Lisa M. Carroll, et al, Trustees v. Board of Assessors of the Town of Mashpee (April 7, 2014)

COMMONWEALTH OF MASSACHUSETTS
APPELLATE TAX BOARD

LISA M. CARROLL, et al,        v.	    	  BOARD OF ASSESSORS OF 
TRUSTEES	    		   THE TOWN OF MASHPEE
			

Docket Nos. F310585 & F314880		    	   Promulgated: 					             April 7, 2014
             				  
       				 							
	These are appeals under the formal procedure, pursuant to G.L. c. 58A, § 7 and G.L. c. 59, §§ 64 and 65, from the refusal of the Board of Assessors of the Town of Mashpee ("assessors" or "appellee"), to abate real estate taxes assessed on certain real property located in Mashpee and assessed to Lisa  M. Carroll, et al, Trustees ("appellants"), under G.L. c. 59, §§ 11 and 38, for fiscal years 2011 and 2012 ("fiscal years at issue").  
	Commissioner Chmielinski heard these appeals.  Chairman Hammond and Commissioners Scharaffa, Rose, and Mulhern joined him in a decision for the appellee.
	These findings of fact and report are made pursuant to a request by the appellants under G.L. c. 58A, § 13 and 831 CMR 1.32.

	Saul J. Feldman, Esq. for the appellants. 
 
	Patrick J. Costello, Esq. for the appellee. 

	
FINDINGS OF FACT AND REPORT
On the basis of testimony and exhibits offered into the record at the hearing of these appeals, the Appellate Tax Board ("Board") made the following findings of fact.
 Jurisdiction & Description
	On January 1, 2010 and January 1, 2011, the appellants were the assessed owners of a parcel of real estate, improved with a single-family home, located at 140 Popponesset Island Road in Mashpee ("subject property").  For assessment purposes, the subject property is identified as "Parcel ID 112-9-0-R." 
	For fiscal year 2011, the assessors valued the subject property at $2,696,200 and assessed a tax thereon, at the rate of $8.37 per thousand, in the total amount of $23,810.41.  On December 31, 2010, Mashpee's Collector of Taxes ("Collector") sent out the town's actual real estate tax bills for fiscal year 2011.  In accordance with G.L. c. 59, § 57C, the appellants timely paid the tax due without incurring interest.  On January 11, 2011, in accordance with G.L. c. 59, § 59, the appellants timely filed an Application for Abatement with the assessors, which the assessors denied on February 16, 2011.  On March 15, 2011, in accordance with G.L. c. 59, §§ 64 and 65, the appellants seasonably filed an appeal with the Board.

