Why I Endorse Senator Gwen Margolis for Miami-Dade County Property Appraiser

State Senator Gwen Margolis has announced that she will run for Miami-Dade County Property Appraiser in 2008. Election day is November 4.

Historically, Miami-Dade County is the only one of Florida's 67 counties to have an appointed, rather than elected, Property Appraiser. Indeed, under the Dade County Charter, both Property Appraiser and Tax Collector are technically department heads appointed by the County Manager. This is something of an anomaly, considering that both positions are constitutional officers in every county--including Miami-Dade-- by Florida law.

All that history changed on January 29, 2008, when the electorate of Miami-Dade County voted to make the position of Property Appraiser an elected one.

Our candidate of choice for Miami-Dade County's first elected Property Appraiser is Senator Gwen Margolis. Having known Senator Margolis both professionally and personally for virtually the entire 28 years I have practiced property tax law, I like to think that in recommending Senator Margolis for this office, I know whereof I speak.

Well, then, without further folderol or jibber jabber, here are but a handful of reasons to vote for Senator Margolis for Property Appraiser of Miami-Dade County when you cast your ballot in November.

. Senator Margolis who has been a real estate broker for 35 years.

. Senator Margolis was the first female President of the Florida Senate.

. Senator Margolis serves on the Constitutional Revision Commission, responsible for advancing many of the innovations recently adopted as Floroda law.

. Senator Margolis is a long-time member of the Senate Committee on Finance and Taxation, sponsoring numerous bills to reform the tax system in Florida, including but not limited to property tax measures.

. Senator Margolis has held elected office in Florida virtually continuously since 1975, as reflected in the New Theater-produced one-act play chronicling Margolis's role as a female trendsetter and role model in Florida politics.

. Senator Margolis served as the Chair of the County Value Adjustment Board during her tenure as Miami-Dade County Commissioner.


Senator Margolis has had a long and distinguished career in Florida politics, starting with her election to the Florida House of Representatives in 1974, where she was subsequently re-elected to three additional terms. Her career in the Florida Senate started in 1980, where she was appointed as Chair of the Finance, Tax, and Claims Committee, and later the Appropriations Committee. In 1990 she became the first women in the United States to serve as President of any Senate, when she was sworn in as President of the Florida State Senate.

In 1994, Senator Margolis was elected to the Miami-Dade Board of County Commissioners, where she served six of her eight years as Chairperson. She returned to the Senate in 2002. Wea are fortunate tht Senator Margolis is returning to the South Florida political scene to run for the newly-created position of elected County Property Appraiser.

The proposal to have an elected Property Appraiser for the first time in Miami-Dade County originated in the County's Charter Review Task Force.

__________________________________________________________________________________
Weiss has been named a “Top Lawyer” in the category of Real Estate, Zoning and Land Use by the South Florida Legal Guide (2007, 2008), Florida Super Lawyers (2006), Florida Trend Legal Elite (2004) and Who’s Who in Practicing Attorneys (1989-1990) and has been included on Miami’s “A list” in five categories: law, philanthropy, business, arts and social prominence, in New York’s Avenue Magazine (2006, 2007, 2008).

Miami-Dade County to Have Its First Elected Property Appraiser

Historically, Miami-Dade County is the only one of Florida's 67 counties to have an appointed, rather than elected, Property Appraiser. Indeed, under the Dade County Charter, both Property Appraiser and Tax Collector are technically department heads appointed by the County Manager. This is something of an anomaly, considering that both positions are constitutional officers under Florida law.

The County Attorney takes the position that notwithstanding the generally-applicable provision in the Florida Constitution, the Property Appraiser's Office will be a sort of hybrid, being an elected department head, but NOT a constitutional officer as in Broward or Duval--both charter counties--and as in the other 64 counties in Florida under the general; constitutional provision establishing the office of Property Appraiser as an office of constitutional dimension.

Query whether Miami-Dade County's Property Appraiser should be able to claim constitutional officer jurisdiction for the purpose of advancing appellate review in the Florida Supreme Court at the same time the County claims that its Property Appraiser is NOT a constitutional officer!

