$625,000 for 8019 146th Ave. N.W. seems an auspicious price for an inauspicious commercial parcel. This map closeup, and Google satellite-map comprehensive image:
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As noted, this parcel is adjacent to the Wiser Choice liquor store, across the intervening road. Because the liquor store is owned by a sitting council member, with newly elected members to be sworn in soon, the properties vis-a-vis one another are of interest. Here are county online tax records for each:
Assessed valuations are in line with my inexpert guess at what the properties would be worth in a market sale, even in today's cheapened dollars, with the city paying substantially more, and having had preliminary negotiations for the liquor store to be purchased for $1.1 million taxpayer dollars. Were I holding such wealth I certainly would not pay nearly such amounts for such sites. Would you? From your personal wealth, if having such amounts?
Sakry did not report whether the purchase decision was unanimous or whether council voting was split.
Sakry did report on ownership (and ongoing uninterrupted occupancy). This SoS registration, with the name Urban H Schmidtbauer prominent, whoever he is and whatever his political clout in town.
From here, here, and here, Diversified Paving is a firm doing business at the $625,000 site, controlled apparently by Schmidtbauer.
Doing a little back-of-the-envelope math, assuming the markup of value to $625,000 is legit as a market value vs the far, far lower assessed value; we can extrapolate to an equally kited Wiser Choice number:
8019 146th Ave NW, has had "assessed 'est. market' value" clearly trending down over 2011-2013, so take highest, $310,900 -vs- latest, $199,400 as "Est. Market" per our county's government taxing.
A Ramsey-acquisition inflation factor would then be
$625,000/$310,900 = 2.0103
Applying that Ramsey-acquisition inflation factor to Wiser Choice:
14590 Armstrong Boulevard NW, also has been blessed to have assessed value trending down substantially over 2011-2013; and again taking the highest "Est. Market," value of $406,000 and considering the inflation factor:
$406,000 x 2.0103 = $816,182
... that number being substantially below the preliminarily suggested buyout for Councilmember Wise, of $1.1 million.
Of course, each parcel of realty is unique, and litigation vs. negotiation might yield differing numbers on either parcel, if condemned instead of going with a negotiated price in public dollars for private real estate.
BOTTOM LINE: LOOKING AT THOSE TWO INAUSPICIOUS PARCELS AND THEIR ASSESSMENT RECORDS OVER THE LAST THREE YEARS, HOMEOWNERS ARE BEING SCREWED BIG TIME IN ASSESSMENT AND TAXING RELATIVE TO COMMERCIAL REAL ESTATE IF THE RAMSEY NUMBERS ARE REPRESENTATIVE OF THE GAP BETWEEN ACTUAL MARKET AND THE ASSESSOR'S "EST. MARKET" NUMBERS; OR THE CITY FOR WHATEVER REASONS/MOTIVES IS GROSSLY OVERPAYING INSTEAD OF LITIGATING.
MY BEST GUESS - BOTH FACTORS ARE AT PLAY, AND THE HOPE WOULD BE COUNTY BOARD DISTRICT ONE COMMISSIONER MATT LOOK WOULD SEE THAT DISPARITY BETWEEN BUSINESS PROPERTIES - SOME BUSINESS PROPERTIES - AND HOME ASSESSMENTS, AND GIVE HOMEOWNING CITIZENS A FAIR BREAK WITH BUSINESSES HAVING TO PAY A RELATIVELY HIGHER SHARE OF TAX INCOME THAN AT PRESENT.
That is all for now, because county tax records are temporarily offline, this being the site message:
The Anoka County Property Records and Taxation site is currently down for maintenance from 12:00 am - 7:15 am. Please check back later. We apologize for the inconvenience.
____________UPDATE___________
Well county tax records are again accessible, with a major frustration. Curiosity being always good, I sought to determine tax assessment for Minnesota Taxpayer League Iman and County Watchdog Harold Hamilton; his business, Micro Control Company, in Fridley. To compare. However, putting into here the address "7956" and the town "Fridley" the search returned no parcels matching the address/town. That is the same procedure that correctly yielded the Wiser Choice and Diversified Paving site data.
Also it was the procedure used in checking Jim Deal's owned or related sites in Town Center, with four returned records as published at this earlier Crabgrass link.
It is auspicious how those earlier Jim Deal related assessed values differ from the Wiser Choice and Diversified Paving records, per "Est. Market".
Can any reader help me determine why I have a problem determining the property taxation record for Micro Control Company's business site in Fridley?
____________FURTHER UPDATE____________
As part of the theory, HOMEOWNERS ARE BEING SCREWED BIG TIME RELATIVE TO COMMERCIAL PROPERTIES IN ANOKA COUNTY, ON TAX ASSESSMENTS, I ran the Look home, the Wise home, and the home of the new Ramsey mayor each through a search; and none of the three showed any down-assessment trending comparable for the Diversified Paving and Wiser Choice business parcels.
Check your own home taxes. Are you paying more than you should, because commercial properties are being under assessed? If so, is that at all fair treatment?
Also the gap in assessed value between Jim Deal properties, in Town Center, and the two commercial properties directly adjacent to Town Center (but on the other side of Armstrong) is extreme, while there may be some plausible explanation for it beyond sheer arbitrariness. Building value on the Deal parcels would be greater, given that larger structures are involved. Yet it truly seems relative to the two Armstrong Blvd. parcels, that homeowners are paying more than a fair share. Clearly the info is anecdotal, and to prove a point either way a more widespread comparison would be needed. But it does seem that assessment practices may need more official scrutiny to assure fairness to homeowners.
Next, if the possibility of a federal tax code alteration to end the home mortgage interest deduction were enacted, how would home values nationwide be impacted; and how would that be reflected in tax assessment and levy rates. Presumably business property mortgage interest would continue to be a cost-of-business expense, so that commercial property assessments should not plummet as home values and assessments might. We must pay attention to any federal politicians suggesting that rocking that boat might be necessary or advisable. Romney-Ryan were never clear about whether the home mortgage interest deduction was one of the "loopholes" they railed against, in losing an election.
____________FURTHER UPDATE____________
It seems the ending part of the inartfully stated homily below the photo, here, should apply to homeowners as much or more than to business folks, who rely on others to buy stuff or else they sit on top of their plant and capital assets, and produce nothing - even if they be a Micro Control, producing capital goods for other capitalist business entities. Ultimately consumers who are home owning taxpayers need to be treated properly - which is NOT like sheep for fleecing. Without consumption of goods or services, by people like us, there is only capitalists playing Russian Roulette with one another. We buy the home furnace, we pay for the service of having it installed, we pay for natural gas monthly by the cubic feet.