A Florida man is suing the county property appraiser for discrepancies in value relating to home improvements being “substantially complete.” Hedge-fund manager Kenneth G. Tropin bought property for nearly $44 million setting a record for a furnished house built on speculation in Palm Beach. However, Tropin subsequently received a property tax bill totaling just under $600,000 that was figured from the estimated “taxable value” of the oceanfront property.
The Palm Beach County Property Appraiser’s office had estimated the “total market value” of the house Jan. 1 to be $37.34 million, with a taxable value of $32.77 million. More specifically, the house generated an “improvement value” of $20.14 million, while the land added another $17.2 million to the total, the appraiser estimated, according to the Palm Beach News.
This prompted the lawsuit Tropin’s attorney filed this month in circuit court against property appraiser Gary R. Nikolits, county Tax Collector Anne M. Gannon and Leon M. Biegalski, executive director of the Florida Department of Revenue. The suit argues that Nikolits’ office acted prematurely when it labeled “the improvements” at the property — meaning the new house — as “substantially complete” on New Year’s Day. That was nearly two months before the town issued the property a certificate of occupancy Feb. 25, according to the suit.
Attorney Neil B. Jagolinzer, who represents Nikolits’ office, said he couldn’t comment on a pending litigation. But talking generally, he said state law does not require a certificate of occupancy as “the controlling factor” in determining whether a house is “substantially complete.” Rules allow county appraisers to inspect a house under construction at any time to determine whether it qualifies for inclusion in the next tax roll. That’s why a house under construction can still be designated as a vacant lot on the property appraiser’s website.
The suit is seeking a court order to nullify the property’s tax bill, revise the property’s value, issue new bills for the reassessed amounts and pay legal costs.