	For fiscal year 2012, the assessors valued the subject property at $3,164,200 and assessed a tax thereon at the rate of $8.51 per thousand, in the total amount of $28,336.36.  On December 30, 2011, the Collector sent out the town's actual real estate tax bills for fiscal year 2012.  In accordance with G.L. c. 59, § 57C, the appellants timely paid the tax due without incurring interest.  On January 17, 2012, in accordance with G.L. c. 59, § 59, the appellants timely filed an Application for Abatement with the assessors, which the assessors denied on February 13, 2012.  In accordance with G.L. c. 59, §§ 64 and 65, the appellants seasonably filed an appeal with the Board on March 7, 2012.  
	On the basis of these facts, the Board found and ruled that it had jurisdiction to hear and decide these appeals.
	The subject property is located on Popponesset Island, which is situated in the southeastern part of Mashpee.  The island is bordered by Popponesset Creek to the west, Nantucket Sound to the south and Popponesset Bay to the north.  There is a channel that runs along the east side of the island.  Popponesset Island is considered one of the most exclusive neighborhoods in Mashpee with historically high property values.  The island is accessible via a single-lane bridge located at the northern tip near of the island near the marina in Popponesset Bay.  The subject property is located at the southern point of the island, only four lots removed from its end, with views of the channel, the barrier beach and Nantucket Sound.   
	The subject property is a 25,500-square-foot waterfront parcel of real estate improved with a ranch-style, single-family dwelling.  There are a total of seven rooms above grade, including three bedrooms, as well as two full bathrooms, with a total living area of 2,228 square feet.  The basement is partially finished and includes two more bedrooms, a recreation room, a family room, a full bathroom, a kitchenette, and a laundry area.  The dwelling has a forced hot-air heating system fueled by gas and central air conditioning.  The exterior of the house is wood-shingled with an asphalt-shingled gable roof and a concrete foundation.  Additional amenities include a two-car attached garage, a fireplace, an open porch, a rear patio, and a deep-water dock.  The subject property's property record cards rated the dwelling as in "good (-)" condition with a grade of "B-."    
Appellants' Case-in-Chief	
	The appellants presented their case-in-chief predominantly through the testimony of James K. Saben, a licensed real estate appraiser, whom the Board qualified, without objection, as a real estate valuation expert.  The appellants also introduced several exhibits into evidence, including Mr. Saben's summary appraisal reports for the fiscal years at issue.
	To arrive at his estimates of value for the fiscal years at issue, Mr. Saben relied on the sales-comparison approach.  Mr. Saben first inspected the subject property and the Popponesset neighborhood.  He then reviewed sales in Mashpee and selected comparable sales that he considered "viable alternatives" to the subject property, paying "particular attention to water influence and boat dockage."  From these, Mr. Saben then chose what he deemed to be the most comparable sales for each of the fiscal years at issue.     
Fiscal Year 2011
	For fiscal year 2011, Mr. Saben relied on six sales of purportedly comparable properties in Mashpee that sold between March 28, 2007 and December 7, 2009, with sale prices that ranged from $912,000 to $2,000,000.   Mr. Saben made adjustments to account for differences between his purportedly comparable sales properties and the subject property.  
All sales were adjusted for gross living area at a rate of $100 per square foot for any difference over 100 square feet, and also for lot size calculated at $5.00 per square foot.  Mr. Saben testified that Popponesset Island is a highly desirable area and to account for his purportedly comparable properties' inferior locations, he made upward adjustments ranging from $250,000 to $500,000.  Mr. Saben further testified that although sale six was also located on Popponesset Island, it was situated on the west side, which he opined was an inferior location and therefore required an upward adjustment.  Mr. Saben also made positive adjustments to his purportedly comparable properties, with the exception of sale two, ranging from $115,000 to $200,000, to account for their inferior views.  Additionally, sale one was adjusted upward $230,000 to account for its inferior construction quality and condition, and sales three, four, and six were adjusted downward, ranging from $100,000 to $200,000, to account for their superior construction quality and condition.  Finally, adjustments were made for the number of bathrooms, lack of a garage, unfinished basement, number of fireplaces, and the lack of a dock.  In total, Mr. Saben's net adjustments ranged from 1.7% to 82.5%. 
Mr. Saben's sales-comparison analysis yielded adjusted sale prices that ranged from $1,601,600 to $2,034,152.  Based on this analysis, Mr. Saben estimated the subject property's fair cash value at $1,800,000 for fiscal year 2011.
	Mr. Saben's sales-comparison analysis is reproduced in the following two tables. 


	Subject Property	Sale #1	Sale #2	Sale #3	
		431 Monomoscoy Road	23 Seconsett Point Road	98 Summersea Road	
Sale Date		07/31/2009	12/07/2009	12/04/2008	
Sale Price		$1,150,000	$1,200,000	$1,000,000	

