cost of constructing a new property, reasonably identical (having the same characteristics) with the given property except for the absence of physical depreciation, using the same materials, construction standards, design, and quality of workmanship, computed on the basis of prevailing prices and on the assumption of normal competency and normal conditions.

Residential Property – real property that might be vacant land or an improved parcel of land devoted to or available for residential use.

Residual – the difference between an observed value and a predicted value for a dependent variable.

Residual Technique – a method of arriving at the unknown value of a property component by subtracting the known values of other components from a known overall value.

Residual Value – the value of the property after cleanup of environmental contamination. This may be more or less than the original value depending on counterbalancing effects of stigma and improvements to plant efficiency.

Residual Value of Land – a value ascribed to land alone by deducting from the total value of land and improvements the value of the improvements (as determined by the depreciated reproduction cost method).

Restriction – a described limitation on use of a property.

Revenue – the gross dollars received for materials furnished or services rendered. Operating revenue means revenue from the operations of the primary business, for example, electric revenues of an electric utility.

Reversion – the right of possession commencing on the termination of a particular estate.

Review – (1) consideration by a board of appeals, a board of equalization, a board of review, or a court, of individual, property class, or district assessments, whether for the purpose of adding omitted taxable property, removing exempt property, or equalizing the valuations placed on listed property. (2) the act or process of critically studying a report such as an appraisal prepared by another.

Review, Administrative – review by any body that is not part of the organized judiciary.

Revocable Trust – see trust, revocable.

Right, Air – a right to use and occupy the space lying above a stated elevation or within certain distances above the ground surface, in conjunction with specified spaces on the surface for the support of foundations; for example, the rights granted by railroads to build above their right-of-ways.

Right, Water – right to a supply of water.

Right-of-Way – (1) an easement consisting of a right of passage through the servient estate (2) by extension, the strip of land traversed by a railroad or public utility, whether owned by the railroad or utility company or used under easement agreement.

Rights, Property – see bundle of rights.

Parcel – a contiguous area of land described in a single legal description or as one of a number of lots on a plat; separately owned, either publicly or privately; and capable of being separately conveyed.

Parcel Identification Number – a numeric or alphanumeric description of a parcel that identifies it uniquely. Assessors use various systems, many with common features.

Parcel of Land – a contiguous urban or rural land area that is considered as a unit, is subject to single ownership, and is legally recorded as a single piece.

Partial Exemption – the amount of otherwise-taxable assessed value removed from tax liability by constitutional and/or statutory action. Examples of partial exemptions are those for qualifying homesteads, veterans, and senior citizens.

Partial Interest – an interest (in property) that is less complete than a fee simple interest.

Partial Taking – taking of part rather than all of real property by means of eminent domain. Compensation will be both for the part taken and for any loss of value affecting the remainder.

Percent Condition – the difference between observed physical depreciation, expressed as a percentage of original or reproduction cost and 100 percent.

Percent Good – an estimate of the value of a property, expressed as a percentage of its replacement cost and after depreciation of all kinds has been deducted.

Perfect Competition – the requirements of pure competition plus an additional condition of perfect knowledge on the part of the buyers and sellers about all activity in the market place.

Perfect Market – In economics, a market in which neither sellers nor buyers individually or collectively have a competitive advantage and in which the this traded are homogeneous. The stock market is a better example of a perfect market than the real estate market.

Personal Effects – personal effects are items of tangible personal property that an individual normally ears, carries or uses in activities that do not involve the production of income.

Personalty – a synonym for personal property.

Physical Contaminant – any substance recognized as hazardous by the EPA or local authorities.

Physical Deterioration – a cause of depreciation that is a loss in value due to ordinary wear and tear and the forces of nature.

Plat – a map intended to show the division of land into lots or parcels. Upon recordation with the appropriate authorities, land included in the plat can thenceforth be legally described by reference to the plat, omitting a metes and bounds description.

Plan, Original – a plat constituting the original plan or layout of a municipality and showing its location and division into blocks and lots.

Plat, Private – a privately prepared plat that has not yet been accepted by the constituted authority.

Plat, Recorded – a plat that has been accepted by the constituted authority and that may henceforth be used as the basis for a legal description of land within its boundaries.

Plat, Subdivision – a plat showing the location of a subdivision and its layout into lots, streets, alleys, and the like.

Plat, Township – a plat of a survey township prepared by or under the direction of the United States General Land Office.

Platbook – a book containing a series of plats that are used by assessors as tax maps.

Plot – (1) relatively small area of land used for a specific purpose (2) a measured area of land; lot.

Plottage – (1) the factors in size, shape and location with reference to other plots that add or detract from the value of a plot for a given purpose (2) the assembling of adjacent parcels of land into a single unit (3) the excess cost of assembling adjacent parcels of land into a single unit under single ownership over the estimated cost at which such parcels might be acquired individually by independent purchasers

Police Power – the power of the state that curtails individual rights for the health, safety and general welfare of all society.

Possession – physical control of personal or real property.

