Posts By: William Ryan

Is Your Tax Agent a Multifamily Specialist?

The greatest in the world in any field, be it surgeons, athletes, musicians, etc, are those who are dedicated to their craft and repeatedly focus their efforts on excellence. Others may practice, but the greatest consistently perform, and then ask, “what was the result and how can it improve?” They then do it again. They do not stop when others stop. They do not give up when it is difficult or seems impossible. They persevere, never letting obstacles stop them from their goal of excellence.

Our society values and rewards specialization. Just look at the salaries of specialized surgeons, athletes, or musicians. If I needed heart surgery, I would seek out the best heart surgeon, not my primary care physician. I know that my primary care physician, while a capable doctor, is not the best for what I need: heart surgery. A professional baseball team needing a pitcher, would not search out an outfielder to fill their need. While both players are skilled, their specific expertise does not translate to excellent performance.

Why should hiring a tax agent be any different? Most property tax firms are like primary care physicians. They are capable of general care and are helpful for common issues, but unfortunately, that does not mean excellence for any specific property types or issues. On the other hand, multifamily specialists, like heart surgeons, focus only on multifamily properties. They are dedicated to excellence, consistently perform, and then ask, “what was the result and how can it improve?” They then do it again. Right now, it is more important than ever that you have the best multifamily property tax expert on your team helping your company weather the economic storm of Covid-19. Hiring a multifamily specialist can save you time, reduce your property tax expenses, and be the game-changer you need right now.

Wayfinder Tax Relief, LLC is the #1 multifamily property tax specialist in the industry. They focus solely on multifamily properties and are at the cutting edge of the industry change. They are involved in many local apartment associations and are members of the Texas Apartment Association and the National Apartment Association.

Buying Multifamily Property? Please Pass the SALT.

There are many factors to review and consider when buying a multifamily property. Property taxes are just one of those factors. The lagging effect of property taxes can be deceitful when evaluating their impact on a sale. Unfortunately, many times property taxes seem to be glanced at, but not thoroughly evaluated. Using last year’s tax bill is a start, but depending on the jurisdiction and their rules, you may be setting yourself up for a nightmare.

In Arizona, properties can have their taxable value changed when parcels are combined, split, or when significant changes are made to the structure. Deals that were financially viable on first review, can become complete financial losses if a revaluation is triggered. Since property taxes are a lagging factor, buyers may not see any effects until the following tax year. In one case, where a taxpayer consulted us after the deal, they were shocked to learn that the taxable value increased over 44% because of a parcel consolidation. Had they known the law they would have killed the deal.

In other states, such as Texas, the seller and buyer are not required to disclose the purchase price. When the purchase price is disclosed, the appraisal districts attempt to use it to value at sale price. Buyers and sellers from full disclosure states such as California sometimes volunteer the sale information not knowing that it is not required. In many cases, this not only causes their property to be reassessed at a much higher value, but the other multifamily properties in the community are increased based on the sales approach.

Seeking council from property tax experts can help you avoid some of these pitfalls and can help the community at large. When we work together, we can help keep the property taxes lower for all.

Wayfinder Tax Relief, LLC is the #1 multifamily property tax specialist in the industry. They focus solely on multifamily properties and are at the cutting edge of the industry change. They are involved in many local apartment associations and are members of the Texas Apartment Association and the National Apartment Association.

Travis Central Appraisal District is Slammed by the Judge

Travis Central Appraisal District (TCAD) has become quite unfriendly to taxpayers over the past several years. In 2019, they refused to give in-person informal meetings. Then they failed to meet their statutory deadline to produce evidence to protesting parties, which resulted in the Appraisal Review Board (ARB) attempting to dismiss an entire day’s worth of hearings. Ultimately, the ARB did not dismiss those hearing decisions.

In 2020, TCAD will be bringing back in-person informal hearings, but with the caveat that the appraiser meeting with you does not have the authority to make any changes based on your evidence in the meeting. They are simply receiving your evidence to then have it reviewed by a panel and a decision sent within about two weeks after your meeting. That effectively removes the taxpayer’s ability to have an open discussion and correct any misstatements made by TCAD among themselves.

TCAD has also chosen to file protest ARB decisions without specific written authorization of the board of directors. But finally, after all the anti-taxpayer rhetoric, District Judge Catherine Mauzy signed an order on February 11, 2020 to dismiss TCAD vs. Texas Disposal Systems Landfill Inc. This significant order requires that TCAD must have written approval of the board of directors to file a specific appeal of an ARB decision. Hopefully, this will slow down TCAD’s protest of ARB decisions.

For the original article: https://theaustinbulldog.org/judge-undercuts-chief-appraisers-authority/

Wayfinder Tax Relief, LLC is the #1 multifamily property tax specialist in the industry. They focus solely on multifamily properties and are at the cutting edge of the industry change. They are involved in many local apartment associations and are members of the Texas Apartment Association and the National Apartment Association.

First-Hand Knowledge: How to Secure the Best Multifamily Property Tax Reductions

You wouldn’t buy a property without doing the due diligence of an in-person visit, maybe even more than one. Google Earth or satellite views are nice tools, but they can’t replace being physically at the property and seeing the asset first-hand. Why should representing your property in a property tax protest be any different?

