(A)
General - All land shall be appraised at its true value in money as of tax lien
date of the year in which the appraisal or update of values is made. In
arriving at the true value in money the county auditor shall consider, along
with other factors, not only the present use of the land but also its highest
and best probable legal use consistent with existing zoning and building
regulations. The requirement that land be classified under rule
5703-25-10
of the Administrative Code according to its principal use shall not affect the
requirement of this rule that it be appraised at its highest and best probable
legal use. The present improvements to the land, the demand and supply of land,
the demand and supply of land for such use, financing method, the length of
time until developed and the cost of development are factors that should be
considered in determining the highest and best probable legal use of the
land.
(B) All relevant facts
tending to influence the market value of land should be considered, including,
but not limited to, size, shape, topography, soil and subsoil, drainage,
utility connections, street or road, land pattern, neighborhood type and trend,
amenities, zoning, restrictions, easements, hazards, etc.
(C) Land may be valued by four principal
methods:
(1) The preferred method is the
market data or comparative process requiring the collection and analysis of
actual arms-length sales and other market information on comparable sites made
within a reasonable time of the date of the appraisal with adjustments for
variations. This method should be used except in unusual
circumstances.
(2) The allocation
method in which the land value is estimated by subtracting the value of the
improvements from a known sale price. This is primarily used in an area where
there are very few sales of vacant land and the improvements to land are of a
generally uniform type.
(3) The
land residual method estimates land value by capitalizing the residual income
imputable to land as derived from actual or hypothetical new improvements
assuming highest and best use. This method is useful in arriving at land value
when there are few or no sales or as a check against the market
approach.
(4) The development
method can be used in valuing land ready for development by estimating value as
fully developed and subtracting the development, administrative and
entrepreneurial costs.
(D) The county auditor shall deduct from the
value of each separate parcel of real property the amount of land occupied and
used by a canal or used as public highway as provided in section
5713.04 of the Revised
Code.
(E) Agricultural -
Agricultural lands shall be classified and valued according to their
characteristics and capabilities for use, based primarily on what they will
produce under average conditions and typical management in the locality.
Assessors should obtain and use information available relating to soil
classification, land capabilities, land use and soil maps, production records,
price records and other information from the Ohio state university, Ohio
agricultural research and development center, county A.S.C., soil conservation
service, soil and water conservation districts and other sources. All
agricultural lands shall first be valued according to their true value. Then if
the owner applies to have the land valued according to its current value the
land has for agricultural use the land may be valued according to rules
5703-25-30 to
5703-25-36
of the Administrative Code
(F)
Industrial - Additional factors that shall be considered in valuing industrial
land are the convenience of location to shipping and labor sources as well as
the proximity to related industries. Land not used in manufacturing shall be
valued according to its value for use as parking lots, storage, waste or dump
area, or other uses both present and probable.
(G) Commercial - In the valuation of
commercial sites the location in the trading area, the purchasing power of the
entire area, and the relative availability of sites shall be considered in
addition to previously mentioned factors.
(H) Residential - Residential sites located
in suburban and rural areas shall be valued by using the same factors that are
used in valuing urban residential lands with the same facilities and
amenities.
(I) Coal, mineral
deposits, oil and gas - Coal and minerals shall be valued in the same manner
and on the same price level as other real property. Some of the factors that
shall be considered in valuing coal and mineral deposits are the quality and
extent of the deposit, the active working area which at current production will
be mined within five years, active reserves that will not be worked for five to
ten years, inactive reserves that will not be worked until after ten years, and
mined out or depleted areas.
Separate oil and gas rights shall be valued in accordance with
the annual entry of the tax commissioner in the matter of adopting a uniform
formula in regard to the valuation of oil and gas deposits in the eighty-eight
counties of the state.
When rights to coal, minerals, oil and gas have not been
separated from the fee, the value of the mineral deposits shall be added to the
value of the surface.
(J)
Pricing units and preparation of land unit price schedules, and depth tables.
Land unit prices (price per acre, square foot or front foot) used shall be
those appropriate and typically used in the market in pricing similar land.
Generally per acre prices shall be used in pricing agricultural lands. Large
industrial, commercial or residential tracts may be priced by the use of per
acre or square foot prices. Front foot prices shall be used, generally, for the
pricing of residential and commercial lots and lands in congested areas.
Regardless of the pricing unit used, the result shall be the true value in
money of the land.
(K) Each county
auditor shall prepare, or have prepared, under the auditor's direction and
supervision:
(1) Land schedules, setting forth
land unit prices to be used in appraising the different classes of
land.
(2) Tables, where applicable,
showing depth, corner and alley influence factors, etc., to be used in
conjunction with the unit prices.
(3) Tax maps that shall accurately indicate
the area, acreage or dimensions of each lot, tract, or parcel of land in the
county, together with the name of the owner, if possible, and the lot section,
or survey number, showing the unit price used in pricing the various types of
land.
One set of all land unit price schedules, depth, corner and
alley influence tables, and tax maps with unit prices shall be kept on file in
the county auditor's office, open for public inspection during regular office
hours.