Ask Lori ... Parrish On Appraisal

“Ask Lori…Parrish on Appraisal”

Broward County Property Appraiser Lori Parrish Answers Your Questions…

“Help Us Complete Your Residential Property Survey!”

Dear Lori,

Our family received your News for Broward Taxpayers Newsletter with the 2013 Homestead Exemption Renewal Notice.  On the back of the newsletter is a residential property survey your office wants us to complete.  Why is this survey so important?

J. P., Fort Lauderdale, FL (via email)

Every year our office works to improve and update our property records to better serve you.  We are seeking your help once again to further enhance our system. It is important to note your responses will not change your assessed value, as we utilize mass appraisal methods involving the total square feet of improvements on your property and qualified sales of comparable properties, in order to determine assessed value. The information reported will simply help you and others like you, who conduct research on our website by ensuring accurate data.

If you received our newsletter in the mail with your Homestead Renewal Notice, you have the option of completing this quick survey online at www.bcpa.net/survey using the PIN number printed on your renewal receipt.  If you do not have a PIN number or you do not have access to the internet, you may use the printed form to participate. Please see the back page of our newsletter if you’d prefer to respond using the printed form. Once complete, simply fax the survey to 954.357.8474 or mail to:  Broward County Property Appraiser’s Office, 115 S. Andrews Avenue, Room 111, Fort Lauderdale, FL 33301.

If you are computer friendly, you can look up your property on our website and review the current building sketches on those pages.  Just click on the blue “See Sketch” link on the lower right-hand side of the property record page. We use the “adjusted square foot” (“Adj. Bldg. S.F.”) measurement of a building to determine the value of your property, not actual square footage, and may result in measurements higher or lower than the numbers we use.  Adjusted square feet are measured from the outside walls of the building, and include garages, open patios, covered entries, second floors, carports, and so forth.  These parts of a building are calculated using a fraction of their actual square feet to determine the adjusted square feet.  This ensures all properties in Broward are measured and assessed on an identical basis.   Please call 954.357.6831 or email me at lori@bcpa.net, if you see any errors in the sketch of your home.

While completing the property survey is purely voluntary, any assistance you provide will help ensure you pay no more than your fair share of taxes. Please take a few minutes to help ensure our records about your property are accurate.   Important: If you previously completed this survey you do not need to resubmit it this year.

Thank you in advance for all your help.   If you have any questions about this survey, please contact our Residential Appraisal Division at 954.357.6831 or email slewis@bcpa.net.

Sincerely,

Lori Parrish, CFA 

If you have a question for Lori, please call her office at 954-357-6904, or email her at Lori @bcpa.net or write to her at the Broward County Property Appraiser’s Office, 115 South Andrews Avenue, Room 111, Fort Lauderdale, Fort Lauderdale, 33301 (January 2013)

Robert L. Wolfe, Jr. CFE
Community Outreach Specialist II
954.357.6871 – office
954.357.8474 – fax
954.445.5732 – cell

rwolfe@bcpa.net

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