All that history changed on January 29, 2008, when the electorate of Miami-Dade County voted to make the position of Property Appraiser an elected one.

Uniquely, Miami-Dade County's elected property appraiser will operate to some extent under the supervision of the County Commission. To date, the Commission has adopted an ordinance giving the soon-to-be-elected Property Appraiser control of most of the depratment's nearly 300 employees, who will continue under union collective bargaining agreements to enjoy the protections afforded classified (as distinguished from exempt) employees. These include termination and disciplinary policies applicable to County employees generally.

At least initially, the County Commission will control the pay and benefits of the Property Appraiser, with an annual salary of $153,000. The Commission stated that they might be willing to change the Property Appraiser's salary to be controlled byr the State formula for constitutional offices, which would increase annual pay to about $175,000.

Interestingly--nay, oddly--the County Commission will establish the pay ranges for the Property Appraiser's staff. Conferring a more-autonomous measure of authority, the county Commission vouchsafed unto the Property Appraiser the prerogative to place proposed ordinances and resolutions on the County Commission's legislative agenda.

The proposal to have an elected Property Appraiser for the first time in Miami-Dade County originated in the County's Charter Review Task Force.

__________________________________________________________________________________
Weiss has been named a “Top Lawyer” by South Florida Legal Guide (2007, 2008), Florida Super Lawyers (2006), Florida Trend Legal Elite (2004) and Who’s Who in Practicing Attorneys (1989-1990) and has been included on Miami’s “A list” in five categories: law, philanthropy, business, arts and social prominence, in New York’s Avenue Magazine (2006, 2007, 2008).

Celebrity Property Tax Assessment: Clyde McPhatter

Doing property tax appeals is so much fun. You never know what'll come across your desk. Yesterday I was looking at comparable sales identified by the County Property Appraiser and researched by my assistant Tiffany. The property in question was a purchase by none other than Clyde McPhatter, Jr.

If you're as young as Tiffany, this name may not mean anything to you. The buyer's father was Clyde McPhatter, one of the greatest R & B singers of the 1950s and '60s. McPhatter founded The Drifters and was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame posthumously in 1987. He was even honored on a U.S. postage stamp in 1993.


Anyway, Clyde McPhatter's son and namesake recently purchased two residential properties in Miami-Dade County, Florida. He purchased the two properties July and August of 2006, respectively, paying a total $4.8 million.

Hey, Mr. McPhatter, why don't you have a homestead exemption on either of these two properties? If you need help determining your eligibility for the significant benefits of homestead proprety tax exemption in Florida, contact me!

What follows is what you can find out online about the two properties:

Eastern Shores waterfront property:

07-2210-001-0080
Property: 3320 NE 165 ST
Mailing Address: CLYDE MC PHATTER
3320 NE 165 ST MIAMI FL
33160-3836

Property Information: Primary Zone: 1200 SINGLE FAMILY RESIDENCE
CLUC: 0001 RESIDENTIAL- SINGLE FAMILY
Beds/Baths: 4/4
Floors: 2
Living Units: 1
Adj Sq Footage: 4,972
Lot Size: 9,681 SQ FT
Year Built: 1980


Sale Information: Sale O/R: 24735-2786
Sale Date: 7/2006
Sale Amount: $3,200,000

Assessment Information: Year: 2007
Land Value: $871,290
Building Value: $694,065
Market Value: $1,565,355 $
Assessed Value: $1,565,355 $
Total Exemptions: $0
Taxable Value: $1,565,355
_________________________

Property off Miller Road:

Summary Details: Folio No.: 30-4029-002-0590
Property: 10290 SW 58 ST
Mailing Address: CLYDE MC PHATTER JR
10290 SW 58 ST MIAMI FL
33173-2832

Property Information: Primary Zone: 2300 ESTATE RESIDENTIAL
CLUC: 0001 RESIDENTIAL- SINGLE FAMILY
Beds/Baths: 4/3
Floors: 1
Living Units: 1
Adj Sq Footage: 5,364
Lot Size: 50,094 SQ FT
Year Built: 1982

