Property Tax Appeal, Assessor made Significant Errors - California
Hello All,

I posted this in /legaladvice but wanted to see if anyone had experiences with this. 

I appealed a commercial property assessment from 2016 and had the assessment board hearing in January (self-representing). The Assessor’s office utilized the sales comparison approach and income approach to determine their “fair market value.” Considering it is an income producing property, they placed the most weight on the income approach to derive a reconciled value. At the conclusion of the hearing, I did request written findings of fact. The appeals board’s attorney requested we submit proposed findings of fact prior to their official version. After the hearing I realized that the assessor’s office made major errors in their calculations. For example, they didn’t include certain expenses and they didn’t sum the expenses properly from their own data. This translates to an overvaluation of the property by nearly $600,000 in their income approach. 

I’m not sure the best way to move forward with this. Do I contact the clerk and inform them of the egregious errors? Do I not include any information regarding the errors to have a stronger case when we appeal the decision in court? Throughout the hearing the board members mentioned that they place weight on each piece of evidence while deliberating behind closed doors, so I’m under the assumption they did not catch this and must’ve placed greater weight on the assessor’s document rather than our third-party appraisal report and brokers price opinion. 

During the hearing, I was under the presumption that the Assessor’s office used prudent care and review in developing their valuation so I did not think to re-check their math on the spot. The proposed findings of fact are due in one week so I would appreciate any input.
[{"id": "gmah0c8", "text": "You hire a commercial realtor to do independent search. Submit it.", "replies": [{"id": "gmaiuq2", "text": "I\u2019m not sure I follow here. We have a formal appraisal and brokers price opinion. This is after the hearing too, so you\u2019re saying to hire a commercial realtor for the findings of fact?", "replies": [{"id": "gmam4nm", "text": "If you have two. No need. It is up to the assessor office committee. \n In our area a mansion was re-reviewed and assessor claimed it was over valued and used comps far far away to justify and reduced the tax by -30%.", "replies": [], "depth": 3}, {"id": "gmbx9i2", "text": "Hire a property tax consultant. They will know the ins and outs of the process and how to be successful.", "replies": [], "depth": 3}], "depth": 2}], "depth": 1}, {"id": "gmah8je", "text": "Lawyer time.", "replies": [], "depth": 1}, {"id": "gmamcz4", "text": "Call the assessor and point out the errors. Ask what they think they can to do correct the situation. If they say nothing, contact a property tax consulting firm or an attorney.", "replies": [{"id": "gmf1ba4", "text": "This is the way.  You don't have to pay a consultant some percentage of your tax savings to point out obvious errors.", "replies": [{"id": "gmhxmtq", "text": "As someone who gets paid a percentage of savings for a living, I agree.", "replies": [], "depth": 3}], "depth": 2}], "depth": 1}, {"id": "gmbgkmj", "text": "Hire a tax consultant.  I have a friend in the biz- charges 1/3 of net reduction in your tax bill.  If you don\u2019t gain he doesn\u2019t get paid.  \nNot trying to sell his services- find your own.  But these are the experts that have the capability and chops to deliver on savings.", "replies": [{"id": "gmbxa8n", "text": "This", "replies": [], "depth": 2}, {"id": "gmbxj98", "text": "I do this for a living. Its very interesting work", "replies": [], "depth": 2}, {"id": "gmc4jfy", "text": "My only issue with property tax reduction firms is that I\u2019ve heard stories they look for simple and clear cut cases. If the case isn\u2019t simple, they\u2019ll motion to withdraw the appeal at the last minute and leave the property owner scrambling. Considering the complicated nature, I\u2019ll have to reach out to a firm and test the waters", "replies": [], "depth": 2}, {"id": "gmcfwjh", "text": "Yup. I\u2019m a property tax consultant, like you say we do most of our work on contingency, and where from 30-50% depending on the asset and the size of the portfolio.  \n\nPeople in this industry generally love to swing for the fences, and don\u2019t shy away from complex cases. The only caveat is that the work has to match the expected pay of successful.", "replies": [], "depth": 2}], "depth": 1}, {"id": "gmhth6y", "text": "Not a fun time.\n\nIf there's still time to file the appeal. File the appeal. Certified mail.\n\nIf it was an arms length transaction have the listing history ready for the day you go in for your appeal.\n\nYou still have Prop. 13.\n\nYou'll be stuck paying the higher taxes for a while, but the onus should be on them to prove that the higher value is correct if it was an arms length transaction.", "replies": [], "depth": 1}]