Art Rahn and Lana Sutton thought they got a bad deal when Hamilton County re-appraised the value of their East Brainerd home in 2009. So they took it to a judge.
This week administrative judge Mark Minsky, of Nashville, heard from about 25 people who appeared their property appraisals in a conference room at the Hamilton County Assessor of Property’s office on Heritage Park Drive.
Judge Minsky listened patiently Wednesday as Mr. Rahn and Ms. Sutton pleaded their case, using legal documents and pictures of their home obtained via Google. It was the last case in two days of hearings on residential and commercial property. Judge Minsky travels around the state to hear cases of property owners who think their county assessor got it wrong.
According to Assessor of Property Bill Bennett, Hamilton County rarely does. He said the county had 50 appeals in the fall out of about 145,000 pieces of residential property appraised.
The assessor’s record of accuracy did not deter Mr. Rahn and Ms. Sutton, who say the county inaccurately listed their house and carport as living space.