Sale Information: Sale O/R: 25241-0477
Sale Date: 8/2006
Sale Amount: $1,600,000

Assessment Information: Year: 2007
Land Value: $551,190
Building Value: $618,771
Market Value: $1,169,961
Assessed Value: $1,169,961
Homestead Exemption: $0
Veteran Exemption: $0
Total Exemptions: $0
Taxable Value: $1,169,961
____________________________________________________________________________
Mr. Weiss has represented taxpayers in thousands of administrative tax appeal hearings and has more than 70 published opinions to his credit, including 55 property tax opinions, is co-author of Chapter 64 of the Florida Tax Service
2d, "Agriculture and Other Classified Properties" with Matthew Bender, and a lecturer on property taxation for the National Business Institute.

Celebrity Property Tax Assessment: Ron Seikaly

Looking for a house with high ceilings? I'll bet this one has 'em. Why would I bet? Its recent purchaser is Ron Seikaly. Ron is 6 feet 11 inches tall and was the first-ever draft pick of the NBA Miami Heat.

Ron was a great center for the Heat and still loves Miami. I saw him at a party recently in Miami Beach. After his tenure with the Heat, Ron played for a couple of other NBA teams and even did a stint in Spain's professional basketball league.

Nowadays, Ron's into professional volleyball. He's still a world-class athlete.

In 2002, Ron bought a waterfront lot on North Bay Road in Miami Beach, nearly 27,000 square feet, well over half an acre. He built his dream home there, over 9,000 square feet of high-ceilinged luxury, completing construction and moving in in 2005.

Here're the specs for those who need more detail:

Summary Details: Folio No.: 02-3227-008-1370
Property: 2060 N BAY RD
Mailing Address: RONALD SEIKALY
2060 N BAY RD MIAMI BEACH FL
33140-4537

Property Information: Primary Zone: 2100 SINGLE FAMILY RESIDENCE
CLUC: 0001 RESIDENTIAL- SINGLE FAMILY
Beds/Baths: 9/10
Floors: 2
Living Units: 1
Adj Sq Footage: 9,363
Lot Size: 26,561 SQ FT
Year Built: 2005

Sale Information: Sale O/R: 20347-2241
Sale Date: 4/2002
Sale Amount: $2,150,000

Assessment Information: Year: 2007
Land Value: $3,919,264
Building Value: $3,819,208
Market Value: $7,738,472
Assessed Value: $6,793,700
Homestead Exemption: $25,000
Total Exemptions: $25,000
Taxable Value: $6,768,700
______________________________________________________________________________
Mr. Weiss has represented taxpayers in thousands of administrative tax appeal hearings and has more than 70 published opinions to his credit, including 55 property tax opinions, is co-author of Chapter 64 of the Florida Tax Service
2d, "Agriculture and Other Classified Properties" with Matthew Bender, and a lecturer on property taxation for the National Business Institute.

Property Tax Appeal Results: The Bottom Line

One of my favorite marketing slogans is the one created by my good friend Mark E. Fried. Mark Fried has been an immigration attorney on Brickell Avenue in Miami for more than 27 years. To emphasize Mark's sensitivity to the human interest aspect of his practice, Mark says, "In my practice, it's not the 'bottom line' that counts; it's the BORDER LINE!"

Well and good. One of the reasons I enjoy my property tax practice--and would never engage in the practice of immigration law or criminal defense (the practice area of my law partner Brian Tannebaum)--is that I'd never want a client's freedom to depend on effectiveness of my representation. So I am happy to say that in my property tax practice, "It's not the BORDER LINE that counts; it's the BOTTOM LINE."

That's what counts for the client anyway. Do I get a kick out of figuring out where the County Property Appraiser went astray and getting a huge reduction and generating a big refund for the taxpayer? You bet. But is the taxpayer excited about my legal theory? Probably not as excited as he is about the big refund.

Here's a case in point. I got a tax assessment on a parking lot parcel reduced for 2007 (the current tax year) from $6,458,800 to $947,298. Yeah, that's right, an 85% reduction. It's not a typo.

The taxpayer's happy. He's the beneficiary of a $100,000 plus property tax refund.