VALUE ADJUSTMENTS									Location	Good	Average	250,000	Average	250,000	Inferior	500,000		Land Size
(sq. ft.)	25,040	43,554	   -92,570	20,908	4,132	18,720	31,600		View	Ocean/Bay	Bay	115,000	Ocean/Bay		Bay	200,000		Quality of 
Construction	Average	Fair	115,000			Good	-100,000		Condition	Average	Fair	57,500	Average		Good	-50,000		Room Count	7/3/2	6/3/1	10,000	6/3/2		7/4/2.5	-5,000		Gross Living Area
(sq. ft.)	2,092	984	110,800	1,538	55,400	1,942q	15,000		Basement 	Finished	Unfinished	20,000	Unfinished	20,000	Finished			Heating/Cooling	FWA C/Air	None	5,000	FWA C/Air		FWA C/Air			Garage	2 Car	None	10,000	None	10,000	None	10,000		Porch/Patio/Deck	Patio/
Porch/Deck	Decks		Decks		Decks			Fireplaces	1 F/P	None	3,000	1 F/P		1F/P			Dock	Dock	Dock		None	200,000	Dock			Net Adjustments		52.5%	$603,730	45.0%	$539,532	60.2%	$601,600		Adjusted Sale
Price			
$1,753,730		
$1,739,532		
$1,601,600		
	Subject Property	Sale #4	Sale #5	Sale #6	
		196 Waterway	74 Waterway	9 Compass Circle	
Sale Date		03/28/2007	12/18/2008	03/21/2008	
Sale Price		$1,200,000	$912,000	$2,000,000	

VALUE ADJUSTMENTS									Location	Good	Inferior	500,000	Inferior	500,000	Average	250,000		Land Size
(sq. ft.)	25,040	14,810	51,150	11,000	70,200	28,749	-18,548		View	Ocean/Bay	Bay	120,000	Bay	120,000	Bay	200,000		Quality of 
Construction	Average	Good	-100,000	Average		Superior	-200,000		Condition	Average	Average		Average		Good	-50,000		Room Count	7/3/2	5/2/2		7/3/2		7/3/3.5	-15,000		Gross Living Area
(sq. ft.)	2,092	1,086	100,600	1,623	46,900	3,615	-152,300		Basement 	Finished	Finished		Finished		Unfinished	20,000		Heating/Cooling	FWA C/Air	FWA C/Air		FWA None	5,000	FWA C/Air			Garage	2 Car	None	10,000	None	10,000	2 Car			Porch/Patio/Deck	Patio/
Porch/Deck	Multiple		Patio/
Porch/Deck		Patio/
Porch/Deck			Fireplaces	1 F/P	1 F/P		1 F/P		1F/P			Dock	Dock	Dock		Dock		Dock			Net Adjustments		56.8%	681,750	82.5%	752,100	1.7%	34.152		Adjusted Sale
Price			
$1,881,750	
	
$1,664,100		
$2,034,152		
Fiscal Year 2012	
	For fiscal year 2012, Mr. Saben selected five sales of purportedly comparable properties in Mashpee that sold between May and December, 2010, with sale prices that ranged from $900,000 to $1,895,000.  
	As in his fiscal year 2011 analysis, all sales here were adjusted for gross living area at a rate of $100 per square foot for any difference over 100 square feet, and for lot size, calculated at $5.00 per square foot.  Mr. Saben made positive adjustments ranging from $250,000 and $500,000 to his purportedly comparable properties to account for their inferior location in comparison to the subject property.  Negative adjustments were made to comparable sales one, three, four and five to account for their better construction quality and condition.  Finally, Mr. Saben made adjustments for the number of bathrooms, lack of a garage, unfinished basement, lack of a dock, and the number of fireplaces.  In total, Mr. Saben's net adjustments ranged from -0.6% to 60.4%. 
Mr. Saben's fiscal year 2012 sales-comparison analysis yielded adjusted sale prices that ranged from $1,350,200 to $1,720,070.  Based on this analysis, his final estimate of the subject property's fair cash value for fiscal year 2012 was $1,600,000.    
	Mr. Saben's sales-comparison analysis is reproduced in the following two tables.

 

	Subject Property	Sale #1	Sale #2	Sale #3	
		99 Monomoscoy Road West	26 Waterway	384 Monomoscoy Road	
Sale Date		12/15/2010	05/21/2010	06/17/2010	
Sale Price		$989,000	$900,000	$1,895,000	
					