How can your tax agent know the issues your property is truly facing: location, demographics, shifts in the economy, storm damage, etc. without visiting your property? In short, they can’t truly know. They may make assumptions, or guesstimate about effects, but their testimony will lack the fullness necessary to achieve the best results at the board hearing your protest.

Tax agents who put their clients’ best interest first, will visit your property annually. It may be time to give your tax agent a grade. Ask your agent when they last visited each of your properties. Have them show you pictures and notes taken on their visit. Will they make their contingency fee conditional upon visiting your property? If not, why won’t they commit to giving you the representation you deserve to achieve the best tax savings?

We make the Wayfinder Guarantee part of our business. We guarantee to visit our client’s properties annually or we won’t charge a fee for our services. We know that we provide the best representation when we physically visit the properties, the communities and the jurisdictions where they are taxed. This process has allowed us to consistently secure bigger and better reductions than our competitors.

Wayfinder Tax Relief, LLC is the #1 multifamily property tax specialist in the industry. They focus solely on multifamily properties and are at the cutting edge of the industry change. They are involved in many local apartment associations and are members of the Texas Apartment Association and the National Apartment Association.

PBAA 2019 Awards

Congratulations to all winners of the 2019 Permian Basin Apartment Association Awards. William Ryan of Wayfinder Tax Relief presented the awards at the Odessa Country Club on January 24, 2020.

Jayce Rodriguez- Manager of the Year

Renee Pocsik- Assistant Manager of the Year

Kasey Kessler- Leasing of the Year

Enrique Martinez- Maintenance Professional of the Year

Juan Rodriguez- Asst. Maintenance of the Year

Erma Rodriguez- Make Ready Tech of the Year

Yadira Galindo- Housekeeper of the Year

James Ditto- Groundskeeper of the Year

Roberto Martinez- Vendor of the Year

The PBAA is doing a wonderful job of promoting and growing a healthy multifamily industry in the Permian Basin.

Site Visits Done Right

Visiting our client’s properties annually is essential to making sure we achieve the best results. We have discovered so many overlooked or ignored issues that have resulted in substantial tax savings by being on-site.

This year we improved the annual site visit by becoming licensed drone pilots. We now have current pictures from both the ground and air of our client’s properties. Roof damage, flooding issues, and hard to visit places are now easily documented in pictures and videos in 4K resolution.

We love sharing our photography with our clients to use as they would like. Wayfinder is a property tax consulting firm specialized and focused on multifamily properties. If you would like additional information about our services please contact us at william@wayfindertaxrelief.com or 480-616-1025.

Feeding Children Worldwide

Feed My Starving Children (FMSC) is a Christian non-profit organization that provides life-saving food to children across the globe regardless of religion, race, or culture. At FMSC we have the opportunity to actually make the meals that are being shipped.

Since 2018, Wayfinder has been able to provide over 111,025 meals through Feed My Starving Children. This means that over 309 children were given the food to survive for an entire year. We are so thankful everyday for our opportunity to serve our clients and, as a direct result, we are able to serve others as well.

Wayfinder is a property tax consulting firm specialized and focused on multifamily properties. If you would like additional information about our services or how to help support great causes please contact us at william@wayfindertaxrelief.com or 480-616-1025.

What is a CMI Certification?

Understanding the CMI-Property Tax Designation

Institute for Professionals in Taxation 

The Institute for Professionals in Taxation (IPT) has been around since 1976 and is a not-for-profit education association serving more than 6,000 members. As noted by the Institute itself, it is the only professional organization that educates, certifies and establishes strict codes of conduct for property tax professionals who represent taxpayers.

The IPT organization continually educates on property tax matters through various programs and classes. The CMI designation means Certified Member of the Institute, and it has been attainable since 1979. This certification is difficult to obtain and is more than a mere credential; it is a demonstration of expertise in business property taxation.  

What the CMI Designation is NOT 

To be very clear about what the CMI-Property Tax designation is NOT, it is not an endorsement from the Institute for Professionals in Taxation for any individual or firm.  Just like a CPA designation, holding this certification does not mean that the individual or firm is endorsed by the state agency that issued the designation. It means the individual has been recognized for dedicating numerous hours of study to the field of property taxation. 

Requirements for CMI Designation Qualification 

In order to qualify for the CMI, an individual must:

  • Maintain membership in the IPT
  • Document many years of property tax experience
  • Complete several educational schools provided by IPT
  • Successfully complete both the comprehensive and oral examinations given by the IPT

After attaining the CMI professional designation, certified members must maintain continuing education hours with the IPT. This is comparable to other professional designations such as CPA, JD, etc. 

Why it Matters 

Not all who attempt to attain CMI certification are successful. In fact, only about 1,000 property tax professionals nationwide have ever earned this coveted certification.

The process is arduous and long. The tests are difficult and taxing, and it takes a dedicated individual to complete the requirements. As of the time of this writing, there are only about 480 active CMI-Property Tax holders in the United States and Canada.   

Individuals with the CMI-Property Tax designation show a commitment to the property tax industry. It is not an endorsement from IPT, but it does indicate experience and knowledge on behalf of the individual.   

Find a CMI-certified property tax agent at Wayfinder

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