I'm happy because I proved that the Property Appraiser assessed sticks in the bundle of rights already assessed to other parcels, a prohibited form of double taxation.

I was even happier this afternoon when I had confirmed in writing the granting of my post-hearing request to further reduce the assessed valuation by another $100,000. This means the reduction was 87%, not 85%.

So with apologies to my good friend Mark Fried--as fine an immigration attorney as you will ever want to find to address your family's, employees', friends' or corporation's immigration practice needs--I am proud to say that in my property tax appeal practice, "It's not the border line that counts. It's the bottom line."
_______________________________________________________________________________
Mr. Weiss has represented taxpayers in thousands of administrative tax appeal hearings and has more than 70 published opinions to his credit, including 55 property tax opinions, is co-author of Chapter 64 of the Florida Tax Service
2d, "Agriculture and Other Classified Properties" with Matthew Bender, and a lecturer on property taxation for the National Business Institute.

Celebrity Property Tax Assessment: Sean Taylor

Yeah, I know it's morbid. But it's a matter of public interest and public record.

So here's the info for those of you who want to know more about the house in which Dolphin linebacker Sean Taylor was fatally injured in as big a waste of football talent and as characteristically callous an act as you ever want to see in our community.

33-5035-005-0110
Property: 18050 OLD CUTLER RD
Mailing Address: SEAN TAYLOR

18050 OLD CUTLER RD PALMETTO BAY FL
33157-6423

Property Information: Primary Zone: 2300 ESTATE RESIDENTIAL
CLUC: 0001 RESIDENTIAL- SINGLE FAMILY
Beds/Baths: 4/4
Floors: 1
Living Units: 1
Adj Sq Footage: 3,705
Lot Size: 33,541 SQ FT
Year Built: 1971
Legal Description: CUTLER SOUTH PB 80-80 LOT 11 BLK 1 LOT SIZE 205.000 X 165 OR 18697-2031 0599 1 F/A/U 30-5035-005-0110 COC 23569-2355 06 2005 1


Sale Date: 6/2005
Sale Amount: $900,000

Assessment Information: Year: 2007
Land Value: $423,500 $
Building Value: $305,797
Market Value: $729,297
Assessed Value: $729,297
Homestead Exemption: $25,000
Total Exemptions: $25,000
Taxable Value: $704,297
_______________________________________________________________________________
Weiss has been named a “Top Lawyer” by South Florida Legal Guide (2007, 2008), Florida Super Lawyers (2006), Florida Trend Legal Elite (2004) and Who’s Who in Practicing Attorneys (1989-1990) and has been included on Miami’s “A list” in five categories: law, philanthropy, business, arts and social prominence, in New York’s Avenue Magazine (2006, 2007, 2008).

Property Tax Appeal Tip #1: Why You Should File Your Actual Income

Recently a commercial property tax client of mine expressed surprise when I told her we'd fare better at the appeal hearing if I filed her federal income tax return schedule relating to the subject property instead of just her own summary of income and expenses.

The truth of the matter is that there are a whole slew of reasons to file the IRS schedule in preference to most any other form of record of income and expenses.

Here are the top 3:

1. Federal income tax returns are regarded as inherently reliable. Because they are signed and submitted under penalty of perjury, federal income tax returns--and all attached schedules--are generally treated by the local property tax personnel as authoritative.

2. Schedules for rental property--whether Schedule E or Form 8825--clearly identify the property and segregate income and expenses of the subject property from those of any other property. The tax assessor will have a higher comfort level in reviewing your federal income tax return than in looking at a pile of receipts whose origins--or ties to the subject property--may be dubious.

3. Line items and statements (footnotes) on your federal income tax return segregate depreciation, debt service, and property taxes, each of which must be omitted from treatment as an actual expense or converted to a millage rate and made part of a formula to solve for an unknown (in the case of current property taxes), thereby facilitating accurate use of the component information as evidence of property value on the income approach.

The bottom line on the decision of whether to include or exclude a record of the preceding year's actual income and expenses as part of your income approach to property value should take into consideration the three factors discussed above.

