Welcome to the Glen Arbor Township Website

Assessment Information

Polly & Tim Cairns – Assessors

Polly Cairns – CMAE III & Cert. General Real Estate Appraiser (MI & FL)

Tim Cairns – CMAE & C.P.A.

The tentative ratios and the estimated multipliers for each class of real property and personal property for 2009 are as follows:

201 - Commercial............49.17%................1.016880

301 - Industrial................57.09%.................875810

401 - Residential..............49.76%...............1.004832

900 - Personal Property...50.00%...............1.0000

Agricultural .............N/A, Developmental....... N/A Timber Cutover...... N/A

Glen Arbor utilized the single year sales study for the current 2009 Assessment Change Notices

(The two-year study indicated larger increase of overall assessment to True Cash Value)

SINGLE YEAR SALES - STUDY GUIDELINES - www.michigan.gov/documents/treasury/Bulletin5of2007_205839_7.pdf

Taxable Value Increase -

*The Inflation Rate Multiplier is determined annually by the State Tax Commission. A 1.044 multiplier (4.4% increase) – more information from the below link

www.michigan.gov/documents/treasury/Bulletin_6_of_2008_Infl ation_Rate_for_2009_254420_7.pdf

Our goal in educating the taxpayers to help us better serve our clients. Our focus is to assist Municipalities with the very important and necessary task of equalizing property values. Municipalities use these values to equitably distribute the tax burden amongst taxpayers, helping the Municipalities collect much needed revenue that funds many important municipal services. Educating taxpayers can help them to be more understanding of the overall process while also helping their own Municipalities to better fulfill their responsibilities to be fair and equitable to all. We hope that this page allows you to better understand what can appear to be a complicated and confusing process

Our work is largely regulated by State law which dictates when and how we reassess properties. We bring a significant amount of professional expertise to a project. In 2007, we prepared a revaluation – (re-appraisal), of the township properties.

A revaluation is the process of performing all of the necessary Market Analysis and Valuation steps to determine accurate and equitable values for all properties within a municipality. The equalization of the values within a jurisdiction creates a fair distribution of the tax burden. The purpose of a Revaluation is not to raise taxes. The purpose is to create an equitable distribution of the tax load.

What is market value?

Market value is defined as the amount a typical, well-informed purchaser would be willing to pay for a property. For a sale to be a market value (arms- length) sale, seller and buyer must be unrelated, buyer must be willing (but not under pressure) to buy, the property must be on the market for a reasonable length of time, payment must be in cash or its equivalent, and financing must be typical for that type of property.

How will I know if my assessment is equitable?

1) Can I sell my property for that amount?

The first thing that you should do is ask yourself if you could sell the property for approximately that amount. (Please note that assessments in Michigan reflect 50% of market value.) It is our goal, as your assessors, to comply with guidelines and have fair and equitable values a reasonable reflective market value.

2) Does the Assessing department have the correct information on my property?

You can review the information that the Assessing Department has collected on your property to make sure the data is accurate. Sales information, property record cards and maps are available for your review during normal office hours.

Additionally, we are happy to assist you with reviewing your property card or evaluation sales information. We strive to have accurate information on all properties to accurately reflect the on-going area market.

3)How much have similar properties in my neighborhood been assessed for?

If you do not have any recent sales activity in your local area, you can look up the assessed value of similar parcels that are located near your property. Please be aware that what may appear to be a similar parcel may in fact be very different from your property.

Thank you –

Please feel free to contact us with any questions or concerns.

Polly & Tim Cairns

3.13.09

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