[delgadobb]

Well, I had my hearing today before the review board ... hopefully some of this info will help someone.

For starters, a couple things:
1) Having the hearings at an obscure building on the NV-DOT campus at 123 E Washington Ave = BAD IDEA. Everything started late (scheduled 9 AM) since nobody could find where to go.
2) One of the representatives announced there's been a known problem with the mailings (the vendor who contracted to mail them and/or the post office have been slow), so if you get your mailing on short notice they claim they'll try to accommodate you. No guarantees, just reporting what I heard.

As for the actual hearings, they were about what Olecapt described. The board was five (5) people from the real-estate industry (appraisers/etc), they had each property owner announce their name & address after being called, then heard info from the assessor's office, then the property owner had a chance to state their case. One of the board members was far more vocal than the others, claimed he's been appraising LV real estate since 1969 - wouldn't be surprised if Olecapt knows him (salt-n-pepper crewcut, very vocal). I knew I'd have to sell him the most, since he seemed to often speak for the group.

After seeing most everyone shot down on their appeal, I got a bit nervous. However, the more I thought about it, most people were venting & complaining their property value was too high rather than focusing on comps & factual information.

Then I got called. I decided I'd focus on my comps, those the assessor chose, the range of $/sf reflected in the comps & the fact that the best direct comp had significantly more upgrades than my house (same model). After I made my pitch & talked about the upgrades in the best comp, the vocal board member piped up "Now that's what I like". He mentioned liking the concise information with tangible numbers & a rationale for why I asked for the number I did, mentioning to others in the room that would make it easier for them to make their decision. In the end, I got the number I wanted, a reduction of $60,000 from the initial assessment!

From what I saw, I'd suggest going in with real comps of similar properties already closed. Don't use Zillow.com, some people tried that & got shot down. Don't complain that the bigger house down the block sold for less, they were insistent they needed similar comps. Have real numbers in hand, they weren't very sympathetic to those who complained their values were 'too high' but didn't have anything to back it up. Be prepared to make a logical case with supporting numbers & you should have a good shot.

[tony soprano]

delgadobb, I don't even own property in Vegas yet and still found your post very helpful. Congrats on your success!