VALUE ADJUSTMENTS									Location	Good	Inferior	500,000	Inferior	500,000	Average	250,000		Land Size
(sq. ft.)	25,040	12,150	64,450	11,200	69,200	33,976	-44,680		View	Ocean/Bay	Bay		Bay		Bay			Quality of 
Construction	Average	Good	-100,000	Average		Very Good	-189,500		Condition	Average	Good	-49,450	Average		Good	-94,750		Room Count	7/3/2	6/3/2.5	-5,000	8/4/3	-10,000	8/4/4.5	-25,000		Gross Living Area
(sq. ft.)	2,092	2,750	-65,800	2,350	-25,800	2,602	-51,000		Basement 	Finished	Unfinished	20,000	Finished		Finished			Heating/Cooling	FWA C/Air	FWA/ C/Air		FWA C/Air		FWA C/Air			Garage	2 Car	2 Car		None	10,000	6 Car	-20,000		Porch/Patio/Deck	Patio/
Porch/Deck	Multiple		Multiple		Multiple			Fireplaces	1 F/P	2 F/P	-3,000	1 F/P		1F/P			Dock	Dock	Dock		Dock		Dock			Net adjustments		36.5%	$361,200	60.4%	543,400	9.2%	174,930		Adjusted Sale
Price			
$1,350,200		
$1,443,400		
$1,720,070		
	Subject Property	Sale #4	Sale #5	
		22 Starboar Lane	18 Waterline North	
Sale Date		11/12/2010	07/06/2010	
Sale Price		$1,425,000	$1,380,000	

VALUE ADJUSTMENTS						
Location	Good	Good		Inferior	500,000	
Land Size
(sq. ft.)	25,040	8,712	81,640	14810	51,150	
View	Ocean/Bay	Ocean		Bay		
Quality of 
Construction	Average	Good	-100,000	Good	-100,000	
Condition	Average	Good	-71,250	Good	-69,000	
Room Count	7/3/2	7/3/3	-10,000	8/3/3.5	-15,000	
Gross Living Area
(sq. ft.)	2,092	1,687	40,500	2,830	-73,800	
Basement 	Finished	Unfinished	20,000	Unfinished	20,000	
Heating/Cooling	FWA C/Air	FWA C/Air		FWA C/Air		
Garage	2 Car	1 Car	5,000	2 Car +	-15,000	
Porch/Patio/Deck	Patio/
Porch/Deck	Multiple		Patio/
Porch/Deck		
Fireplaces	1 F/P	1 F/P		1 F/P		
Dock	Dock	Beach RightsDock	25,000	Dock		
Net Adjustments		-0.6%	9,110	21.6%	298,350	
Adjusted Sale
Price			
$1,415,890	
	
$1,678,350	

Both Fiscal Years
	Mr. Saben testified that his lot adjustment of $5.00 per square foot was based on a land extraction method using sales of similar improved properties and extracting the depreciated value of the improvements to determine a land value cost.  Mr. Saben further testified that his remaining adjustments were based on paired-sales analyses.  Finally, Mr. Saben made no time adjustments because in his opinion, "the market remained stable" during the fiscal years at issue. 
	The appellants' attorney examined Mr. Saben about his failure to include in his sales-comparison analyses the sales cited in the assessors' Abatement Cover Sheet for Fiscal Year 2011 ("Abatement Sheet"), including:  10 Popponesset Island Road, 12 Popponesset Island Road, 2 Shore Drive, and 31 Starboard Lane.  Mr. Saben testified that he did not include 10 and 12 Popponesset Island Road, located approximately 500 feet from the subject property at the beginning of the island, because he could not verify that they were arm's-length transactions and also because they were larger lots with more privacy given their distance from, and lack of a view of, the barrier beach.  However, Mr. Saben offered no testimony or other evidence to suggest that the sales of 10 and 12 Popponesset Island Road were not at arm's-length. Mr. Saben further testified that there was no specific reason that he did not use the remaining two sales, other than they were larger homes with superior construction quality and condition.

