55 Pa. Commw. 39 | Pa. Commw. Ct. | 1980
Opinion by
Margaret Calcagni has appealed from an order of the Court of Common Pleas of Lehigh County dismissing her appeal from the assessment of her home property for local tax purposes.
In September 1977 Ms. Calcagni’s newly erected home at 218 East Fairview Street, Allentown, Pennsylvania was assessed for $11,130.00 based on a market value of $22,250.00. Ms. Calcagni appealed the assessment to the Board of Assessment Appeals without success. She appealed to the court below, asserting that the county’s assessments were improperly made and that they lacked uniformity.
Additional hearings were held and the wanted assessment records were admitted. Ms. Calcagni offered the expert testimony of Franklin G. Trenge, a real estate broker. She also called as on cross-examination Robert Hanisits, the person charged with making assessments. The Board of Assessment Appeals placed into evidence the tax assessment records of Ms. Calcagni’s property and adduced the testimony of Mr. Hanisits and of Dan Jarrett, a real estate appraiser. The court again dismissed the appeal and the matter is' again here.
Ms. Calcagni first says that the trial judge improperly excluded her expert’s, Mr. Trenge, testimony: . that the market value of properties in her neighborhood were in the range from $16,000 to $29,000; that it was his belief that figures appearing in the County’s assessment records under the heading “replacement value” actually show market value; and that it is his opinion that the application by the county assessors of a depreciation factor to replacement values to reach market value caused the fair market value of many properties in the neighborhood other than her own to be undervalued for assessment purposes.
With respect to the things in the assessment records about which Mr. Trenge was asked but not permitted to comment, we note that the records were in evidence, that they showed figures for replacement value and depreciation and, indeed, also for appraised value and assessed value. The county’s chief assessor testified at length on direct and cross-examination on all these subjects. Mr. Trenge’s opinion of what the records purported to show or what they should be interpreted as showing was not one to which his training as a real estate broker lent any special value. Whether to hear or exclude it was clearly for the judge. A trial judge’s rulings on the admissability or not of expert opinions will not be reversed on appeal except for clear error. New Castle Central Renewal Associates Appeal, 36 Pa. Commonwealth Ct. 584, 587, 389 A.2d 225, 227 (1978). There was none such here.
Further on this subject, Ms. Calcagni was not harmed by the judge’s rulings. The $16,000 to $29,000 range of values was testified to by the county’s expert, Mr. Jarrett, with the qualification that properties in the neighborhood were predominantly within this range although there were exceptions for properties worth as little as $9000; and, as we have said, the assessment records were in evidence.
On the merits, we agree with the court below that Ms. Calcagni did not carry her burden of proving that she was the victim of a non-uniform assessment. Her property at 218 East Fairview Street is one of a row
Furthermore, Ms. Calcagni adduced no evidence showing the actual value of any property in the neighborhood, much less of any property shown to be comparable to her own. It is conceivable that her dwelling and the other new townhouses in the development all bearing like assessments, also had higher market values than other properties in the neighborhood. It
Hence, in this case Yalley Forge properly set about to prove lack of uniformity in its assessment by directing the court’s attention to the assessment of other golf courses located in Montgomery County. It did not, however, pursue the inquiry to the point required by the law. It failed to prove that the actual value of any of the other assertedly similar properties was different from that found by the assessors. The absence of such proof rendered impossible a determination that the assessments of these other golf courses were at a ratio of assessed to actual value different from the admitted standard of one-third.
Id. at 650, 285 A.2d at 216.
Here, Ms. Calcagni properly set about to prove lack of uniformity by directing attention to other dwelling houses in the neighborhood; but she failed to prove that the actual value of any other property in the neighborhood was different from that found by the
But, Ms. Calcagni says, the assessment records show actual sale prices of other properties and fair market value assigned far less, proportionately, than those assigned in the case of her property. Of the 100 or so properties whose records are reproduced in her brief, sales prices are shown for about 25. Ms. 'Calcagni paid $28,400 for her property and it has been assigned a market value of $22,250 or 78% of sales price. At the hearing Ms. Calcagni directed the court’s attention to six other properties, the sales prices of which ranged from $17,000 to $27,400 with market values fixed by the assessor of from a low of 47% of the sales price to, in one instance, almost 70%. There are two difficulties with this asserted demonstration of lack of uniformity. The first is that sales prices are only one factor to be considered in determining fair market value. Section 402(a) of The General County Assessment Law, Act of May 22,1933, P.L. 853, as amended, 72 P.S. §5020-402 (a) provides that actual sales shall be considered in valuing properties for assessment purposes but that they are not controlling and must be revised to accomplish equalization. Second, Ms. Calcagni was somewhat selective in directing the court’s attention to recent sales. Others, not specifically mentioned by the appellant below, show market values assigned for assessment purposes of 95%, 131% and 142%
Order affirmed.
And Now, this 26th day of November, 1980, the order of the Court of Common Pleas of Lehigh County, No. 106 January Term, 1978, is affirmed.
Ms. Oaleagni also contended below that the county’s determinations of fair market values of all properties were invalid because these values were derived by using reproduction cost less deprecia
The properties here referred to are, respectively, 248 East Eairview Street, 305 South Bradford Street and 301 South Bradford Street.