Assessment Review Board
Commission de révision de l’évaluation foncière
ISSUE DATE: August 24, 2018
Assessed Person(s): Gregory Goodman, Theresa Goodman
Appellant(s): Gregory Goodman, Theresa Goodman
Respondent(s): Municipal Property Assessment Corporation (“MPAC”) Region 28
Respondent(s): Municipality of Temagami
Property Location(s): 18 Lake Temagami Island Unit 416
Municipality(ies): Municipality of Temagami
Roll Number(s): 4869-860-001-28000-0000
Appeal Number(s): 3230314 and 3314107
Taxation Year(s): 2017 and 2018
Hearing Event No.: 696266
Legislative Authority: Section 40 of the Assessment Act, R.S.O. 1990, c. A.31, as amended
Heard: May 1, 2018 by telephone conference call
APPEARANCES:
| Parties | Counsel+/Representative |
|---|---|
| Gregory Goodman, Theresa Goodman | Self-represented |
| MPAC | Pam Hawkins |
| Municipality of Temagami | No one appeared |
DECISION OF THE BOARD DELIVERED BY MARCELLE BOURASSA
INTRODUCTION
1Gregory and Theresa Goodman (the “Appellants”) are the owners of an island property, 18 Lake Temagami Island 416, located in the south west arm of Lake Temagami, in the Municipality of Temagami. It has a 983 square foot (“sq. ft.”) Pan Abode style cottage that was built in 1972. MPAC has assigned it a quality of construction rating of 5.5. The cottage is uninsulated and has a wood burning stove as a source of heat. There is no hydro. An unfinished allowance of negative 22% has been applied to the main cottage to account for its unfinished aspects. It is located on a site area of 1.44 acres that is rocky and tree covered.
2MPAC returned the assessment for the subject property at $331,000 for 2017 taxation year. There was a Request for Reconsideration recommendation and the assessment was revised to $324,000 for the 2018 taxation year.
3The Appellants appealed the assessment for the 2017 and 2018 taxation years to the Assessment Review Board (“Board”). Mr. Goodman, on behalf of the Appellants, takes the position that MPAC’s assessment and quality of construction rating for the subject property are both too high. Mr. Goodman asserts that the quality of construction rating should be downgraded from 5.5 to either 4.5 or 5.0. His opinion of current value of between $270,000 and $285,000 is based on sales of comparable properties located in the south and south west arms of Lake Temagami and on the opinion of a licensed real estate professional most familiar with the Lake Temagami region. He also referred to an independent report on market values versus MPAC’s assessed values for 26 properties on Lake Temagami that concluded that the majority of properties are assessed above their market values.
4Under the Assessment Act, R.S.O. 1990, c. A.31 (“Act”), the onus of proof as to the correctness of the current value of the property rests with MPAC. For the period consisting of the four taxation years from 2017 to 2020, a property is valued as of the legislated valuation date of January 1, 2016. MPAC’s