Author: Steve McCarthy - Bureau of Local Assessment Field Advisor
Property inspection is critical to data quality and fair taxation. It’s equally important that these inspections are thoroughly documented. Mass appraisal is the process used in the valuation of all real property throughout the Commonwealth. Mass appraisal valuation is completed using the data maintained by the assessor and stored in the Computer Assisted Mass Appraisal (CAMA) system in each community. The mass appraisal process will function properly only when the assessors’ CAMA system data is accurate and up to date.
The Bureau of Local Assessment (BLA) has updated the standards for the maintenance and reporting of Real Property inspections. These updates are outlined in the revised Certification Standards published in April of 2024.
The information that follows will highlight the importance of data quality and formatting of the required “Visit History” Excel report created by the assessors (or vendors) to be submitted to BLA. To achieve and maintain a level of good quality data in a community continuous, methodical, and consistent inspection of real property must be completed.
Cyclical inspection program
Communities should consistently ensure that all property has a qualified visit history date not older than 10 years from the current date or 10% of total parcels per year prioritizing permits and sales. An inspection of the property should be a full measure and listing of the exterior and a concerted effort demonstrated for interior inspections.
Notifying the property owner
Assessors should notify their residents by mail and through their municipal website. Notices should state the purpose of the inspection, the timeframe of when the inspections will occur include street listing, who will perform the inspection (full name, vehicle info, contact info) and the resulting effects that will happen if no entry is gained (i.e. assessors will make assumptions regarding the property).
If significant differences are identified due to the inspection that will affect the value of the property, the owner should be notified. This can occur by phone or by mail. For example, assessors can send a postcards informing the property owner that a comprehensive review identified information that may significantly change the assessment of their property. The notice should include how and when the property owner can reach the assessing office to discuss their findings.
The assessor should accurately measure to the nearest foot all improvements and prepare a complete outline sketch of the property noting all dimensions, story heights, additions, porches, and other attributes which contribute to value on the property record card (PRC) in accordance with the data collection manual.
Inspection Types
There are many types of inspections assessors complete to keep their data current. The following inspection types listed below, as well as many others, would qualify towards the ten-year re-inspection requirement. A more complete list of qualifying inspection types is included in the (CY2024) Certification Standards.
Sales verification – The sale of any property in a community would trigger the assessor to inspect the property. Additionally, at the inspection if the buyer and or seller are on site, speaking to them may help determine if the sale was an arm’s length transaction (valid sale) or not.
Permit inspection – When a permit is pulled there is potential physical change to the property and that change needs to be updated in the CAMA system and is a potential source of new growth.
Abatement inspection – In most cases, to properly determine the outcome of an abatement request a full inspection of the property must be completed.
Taxpayer requests inspection of property – Property owners will sometimes question the value of their property and contact the assessor for explanation. For example, the property owner would contact the assessor after reviewing their Property Record Card (PRC) that states the basement is finished when it’s not. In this situation, the PRC has inaccurate data that needs to be updated. This is a great opportunity to inspect the entire property and explain to a taxpayer the importance of accurate data by parcel and by the community overall.
Not Inspection Types
Now that we’ve covered what does qualify as an inspection type, let’s review what doesn’t. Primarily, we’re referring to “drive-bys.” While this method allows for general observations, it does not allow for accurately measuring to the nearest foot of all improvements.
Visiting historic excel report requirements
Every certification year and during a community’s third year check-in, BLA will request communities provide an Excel visit history report in order to measure the progress of the cyclical inspection program. In accordance with best practices, assessors are encourage to review this report annually.
One recent update to visit history reporting is the timeframe for completed inspections for communities to remain in compliance with the DLS guidelines. Formerly, the cyclical inspection program was recorded on the Gateway “Workplan” based on maximum ten-year period using specific FY starting/ending dates. This led to confusion on the part of some assessing offices as to when parcels needed to be inspected.
Now, the inspection process is based on a rolling ten-year timeframe. All real property will be required to, at minimum, have at least one qualified inspection within a ten-year window looking back from the current date.
The BLA Excel data request requires eight columns of data. The columns are defined below. Additional information is acceptable.
A Key, PID or Parcel ID – Unique identifier for each parcel.
B Street number
C Street Name
D Land Use Code (LUC) - Example, expressed as 101 or 1010, not 101–Single Fam
E Inspection Date – only most current qualified inspection date for each parcel. Do
not include multiple dates.
F Inspection Code – Code used in communities CAMA for the type of inspection.
G Inspection Description – Description of the code (brief).
H Inspection Notes – Any further brief description that is relevant.
The Excel report created by the assessor or their vendor should have only one entry for each Real Property account from the community’s CAMA system. That one entry represents each account’s most “Recent and Qualified” visit. There should be no duplicate or unqualified inspection entries in the report. The total number of parcels in this report should reflect the total numbers of parcels from the CAMA LA4. If there are questions on how to create the Visit History report from the CAMA system, please contact your system vendor.
Property inspection and accurate documentation are critical processes in creating fair and equitable property assessments. Following these procedures will help to ensure this is achieved. If you have any questions, please contact your BLA advisor.
We hope you’ve found this information useful. If there is a topic or area of assessing you’d like to see us feature, please email us at bladata@dor.state.ma.us.
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Editorial Board: Tracy Callahan, Sean Cronin, Janie Dretler, Jessica Ferry, Emily Izzo, Christopher Ketchen, Paula King, Jen McAllister and Tony Rassias
| Date published: | April 17, 2025 |
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