Possessory Interest – (1) an interest of a persona in an article of property arising from a physical relationship to the article of such nature as to confer on him or her a degree of physical control over it coupled with the intent so exclude the general public from use of it (2) the right to occupy and use any benefit in a transferred property, granted under lease, licenses, permit, concession , or other contract (3) a private taxable interest in public tax-exempt property, for example, a private service station in a federal military base. Assessments of this interest present complex valuation problems.

Posting – the act of transferring to an account in a ledge the data, either detailed or summarized contained in a book or document of original entry.

Potential Gross Income – the sum of potential gross rent and miscellaneous income, that is the income from rent and other sources that a property could generate with normal management, before allowing for vacancies, collection losses, and normal operating expenses.

Potential Gross Rent – the total rent a property would produce if 100 percent occupied at market rent.

Power of Attorney – a written authorization in which one person gives authority to another person to act on his or her behalf.

Price, Adjusted Sale – the sale price that results from adjustments made to the stated sale price to account for the effects of time, personal property, atypical financing, and the like.

Price, Market – the value of a unit of goods or service, expressed in terms of money, as established in a free and open market.

Price, Sale – (1) the actual amount of money exchanged for a unit of goods or services, whether or not established in a free and open market (2) loosely used synonymously with “offering” or “asked” price.

Principle of Anticipation – the appraisal principle that value depends on the expectation of benefits to be derived in the future.

Principle of Balance – the principle of balance as used in appraising is that the greatest value in property will occur when the type and size of improvements and uses are proportional to each other as well as to the land.

Principle of Change – the principle of change asserts that all markets are in a continual state of change. According to this principle, properties generally go through the three stages of:  integration (development), equilibrium (stasis) and disintegration (decline).

Principle of Conformity – the principle of conformity states that the value of a group of properties will rise to its highest possible level in an area where architectural styles are reasonably homogenous and surrounding land uses are compatible with the use of the specified properties.

Principle of Contribution – the principle of contribution requires an appraiser to measure the value any improvement to a property by the amount it contributes to market value, not by its cost.

Principle of Progression – the principle of progression holds that the worth of an inferior property is increased by its proximity to better properties of the same use class.

Principle of Substitution – the principle of substitution states that no buyer will pay more for a good than he or she would have to pay to acquire an acceptable substitute of equal utility in an equivalent amount of time.

Private Encumbrances – private hindrances that affect value and sale price such as easements, condominium controls, and deed or subdivision restrictions.

Private Restrictions – private parties, such as a group of homeowners, may establish private restrictions on ownership rights. Deed restrictions are a common form of private restriction.

Profit and Loss Statement – an accounting statement that shows the income an expense of a business over a specified time.

Property – (1) an aggregate of thins or rights to things. These are rights to thins. These rights are protected by law. There are two basic types of property: real and personal (2) the legal interest of an owner in a parcel or thing.

Personal Property – consists of every type of property that is not real property; moveable without damage to itself or the real estate; subdivided into tangible and intangible.

Personal Property, Tangible – personal property that has a substantial physical presence beyond merely representational. It differs from real property in its capacity to be relocated. Common examples of tangible personal property are automobiles, boats and jewelry.

Personal Property, Intangible – property that has no physical existence beyond merely representational, nor  any extrinsic value; includes rights over tangible real and personal, but not rights of use and possession. Its value lies in what it represents. Examples include corporate stock, bonds, money on deposit, goodwill, restrictions on activities, and franchises.

Property, Income – a property that yields to its owner a gross money income.

Property, Investment – a property that has been development with the intention and expectation of renting it, in whole or in part, for profit.

Property, Non-investment – a property that has not been developed with the intention and expectation of renting it, in whole or in part for profit.

Property Line – the boundary line that defines a parcel of land.

Property Residual Technique – a technique used to estimate the value of a property from a knowledge of its net operating income, discount rate, remaining economic life, the amount of the reversion, and the income path attributable to the property over the holding period.

Property Rights – see bundle of rights

Property Tax Levy – (1) the total amount of money to be raised from the property tax as set for tin the budget of a taxing jurisdiction (2) loosely by extension the millage rate or the property tax bill sent to an individual property owner.

Property Tax Levy Limits – a form of tax and expenditure limitation, applicable to all local governments in the state, in which an upper limit is placed on either the proceeds of the property tax or the rate of growth in the proceeds of the property tax.

Property Use Category – a United States Census Bureau classification scheme based on actual utilization of real property. There are seven classes of real property: residential single family, residential multi-family, acreage, vacant platted lots, commercial property, industrial property other property.

Pure Competition – a market situation in which (1) individual buyers or sellers of an item buy or sell an amount too small relative to the market to be able to influence the price of the good and (2) the units of the item are homogeneous.

Q

Qualitative Data – pertaining to the subjective nature of some variable of interest. For example, a view.

Qualitative Variable – something that can be appreciated by not objectively reduced to an unambiguous scale. For example a view.

Quality Class – a subjective classification of a structure by an appraiser, intended to describe materials used, workmanship, architectural attractiveness, functional design and the like.

Quantitative Variable – pertaining to the objective nature of some variable of interest, that is, something that can be measured or counted with little ambiguity. For example the number of bathrooms.

Quitclaim Deed – see deed, quitclaim.