I appreciate Todd Winkel including my statement in his letter of July 27. I did misspeak at the Board of Equalization meeting on July 20. I intended to say that most real estate in Haines sells above assessed (as opposed to appraised) value. Haines Real Estate upholds that as true, and provides this information: “of 10 recent home sales reviewed, all sold above assessed value. The median was 17% above assessed value. The lowest was .5% above and the highest was 33% above assessed value.” Thank you for allowing me to correct my statement. As for the inclusion of my statement (paid advertisement on page 8) that it is best to not rely on private appraisals for adjustments to an assessment for tax purposes, I stand by that. I could see the value of using appraisals if a unique appraiser were responsible for all property appraisals because we seek uniformity.
Debra Schnabel