Knox County Assessor of Property
Candidate Name: Andrew Graybeal
Party: Republican
Address: 3321 Whispering Oaks Drive Knoxville, Tennessee 37938
Campaign Phone: (865) 973-2214
Email: [email protected]
Candidate Name: Jim Weaver
Party: Republican
Address: 617 East Grinnell Circle Knoxville, TN. 37924
Campaign Phone: (865) 382-3185
Web Site: http://Electjimweaver.org
Email: [email protected]
Candidate Name: John Whitehead
Party: Republican
Address: 1424 Adair Drive Knoxville TN 37918
Campaign Phone: (865) 247-4165
Web Site: http://whiteheadforpropertyassessor.com
Email: [email protected]
Q: 1. What factors are a part of your property reassessment process? And, in addition,
what does NOT influence the property reassessment process?
Andrew Graybeal: Verification of the records as to square footage, number of baths, overall
condition of the structure, construction materials; ie: such as brick, vinyl, synthetic stucco, wood
and frame are all key factors in determining the assessment value. Landscaping and interior
features are not part of the assessment process. Whether or not your home has exotic hardwood
flooring and stone countertops, are not a factor to determine the assessment of your home or
business. An additional structure such as a garage, a bath house, hot tub, swimming pool are are
factors which will affect the value of your assessment. Additions to the property such as building
a room, adding a deck, adding a garage or carport will increase the overall value of the
assessment. Removal of such items will decrease the value of the assessment. If an owner does
remove a structure, the assessors office should be contacted to reflect the change to the
assessment. The owner should never face over-assessment.
Jim Weaver: Knox County reappraises property every four years per TN code with the next
reappraisal scheduled for 2017. All property components are reviewed for accuracy including
the following: sq. footage for the main level living and upper story and basement areas, decks,
enclosed porches, open porches, exterior measurements of all buildings/structures, year of
construction, heat and air system, bathrooms, fireplaces, interior and exterior component
finishes, land characteristics including acreage, restrictions, zoning and use of the property,
neighborhood and location. All of these components are utilized in building an appraisal model
in valuing a universe of properties which number close to 200,000 in Knox County. All
reappraisal valuations use market transactions from the preceding two years. The person or
corporate ownership does NOT ever influence the property reassessment process. This office
values only the property and not the person or ownership!
John Whitehead: All physical characteristics, type construction, location, recent sales age of
improvement, color paint should not affect value, I am sure there are other items I haven't
thought of
Q: 2. What options should property owners have if they disagree with their reassessment?
Andrew Graybeal: If a property owner disagrees with his or her assessment, I will have a
dedicated staff member schedule an appointment for a field assessor and the elected official to
visit with the property owner. Allow the owner to discuss their concerns. Listening to the
concerns and why he or she believes the assessment is incorrect. If it is found that the assessment
is inaccurate the changes should be reported in writing and corrected within two business days. If
the assessment is correct and the property owner disagrees the owner would receive detailed
information on how and where to appeal. The elected official should always accommodate the
owners schedule during normal business hours. Under extreme circumstances after hour
appointments would be available. Educating the public on what to bring for their appeal is a key
factor in which will insure the appeal process is nurturing with the owner of record.
Jim Weaver: Property owners have five options if they disagree with their reassessment: (1)
A request for review which is informal and is accomplished by a phone call or an online request
to review. (2) County Board of Equalization during the month of June. (3) Administrative Law
Judge from the State Board of Equalization (4) Assessment Appeals Commission (5) Chancery
Court. Most disagreements are settled with the first two steps. During the next four years our
office will be improving the appeal process. We will be utilizing more online requests for
reviews/appeals. These requests can be done from the convenience of your iphone, ipad or
computer while at home, on vacation or anywhere you choose. We will also go to different
locations in the county to hear requests for review from the taxpayers. Both of these
improvements will save the taxpayer money and time by not driving and parking downtown.
John Whitehead: Taxpayers have an appeals process. Starting in June of every year the
County Board of Equalization meets, you make an appointment and tell them why you disagree
and show them your information to support you disagreement. If you are still not satisfied you
can appeal to the State Board of Equalization. there are 3 levels of appeal at the State level.. If
after all this you still have not solved your disagreement you can file in Chancery court.
Q: 3. Property characteristics such as square footage, bed and bath count, etc. are
notoriously incorrect. What measures would you take to remedy this?
Andrew Graybeal: The basis to a mass appraisal begins with accuracy of the records in order
for the mass appraisal to be successful. During my first year in office, if elected, I intend to be in
the field, verifying the field process and correcting mistakes. Although it will be a painstaking
process, the vital information such of square footage, number of bedrooms and bathroom counts
will need to be verified, any discrepancies will be corrected and reported to the owner of record.
Additional verification of the address and CLT number will be a part of the corrective measures,
as those issues are systematic and wide spread in the records of the office. Those records should
be supplied to all entities of Knox County. If the property owner should have any questions, a
field representative from the office would meet the owner of record and discuss his or her
concerns within two business days. Field assessors will accompany the elected official and
provide detailed answers to the property owner.
Jim Weaver: Property characteristics are reviewed daily by our appraisers and since we went
totally transparent in 2012 with all online appraisal data, taxpayers can always request a review
of their appraisal data. However, we have had less than 2% of all parcels request a review or
appeal inaccuracies. This low percentage speaks for itself.
Property characteristics are gathered over the life of all properties visually. Most homeowners
are away during normal business hours and the property characteristics are estimated using mass
appraisal techniques as opposed to a fee based appraisal!
New technology over the next four years will improve accuracy! Pictometry gives an aerial view
of all properties and also has measuring tools available. We will be using tablets in the field to
sketch buildings and capture all characteristics while our appraisers are onsite. We will also be
using MLS information to review our characteristics. These three tools will definitely improve
accuracy.
John Whitehead: I haven't found a problem with square feet of improvements. Some of the
other info needs to be addressed.