Re: “Homeowners appealing ‘surreal’ assessments,” Jan. 8.
One wonders what the point is of this annual costly exercise. The B.C. Assessment Authority publishes for each property information to back up its assessment of land value and building value. Where possible, the most recent sales transactions are also reported, but this applies only to a tiny minority of properties.
The message conveyed by these assessments is that an objective and scientific approach is used. A detailed analysis of 14 assessments for my neighbourhood indicates a complete lack of consistency among these supporting parameters (size of the land, size of the house, when it was built, number of bathrooms, etc., photograph of the property and a map) and the resulting assessment.
For instance, the highest assessed land value in my sample is for some of the tiniest plots of land on our street — with no distinguishing features — and the lowest assessed land value is for large properties with views of the ocean.
The total property values might be reasonable, but breaking this down into components yields rubbish.
If there is not even a modicum of obvious logic relating assessment assumptions to assessment outcome, the entire process amounts to no more than smoke and mirrors and a waste of taxpayers’ money. A simpler process might cause less grief. Use the KISS principle.
Boudewyn van Oort
View Royal
