City of Bristol

Revaluation 2007 Overview

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The Appraisal Firm of Vision Appraisal Technology has been hired by the City of Bristol to begin a City wide Revaluation Project. The following is a general outline and explanation of each phase of the project.

Vision Appraisal will be working with the Assessor’s Office to make the 17 month process a successful one. There are five major phases to a municipal revaluation: Data Collection, Market Analysis, Valuation, Field Review, and Informal Hearings. During these phases over 100 tasks will be implemented in order to successfully complete the revaluation.

The revaluation will be based on an evaluation of the real estate market effective October 1, 2007. The project will utilize verified real property sales collected from 2006 to October 2007. This phase of the revaluation process is collecting current information on each property that has sold since July 2006. Homeowners who have purchased their home since July 2006 will receive a form in the mail requesting that they verify basic information about the purchase price, the condition of their home at the time of sale and other information which will enable the Assessor’s Office to determine whether their transaction will be used as part of our analysis. We ask homeowners receiving these forms to fill them out and return them to the Assessor’s Office.

PHASE 1: DATA COLLECTION

The first phase, Data Collection, started the first week of June 2006, and will continue through June 2007. During this phase "Listers" go to each property and physically inspect the interior and exterior of each building. These Listers note the buildings style, size, age, quality of construction, improvements, topography, utilities, zoning restrictions, if any, and numerous other characteristics both inside and out. To ensure that a home was inspected, the homeowner is asked to sign the data collection form to verify that the inspection took place. The entire process takes approximately 15 minutes.

All Vision Representatives will carry Identification Cards and have their cars listed with both the Assessing Office and the City of Bristol Police Department.

PHASE 2: MARKET ANALYSIS

A variety of resources are used to analyze the real estate market. While the physical data is being collected by Vision Listers, appraisal personnel will be analyzing recent sales that took place over the last few years to determine which market factors influenced property values. Once all the data is collected and reviewed for accuracy, the appraiser will determine land values and set Neighborhood Site Indexes, that rate the desirability of locations throughout the City.

PHASE 3: VALUATION

Valuation is done using one of the three recognized methods, Replacement Cost, Income Approach and Market Value. Market Value is the most widely used approach, and most easily explained to the taxpayer. During this phase, individual characteristics of the building are analyzed using information gathered in both phase 1 and 2. Each property is compared to other comparable properties with similar characteristics. Then the market value of the improvements are added to the land value that was previously determined. This value is the final estimate for each parcel of property, building and land.

PHASE 4: FIELD REVIEW

Field Review is the method of checking and re-checking both the values that have been determined and the data that has been collected. During this review, properties are viewed in the field by experienced appraisers who double check uniformity and accuracy of information.

PHASE 5: INFORMAL MEETINGS OR HEARINGS

Once the Field Review is completed, a Notice of New Values will be mailed to each property owner. At this time, anyone with questions concerning the revaluation process or about the data collected on their property has an opportunity to meet with a member of Vision's staff to discuss their property value.

After all five phases are completed, all data, files, records, etc. used in the revaluation are then turned over to the Assessors Office.

Informational Link- Vision Appraisal Technology

The attached link to the Vision Appraisal Technology (the contacted revaluation firm) website http://reval.visionappraisal.comis intended to provide a project overview, define objectives, and to serve as an educational resource to the public.

Additional information provided includes a project summary, project flowchart, frequently asked questions, resource links, educational videos, sample revaluation taxpayer forms, revaluation news article, and preparation for a taxpayer hearing.

Planned Project Task and Status

Representatives from Vision Appraisal Technology of Northboro, Mass, a firm hired by the City of Bristol to assist in the City wide revaluation required for the October 1, 2007 Grand List, will continue collecting data from homes and businesses throughout the city of Bristol. Vision has measured and listed over 2,800 properties since beginning data collection this past June. Properties on city tax map numbers 1 through 10, 18 & 33 that have been visited include the following streets: