2. Abatements/Wal-Mart, Sam's - Laserfiche WebLink

INVESTIGATION OF ABATEMENT APPLICATION ABATEMENT NO. 4223 Following is a report on the investigation of the abatement application off Sam's Club Cass County Board of Coramissioners and State Tax Commissioner: The applicant is asking that the valuation be reduced ftom $5,795,000 to $4,910,600 for the year 2002 on their property located at 4831 13th Av South, Fargo. The requested reduction is about 15%. Sam's Club has submitted an income and cost approach summary report. The taxpayer has also enclosed a list of leases snd a list of Target Store sales. The City of Fargo recommended denial of the abatement application. I inspected thc property and reviewed the information that was supplied by the applicant and the City of Fargo Assessment Office. I made a comparison of the Marshall and Swii~ estimated costs that were submitted by the taxpayer and assessor. It would appear that there is a discrepancy in the size of the building. The City of Fargo has submitted a sketch of the building, calculating thc total building area at 117, 558 square feet. The taxpayer has estimated the total size at 109,398 square feet; for a difference of 8,190 square feet. It may be that the taxpayer did not account for additions to the property. Also, Sam's Club deprecation deduction is larger than the Assessor's and the land value is slightly less. I reviewed the applicant's income valuation summary. They used $5.25 per sq. ft. as the economic rent on the lesser square footage amoant that was discussed earlier. The taxpayer applied a 5% vacancy factor and a 10% as operating expense factor. They also used a 10% capitalization rate. They do not mention how these rates were arrived at. Small errors in the estimated rent, vacancy factor, operating expense factor and capitalization rate can drastically change the valuation conclusion. I also reviewed the Target Store sales information that was supplied by the applicant. The information was given in a summary format and the majority of the sales comparables are older that the subject. Also, there is uo information given on the condition or neighborhood location of the sales properties. The City of Fargo report includes sales from Minnesota that indicate a higher sales price per square foot. Fargo has also included lease information. They point out that location is a major determination of value. The City of Fargo has also submitted information indicating that the property is fairly assessed with other large stores. It is my recon~mendation to deny the abatement. The taxpayer has not provided information