Resident asks supervisors to require 'comparable sales' standard in upcoming reassessment contract

Gordon White, an accredited appraiser and Middlesex County resident, urged the Board of Supervisors on June 3 to require the county’s next reassessment contractor to use fair-market value determined by comparable local sales and to provide proof of their valuation method.

White said his review of prior reassessments found that assessors used the Marshall & Swift cost handbook — a cost-based method tied to out-of-state (California) properties — rather than comparable local sales. "Under the Virginia state code, local assessors must use fair market value based upon sales of comparable properties as the only acceptable means by which value is determined," White told the board. He said some local properties appeared over-assessed relative to actual arm’s-length sales in recent years.

White asked the board to require any chosen assessor to supply a comprehensive contract detailing their valuation approach and to require proof that comparable sales were actually used. He identified himself in the public record as an accredited appraiser with long experience performing tax-related appraisals.

There was no immediate vote or change to the procurement process during the June 3 meeting; the board is accepting bids for a reassessment firm and staff indicated a selection process will follow. White’s comments were filed as public input for the board to consider while drafting the reassessment contract and evaluation criteria.