Appraiser Terms

Below is a list of commonly used terms used by Appraiser’s:

Ad Valorem - According to value.
Ag use - Land devoted to the production of plants, animals or horticultural products regardless of whether it is located in the unincorporated area of the county or within the corporate limits of a city.
Appraised value (Market value) - The 100 percent value of property. Market value is defined as the amount of money a well-informed buyer would pay and a well-informed seller would accept for property in an open and competitive market without any outside influence.
Assessment - The act, process or an instance of estimating the value of property for taxation.
Assessment date - The date as of which the assessments for a tax year are made. In Kansas that date is January 1.
Assessment percentage - The percentage that is multiplied against the appraised value of property to arrive at the assessed value.
Assessed value - Appraised value times assessment percentage. The value on which money needed for local government services, special assessments and public schools is allocated among property owners.
CAMA - Computer Assisted Mass Appraisal. A computerized system designed to aid in the valuation of property.
Classification - Segregating property into two or more classes for the application of different tax rates.
Comparable sales approach - Using sale prices of similar properties to the one being appraised (subject) and adjusting for the differences to arrive at an indicated value for the subject property.
Comparable sales sheet - This document shows the subject property and the three to five comparable sales considered to value the property in the comparable sales approach. It contains a breakdown of various physical characteristics that are used for comparison purposes. Because this document contains sales information, it is available only to those individuals identified by statute or a property owner if considering an appeal.
Cost approach - Land value plus the depreciated value of all improvements.
Income approach - Based on the concept that current value is the present worth of future benefits. A method of deriving an indication of property value by converting anticipated benefits into value.
Inventory contents sheet – This document, also called an ICS, contains all of the property characteristics for an individual parcel of property.
Mill levy – One mill is one dollar of $1,000 of assessed value. The mill levy for local governing bodies is determined by dividing the local government’s budget by the taxable assessed value in the district.
Modeling – Comparable sales, cost, income – The detailed study of the relationship between the amount paid by the buyer of property and the various characteristics that make up the property. This set of relationships is then used to predict the most probable selling price for property not yet on the market.
Neighborhood – A geographic area that has a direct and immediate effect on the value of a property.
Parcel – a contiguous area of land within a mile section under one ownership that can be included under one property description for assessment purposes.
Personal property – Every tangible item which is the subject of ownership that is not classified as real property.
Real property – Land and all buildings, fixtures, improvements, etc.
Sales ratio – The ratio of the county appraised value to the sale price or adjusted sale price. A simple indicator of appraisal accuracy.
State Board of Tax Appeals (BOTA) – The highest administrative body established by law to consider state and local tax issues. It is a five member board that is a completely separate entity from the local taxing jurisdiction.
Tax district – The geographic area that a local governing body provides services to and has taxing authority over.
Tax roll – The list of all taxable property. It includes the name of the owner, the assessed value, the mill levy, the amount of taxes allocated to each taxing district and the total property tax.
Time trend – A time trend measures the effects of inflation, deflation, and other market adjustments such as supply and demand. In the simplest terms, a time trend measures the amount of increase or decrease that occurs when a property sells and at a later date sells again when no property characteristics have changed.