Appellee's Case-in-Chief
	The assessors presented their case-in-chief through the testimony of Jason Streebel, Director of Assessing, and also several exhibits, including:  the requisite jurisdictional documentation; the subject property's property record cards for the fiscal years at issue; the assessors' Abatement Sheet; and, the deeds, property record cards and photographs for the four properties listed in the assessors' Abatement Sheet.  
	Mr. Streebel testified that the Abatement Sheet listed four properties, all located in the Popponesset neighborhood, that support the subject property's assessments for the fiscal years at issue.  The relevant sale information for the assessors' cited properties is presented in the following table:

Address	
Style	Year Built	Lot Size
(sq. ft.)	Living Area
 (sq. ft.)	Sale Price	Sale Date		Subject	Ranch	1975	25,500	2,228				12 Popponesset Island Road	Ranch	1941	39,204	2,185	$5,225,000	7/31/2008		2 Shore Drive	Ranch	1980	62,290	2,888	$3,250,000	6/15/2009		31 Starboard Lane	Custom	2000	12,632	2,706	$2,850,000	8/20/2009		10 Popponesset Island Road	Cape	1954	52,272	1,626	$4,150,000	10/29/2010		
	Mr. Streebel acknowledged that 10 and 12 Popponesset Island Road have larger lots than the subject property; however, he further noted that the subject property is newer, has a larger living area, and, in his opinion, a better view - Nantucket Sound versus the Popponesset Bay.  With respect to 2 Shore Drive, Mr. Streebel testified that although this property has a larger lot, its location on Popponesset Creek is inferior.  Lastly, Mr. Streebel noted that 31 Starboard Lane is a newer home with more finished living area.  He suggested, however, that these factors were offset by the subject property's beachfront location and views of Nantucket Sound.  Based on these factors, Mr. Streebel considered the cited properties to be comparable to the subject property for purposes of estimating the subject property's fair market value for the fiscal years at issue.    
	Based on these sales, Mr. Streebel calculated an average sale price of $3,868,750, or $1,781 per-square-foot which, when applied to the subject property's 2,228 square feet, resulted in a fair cash value of $3,968,068, an amount in excess of the subject property's assessments for the fiscal years at issue.   	
Board's Findings
	Based on all of the evidence, and to the extent it is a finding of fact, the Board found that the appellants failed to prove that the subject property was overvalued for the fiscal years at issue.  
The Board found several flaws and unsubstantiated assumptions in Mr. Saben's sales-comparison analyses which negatively impacted their probative value.  First, the Board found that Mr. Saben did not explain how he arrived at his dollar amount adjustments; he simply stated that they were based on "paired-sales analyses."  He failed to provide any actual paired sales or market data to support his adjustments.  Second, the Board found that the magnitude of Mr. Saben's gross adjustments, ranging from 45.0% to 91.2.% for fiscal year 2011 and ranging from 24.8% to 81.7% for fiscal year 2012, with nine of his eleven comparables requiring gross adjustments of 45% or more, raised serious questions about the majority of his sale properties' initial comparability.
	Moreover, although Mr. Saben testified that the real estate market remained stable during the fiscal years at issue, his estimate of fair cash value decreased by $200,000 from fiscal year 2011 to fiscal year 2010.  On this basis, the Board found that Mr. Saben's testimony and sales-comparison analyses were not persuasive in providing values for the subject property which were lower than the corresponding assessed values for the fiscal years at issue.   
	Instead, the Board found that the best indications of the subject property's fair cash value for the fiscal years at issue were the assessors' comparable sales of 12 Popponesset Island Road, which sold for $5,225,000 on July 31, 2008, and 10 Popponesset Island Road, which sold for $4,150,000 on October 29, 2010. 
	Accordingly, and based on all of the evidence, the Board found that the appellants failed to meet their burden of proof and the Board, therefore, issued a decision for the appellee in these appeals.
OPINION
The assessors are required to assess real estate at its fair cash value as of the first day of January preceding the fiscal year at issue.  G.L. c. 59, §§ 11 and 38.  The fair cash value of a property is defined as the price upon which a willing buyer and a willing seller would agree if both are fully informed and under no compulsion. Boston Gas. Co. v. Assessors of Boston, 334 Mass. 549, 566 (1956).	 
