Board reduces Willow Park subsidized-housing assessment after income/expense dispute

The Waukesha Board of Review voted July 11 to lower the assessed value of Willow Park Apartments, a subsidized housing property, after lengthy legal and technical argument over whether assessors must rely on actual income and expenses when valuing federally subsidized housing.

Attorney Sean Lovell, representing the owner, cited the Wisconsin Property Assessment Manual and the Wisconsin Supreme Court decision in Regency West Apartments to argue the assessor should use the property’s actual operating statements. "When valuing a subsidized housing property, the assessor should use the actual income and expenses for the property to obtain the most accurate value for the property," Lovell said, quoting the manual.

Lovell presented a cap-rate based income approach, limited to subsidized-housing sales from CoStar, that produced a valuation of roughly $6.48 million. The owner’s submitted 2024 expense totals — excluding real-estate taxes — were materially higher than the assessor’s expense assumptions.

The assessor’s witness said the office had accepted that the property is subsidized and adjusted its work but applied a higher expense assumption and a slightly different cap-rate approach across similar low-income properties. The assessor explained that, in practice, the office evaluates submitted actuals but applies consistent, researched adjustments rather than taking owner figures at face value.

Board members debated whether to combine owner actuals with assessor cap-rate assumptions or accept the owner’s full income approach. Noting guidance in the property-assessment manual and precedent, the board voted to adopt an income-based figure near the owner’s submission and set the new assessment at $6,478,285. The board recorded findings on the record and will issue written determination.