Services

21st Century Appraisals provides general real property assessment consulting services to Pennsylvania county government.  Pennsylvania assessment law is complex and requires qualified people to understand how these laws should be implemented in the best interest of taxpayers.  Additionally, 21st Century provides general consulting for Geographical Information Systems (GIS) and Land Records Systems.  This includes setting realistic goals, integrating courthouse departments and municipalities, coordinating with other agencies and organizations, maintaining quality control, and staying abreast of technology advancements. 

21st Century’s appraisal professionals are experienced and qualified to provide review and narrative appraisal reports for defense of values before county Boards of Assessment Appeals and the Court of Common Pleas.  21st Century recommends values consistent with the standards, principles, and methodology for mass appraisal (Standard 6), as established by USPAP (Uniform Standards of Professional Appraisal Practice) and the IAAO (International Association of Assessing Officers).

21st Century Appraisals is Pennsylvania’s leader in county-wide reassessments.  Reassessments are needed when property values used to make up the tax base become inconsistent, unfair, and too old to reflect current trends and changes in the value of real estate.  Turn-key service, covering all phases of the reassessment process, is the simplest approach for many counties, or we will team with the county in a cooperative reassessment so that the county may retain the benefit of our expertise while selected segments of the scope of work are performed by county staff.  We can design a program of customized services to complement a county’s resources and qualifications.  In either case, our commitment to long-term assessment and technology support remains the same. 

If a county currently does not have a Director of Assessments and/or Chief Assessor, and does not have internal personnel who want to fill that role, then 21st Century Appraisals can provide external management services for an Assessment Office.  Usually short-term, such a project is often coupled with a major technology and software upgrade, new data collection procedures, and other preparations for improving the equity of county assessments through cyclical reassessments.

21st Century Appraisals’ professionals are experts in their understanding of the state’s "Clean and Green" and "Homestead/Farmstead Exclusion" programs and can provide assistance to counties with administering these programs and providing advice and interpretation of state law and county policy.

21st Century Appraisals provides quality of data, assessments, and reassessment impact studies to Pennsylvania counties.  These studies assist county officials with decision-making and in developing a long-term plan for implementing and maintaining quality assessments.
 
The quality of real estate assessments in Pennsylvania is of great concern to public officials and taxpayers throughout the state.  Fairness of taxation must be a priority, especially because most public services are paid for through the real estate tax system.  Quality of assessments statistics such as the Common-Level Ratio (CLR - level of assessment), Coefficient of Dispersion (COD - uniformity), and Price-Related Differential (PRD - regressivity) are the traditional statistical tests used to measure fairness of taxation.  The purpose of quality of assessments studies is to determine the quality of assessments in Pennsylvania counties based upon the most recent IAAO standards. 

21st Century Appraisals provides comprehensive public relations programs including public meetings, news releases, brochures, and production of an “Understanding Reassessment” DVD.  The ultimate public relations program is ensured when Fair Market Values are delivered, an open, straight-forward, and easy appeal process is implemented, and the education provided to real property taxpayers results in trust in the people who are responsible for establishing assessments.  See the "Understanding Reassessment" DVD.

21st Century Appraisals applies its knowledge of assessment issues to direct printing processes and its software to manipulate and generate the data to be printed. We have partnered with other business groups to provide large-scale printing and mailing services (e.g., tax bills and change of assessment, “Homestead/Farmstead Exclusion,” and “Clean and Green” notices). These business groups can process a large quantity of mail each day and delivers the value, quality, and fast turnaround service 21st Century and its clients require.