In some instances, actual income may be driven by factors which are not properly part of the County Property Appraiser's consideration, including intangibles which drive gross receipts in a world class shopping center or flagship hotel.

If it is too difficult to separate the income derived from the intangibles, you may want to go with imputed market income and omit the record of actual income--which in some instances may include proprietary information protected by contract or contra-indicated by competition in the marketplace of a closely-held entity.

But if you are appealing 4 or 10 or 12 units of multifamily residential property, give serious thought to including the actual schedule from the federal income tax return in lieu of the property owner's summary of income and expenses. Special considerations can be accounted for--or discounted for--in your pro forma income analysis or calculation of stabilized income and expenses, or selection of cap rate.
________________________________________________________________________________
Weiss has been named a “Top Lawyer” by South Florida Legal Guide (2007, 2008), Florida Super Lawyers (2006), Florida Trend Legal Elite (2004) and Who’s Who in Practicing Attorneys (1989-1990) and has been included on Miami’s “A list” in five categories: law, philanthropy, business, arts and social prominence, in New York’s Avenue Magazine (2006, 2007, 2008).

Celebrity Property Tax Assessment: Jim Mandich

Ever wonder where to find college All American and 1972 perfect-season Dolphin tight end Jim Mandich when he's not doing color on tv? Well here're a couple of places to look for him.

The first is a home on the golf course in Miami Lakes:

Summary Details: Folio No.: 32-2014-004-0680
Property: 16101 ABERDEEN WAY
Mailing Address: JIM MANDICH


Property Information: Primary Zone: 0100 SINGLE FAMILY RESIDENCE
CLUC: 0001 RESIDENTIAL- SINGLE FAMILY
Beds/Baths: 3/3
Floors: 2
Living Units: 1
Adj Sq Footage: 2,621
Lot Size: 20,000 SQ FT
Year Built: 1965

Sale Date: 1/1978
Sale Amount: $139,000

Assessment Information: Year: 2007
Land Value: $468,016
Building Value: $307,437
Market Value: $775,453
Assessed Value: $775,453
Total Exemptions: $0
Taxable Value: $775,453

Hey, Jim, are you living here? If you are, why don't you have a homestead exemption? If you'd had one since you bought the house, you'd be paying less than half the property taxes you're paying now; did you know that? Jim, if you actually are living here, email me and I'll help you apply for a homestead exemption to limit the increases in assessed value to 3% a year or less.




The second is a warehouse on 7/10 of an acre not too far from the house, which seems to have been a good investment, considering the difference between the purchase price and the County's estimate of current value:


Summary Details: Folio No.: 34-2118-004-0023
Property: 16101 NW 54 AVE
Mailing Address: JAMES M MANDICH

16101 NW 54 AVE MIAMI LAKES FL
33014-6102

Property Information: Primary Zone: 7700 INDUSTRIAL-CONDITIONAL
CLUC: 0032 LIGHT MANUFACTURING

Floors: 2

Adj Sq Footage: 18,328
Lot Size: 30,831 SQ FT
Year Built: 1971



Sale Date: 6/1982
Sale Amount: $450,000

Assessment Information: Year: 2007
Land Value: $431,634
Building Value: $605,891
Market Value: $1,037,525


Hey, Jim, call me if you want the taxes appealed in September 2008. Maybe your assessment will be more than market value! Check your TRIM notice the last week of August and see what you think. Or, better yet, call me and see what I think! Dan Weiss, 305-374-7850.

P.S. Belated congratulations on the perfect season. There'll never be another team like the '72 Dolphins. Take it from one who remembers when the AFL got its start!

P.P.S. Your birthday is July 30, 1948; mine's just one day later! Call me if you want to have a drink together during the summer to celebrate our birthdays. My treat, buddy!
_______________________________________________________________________________
Weiss has been named a “Top Lawyer” by South Florida Legal Guide (2007, 2008), Florida Super Lawyers (2006), Florida Trend Legal Elite (2004) and Who’s Who in Practicing Attorneys (1989-1990) and has been included on Miami’s “A list” in five categories: law, philanthropy, business, arts and social prominence, in New York’s Avenue Magazine (2006, 2007, 2008).