Flu: Interesting. Establish comps by selling my land at FMV to an S-Corp that I own. They would probably claim it was not an arms-length transaction.
Regarding the other two comments: The assessor and their representatives are in a tough spot in negotiations. They naturally want the county to keep as much revenue as possible, but they have to at least appear to be fair and honest. They want to minimize reassessments and not be flooded with appeals. Since they are far more experienced at arguing for their side than the public they deal with, they can sometimes “educate” the public as to why the assessor is right and the homeowner is wrong. They will invoke their “expertise” in the discussions, and it can be a little intimidating to the average citizen. But if you have mustered the evidence and believe you are correct, you must persevere. The truth will win out, and you will prevail.
Your ultimate weapon is to say “I want a hearing”. You are legally entitled to one, and they dread hearing that, because it eats up 20 – 30 minutes’ time of a very expensive group of people. At that point, the other side will argue and argue and then compromise, unless your appeal is truly without merit.
