The City of Rockland has hired KRT Appraisal, of Haverill, Massachusetts, to conduct a Statistical Update of all properties in the City, according to a Rockland city news release.

There are five major phases to the Statistical Update: Sales Review/Validation, Market Analysis, Valuation, Field Review, and Informal Hearings. During these phases many tasks will be completed to ensure the Statistical Update is successful. Below is a general outline and explanation of each phase of the project.

PHASE 1: SALES REVIEW/VALIDATION

During this phase, KRT appraisers field review each property that sold between April 1, 2018 and March 31, 2020 and review the information on the property record card for data accuracy. The appraiser will make notes regarding the property location, size, condition, quality of construction, and numerous other characteristics that may affect value. The goal is to gain a clear understanding of what sold and for what price. In conjunction with the Assessing Office, KRT will begin the process of qualifying sales as “Arm’s Length”.  Only qualified sales with market exposure between a willing buyer and seller will be used in the analysis.

KRT Field Representatives will carry Picture IDs, Municipal Letters of Introduction, and have their vehicles listed with both the Assessor’s Office and Police Department.

PHASE 2: MARKET ANALYSIS

A variety of resources are used to analyze the real estate market. KRT will be analyzing property sales that took place over the last two years to determine which market factors influenced property values. KRT Appraisal will gather and use information from MLS, property managers, developers, and local real estate professionals. Once all the data is collected and reviewed for accuracy, the appraiser will determine land values and delineate neighborhoods, which rate the desirability of locations throughout the City as determined by actual market activity.

PHASE 3: VALUATION

Valuation is done using one of the three recognized appraisal methods: Cost Approach, Income Approach and Sales Comparable Approach.  Mass appraisal uses a market adjusted cost approach to generate assessments.

During this phase, individual characteristics of the building are analyzed using information gathered in both phases 1 and 2. Each property is compared to other comparable properties with similar characteristics. Then the market values of the improvements are added to the land value that was previously determined.  This value is the final estimate for each parcel of property, building and land.

PHASE 4: FIELD REVIEW

Field Review is the method of checking and re-checking both the values that have been determined and the accuracy of the data used. During this phase, properties are viewed in the field by experienced appraisers to ensure that the appraisal methodology established from the sale properties is consistently applied to the entire population of properties within the City of Rockland. 

PHASE 5: INFORMAL HEARINGS

Once the Field Review is completed and the values are approved by the Assessor’s Office, a notice stating the proposed value will be mailed to each property owner. The goal is for this phase to be completed in the early summer of 2020. At that time anyone with questions concerning the revaluation process or the value established for their property will have an opportunity to meet with a member of KRT’s staff.

After all five phases are completed, all data, files, records, etc. used in the revaluation will be turned over to the Assessor’s Office for retention.