The appellant has the burden of proving that the property has a lower value than that assessed.  "The burden of proof is upon the taxpayer to make out a right to an abatement."  Schlaiker v. Assessors of Great Barrington, 365 Mass. 243, 245 (1974)(quoting Judson Freight Forwarding Co. v. Commonwealth, 242 Mass. 47, 55 (1922)).  "[T]he Board is entitled to 'presume that the valuation made by the assessors [is] valid unless the taxpayers ... prov[e] to the contrary.'"  General Electric Co. v. Assessors of Lynn, 393 Mass. 591, 598 (1984)(quoting Schlaiker, 365 Mass. at 245)).
"[S]ales of property usually furnish strong evidence of market value, provided they are arm's-length transactions and thus fairly represent what a buyer has been willing to pay for the property to a willing seller."  Foxboro Associates v. Asessors of Foxborough, 385 Mass. 679, 682 (1982).  Sales of comparable realty in the same geographic area and within a reasonable time of the assessment date generally contain probative evidence for determining the value of the property at issue.  Graham v. Assessors of West Tisbury, Mass. ATB Findings of Fact and Reports 2007-321, 400 (citing McCabe v. Chelsea, 265 Mass. 494, 496 (1929)), aff'd, 73 Mass. App. Ct. 1107 (2008).  
Properties are "comparable" to the subject property when they share "fundamental similarities" with the subject property and the comparison properties. See Lattuca v. Robsham, 442 Mass. 205, 216.  The appellant bears the burden of "establishing the comparability of . . . properties [used for comparison] to the subject property.  Silvestri v. Assessors of Lowell, Mass. ATB Findings of Fact and Reports 2012-926,935.  Accord New Boston Garden Corp. v. Assessors of Boston, 383 Mass. 456, 470 (1981).  "[B]asic comparability is established upon considering the general character of the properties." Id.  
"Once basic comparability is established, it is then necessary to make adjustments for the differences, looking primarily to the relative quality of the properties, to develop a market indicator of value."  Id.  However, the Board has ruled that adjustments which are "excessive" in amount "compromise[] the indicated values derived from [the] comparable sales methodology" and "raise[] serious questions regarding the initial comparability of" properties utilized.  W.A. Wilde Co. & Wilde Acres Realty Corp. v. Assessors of Holliston, Mass. ATB Findings of Fact and Reports 2008-86, 2008-112 (citing  Trustees of the Charles Cotesworth Pinckney Trust v. Assessors of West Tisbury, Mass. ATB Findings of Fact and Reports 2007-621, 630-31). 
	In the present appeals, the Board found that the appellants did not provide credible evidence that the subject property was overvalued for the fiscal years at issue.  The Board found that the appellants' real estate valuation expert's sales-comparison analyses for both fiscal years at issue contained unsubstantiated assumptions, which negatively impacted their probative value.   The Board further found that the vast majority of the sales relied on by Mr. Saben in his sales-comparison analyses for the fiscal years at issue lacked sufficient comparability to the subject property as exemplified by the magnitude of his gross adjustments for location, view, quality  construction quality condition.  Lattuca, 442 Mass. at 216 (finding that excessive adjustments raise serious questions regarding initial comparability).  
 "The board [is] not required to believe the testimony of any particular witness but [may] accept such portions of the evidence as appear to have the more convincing weight."  Assessors of Quincy v. Boston Consol. Gas Co., 309 Mass. 60, 72 (1941).  "The credibility of witnesses, the weight of evidence, and inferences to be drawn from the evidence are matters for the board."  Cummington School of the Arts, Inc. v. Assessors of Cummington, 373 Mass. 597, 605 (1977).
Based on all of the evidence presented, the Board found and ruled that the appellants failed to meet their burden of proving that the subject property was overvalued for the fiscal years at issue.  Accordingly, the Board issued a decision for the appellee in these appeals.

					   THE APPELLATE TAX BOARD


				    By: ___________________________________
				        Thomas W. Hammond, Jr., Chairman



A true copy,

Attest: _________________________
	   Clerk of the Board

 This amount includes a Community Preservation Act ("CPA") surcharge and also a water district tax.
 This amount includes a CPA surcharge and a water district tax.
 The appellants disputed this measurement, claiming that the subject lot was only 25,040 square feet. The appellants maintained that this loss of land was due to erosion.  The Board found that this discrepancy was de minimis and of little consequence in its evaluation of the subject property's assessments and fair market value.

ATB 2014-169