Fox Point Residents Fight for Better Tax Numbers

Saying their homes are worth thousands of dollars less than the village has determined, five Fox Point residents appeared at the Village Board Tuesday night to take action to lower the assessed value on their properties.

They were not given a chance to plead their cases though, and were assigned future dates to return.

The five appeared before the Village Board after already challenging their homes' values with the village assessor and the Board of Appeals. While some of these residents did receive a reduction at that point, each felt that the reduction was not significant enough to be fair.

Among them are residents Daniel and Suzanne Haislmaier, who are seeking to have the assessment of their home, 7212 N. Crossway Rd., reduced from $439,000 to $380,000.

Their property assessment went up 36.3 percent, an increase of $117,000. The average increase throughout the village was only 11 percent. They even hired a Wisconsin certified residential appraiser, Carl Clementi of Situs Appraisal Group, who confirms that the home is not worth $439,000, but $401,000 at most.

"As an appraiser, we try to use the most recent data," Clementi said. "Sometimes they use properties that are a little bit dated, that may be an explanation as to why they're so different in value."

But despite that difference, Clementi said that when he completed the appraisal for the Haislmaier's, the increase in value estimated by the village's assessor made him stop and think.

"That gave me pause to look at the data as to why, and I couldn't see why it would be worth that much more than other comparable properties, similar in age, size, design," Clementi said. "A new garage, gutting and remodeling a kitchen, these are things that would change the value. They haven't done anything like that in a few years."

Other residents who appeared before the board Tuesday include:

• Douglas and Patricia Levy, 1451 E. Goodrich Ln., had their assessment reduced from $1,571,300 to $1,338,900, but are looking for a further reduction to $850,000.

• A parcel entitled the Beach Drive Trust, 7228 N. Beach Dr., has also been brought before the board. This is actually two parcels of land that are being handled as one claim. The owners hope to reduce the value for this property from $3,413,200 to $1,985,800.

• Craig and Lisa Zetley are seeking a reduction in the assessment value for their home at 6868 N. Barnett Ln. Assessed at $1,368,300, they are requesting that the value be reduced to $1,000,000. 

• Alfred Esler, 6516 N. Lake Dr., also seeks a reduction in his assessment. The property was assessed at $918,400. Elizabeth Esler appeared on behalf of Alfred at the meeting, but her request for a reduction was denied because she did not file all the appropriate paperwork by the date required.

"The market has not been good for real estate and prices have declined in a lot of neighborhoods," Clementi said. "Sometimes the assessed value of a property can lag behind what the real market value of a property is. I've been appraising 19 years, and over the last two or three years, for the first time, we see municipalities that are higher than what a guy could sell their home for. And it's frustrating for a property owner."

How the Process Works

Each home in the village is assessed by a professional real estate assessor, certified by the state of Wisconsin. If a homeowner feels that assessment is incorrect, then the person may appeal, at which time the assessor can change the value.

In the case of the Levys, the assessment was not decreased substantially enough to match what they believe the home is worth, so they went before the Fox Point Board of Review. The board can then chose to accept, deny or negotiate with the homeowner.

The board approved the new value for the Levys from the assessor of $1,338,900, but the Levys still feel that is an incorrect value and will potentially be heard at the April 12 Village Board meeting, if no concensus is met before that time between the parties.

Attorney Michael Bamberger, representing the Levys, said that if no consensus is met, they do intend to take it to the next level.

"We went to the Board of Review, they made their determination, and we just disagree with it," Bamberger said. "We are taking it to the next step because we would intent to litigate this issue. They didn't consider, did not follow the assesors manual, and it's our opinion that they failed to consider the arms-length manner of the transaction. There's a reasonable, legal basis to make our request."

The Levys have been assigned the April 12 Village Board meeting to review their case.

"My expectation is they'll be taking evidence and hearing the arguments in that April meeting. It'll be sort of a mini trial. We would persue this, we have every intention of insuring that the law is followed how we interpret it."

But in the mean time, these residents are still required to pay their taxes in full, even if they feel the value is incorrrect.