BROKERAGE TAX ASSESSMENT OVERVIEW
Understanding Property Tax Assessments Across Client Portfolios
For commercial real estate brokers and portfolio managers, property tax assessment is one of the most consistently underserved areas of client advisory. Most property owners across Michigan, Indiana, and Ohio receive their annual assessment notice, assume it is approximately correct, and move on — unaware that the income approach assumptions, cost approach benchmarks, or sales comparison data the assessor used may be materially flawed.
The challenge for brokerage firms is that assessment methods and appeal procedures differ by county and by state — what is standard practice for a Wayne County, Michigan appeal looks nothing like the process in Hamilton County, Ohio or Lake County, Indiana. Strategies for reducing property taxes across diverse portfolios begin with a systematic review. Read more about how we approach this in our guide to common assessment mistakes.
Over-assessment silently compresses NOI and reduces property value across client portfolios
Different assessment methods and appeal deadlines in each state create multi-jurisdiction complexity
Cap rate misapplication in income-approach assessments affects investment property valuations directly
Missed appeal deadlines lock in over-assessments for the full year — eroding deal economics
Request a free portfolio assessment review for your clients — we screen each property, prioritize savings opportunities, and handle every filing with no cost unless we deliver a reduction.
BROKERAGE TAX CHALLENGES
Why Your Clients' Properties Are Over-Assessed
Portfolio-Wide Over-Assessment
Clients with multiple properties often overpay across their entire portfolio without realizing the cumulative impact.
Misaligned Values Hurt Deal Flow
Over-assessed properties inflate operating expenses, compress NOI, and make transactions harder to close.
Inconsistent Assessments Across Jurisdictions
Properties in different counties and states face different assessment methods — creating unpredictable tax exposure for portfolio owners.
Missed Deadlines Cost Clients Money
Every missed filing window locks in another year of overpayment — eroding client trust and property performance.
OUR APPROACH
How We Help Brokerages Reduce Client Property Taxes
We work directly with brokerage teams to review client portfolios, identify over-assessments, and file appeals — giving your clients a tangible reason to stay with you between transactions. Our team handles the procedural complexity of appeals across Michigan, Indiana, and Ohio, from the initial income-approach analysis through negotiation with assessors and county boards.
What our clients say — brokers and property owners alike — is that the process delivers more value than they expected, because the aggregate savings across a portfolio consistently exceed what any single-property review would have produced. We coordinate every filing, track every deadline, and work on contingency, so there is no cost to the brokerage or its clients unless we produce a result.
Portfolio-level assessment review across client holdings
Property-by-property analysis and prioritization
Coordination with brokerage teams on timing and strategy
Deadline tracking across multiple jurisdictions
White-glove service that reflects well on your brokerage
For more on how income-approach assessments are challenged and how cap rate analysis drives property tax savings, see our resource on cap rates and property taxes.
BROKERAGE CLIENT SAVINGS
Recent CRE Brokerage Client Tax Savings
Shopping Centers
Wayne, Oakland, and Genesee Counties, MI
/ Annual Savings
Real Estate Syndicate
Wayne & Macomb Counties, MI
/ Annual Savings
WHY BROKERAGES PARTNER WITH EPTA
A Trusted Resource for Your Client Relationships
We help brokerages add value beyond the transaction — giving your clients ongoing savings and a reason to keep coming back to you.
CRE brokers can partner with EPTA to offer property tax appeal services as part of their client relationship. We review client portfolios, identify over-assessed properties, and handle the entire appeal process. It's a tangible value-add that strengthens broker-client relationships and protects deal economics.
Beyond the direct financial benefit, offering access to property tax review positions your brokerage as a full-service resource that delivers value between transactions — not just at closing.
Over-assessed properties carry inflated operating expenses, which compress net operating income (NOI) and reduce property values in the eyes of buyers and lenders. Reducing property taxes through an appeal can improve NOI, increase property value, and make transactions easier to close.
For acquisitions specifically, a successful appeal filed shortly after closing can substantially improve first-year returns and demonstrate to investors that the asset is being actively managed for performance.
Yes. We take a portfolio-wide approach, reviewing assessments across all of your client's properties — regardless of property type or location within our service area. We prioritize properties with the greatest savings potential and handle all filings. Start with a free portfolio assessment review.
Our prioritization process means clients with large portfolios see action focused on the properties with the greatest savings potential first — maximizing the financial impact of each filing cycle.
We handle commercial property tax appeals in Michigan, Ohio, and Indiana. We manage deadlines across all three states and coordinate multi-jurisdiction filings for portfolio clients.
Our experience in all three states means we can serve brokerages with clients throughout the Great Lakes and Midwest commercial real estate market without requiring separate advisory relationships for each jurisdiction.
No. We work on a contingency basis — there is no fee unless we save your client money. There are no upfront costs to the brokerage or the client for the assessment review or the partnership itself.
The contingency structure also means that your clients are never in a position where they have paid for a review that produced no reduction — which makes the referral straightforward and risk-free to offer.
Income-approach over-assessments are the most common source of inflated property taxes in commercial investment portfolios. Assessors applying the income approach must make assumptions about market rent, vacancy, operating expenses, and capitalization rate — and errors in any one of these inputs produce a value that diverges from market reality. Cap rate errors are particularly significant: assessors who apply a lower cap rate to a property than the market would assign will produce an inflated value, sometimes by a substantial margin.
Our team is active across Michigan, Indiana, and Ohio and manages the procedural requirements in each jurisdiction as part of every portfolio engagement. Michigan's appeal process runs through the local Board of Review and the Michigan Tax Tribunal. Indiana's PTABOA and Indiana Board of Tax Review each have distinct procedures and timelines. Ohio's Board of Revision process operates on a January-to-April filing window. For portfolio clients with properties in multiple states, we create a consolidated deadline calendar and coordinate strategy across locations.
Success rates vary by property type, jurisdiction, and the strength of the evidence presented, but well-prepared appeals — particularly those backed by credible income analysis or functional obsolescence documentation — achieve reductions at a high rate. Our portfolio-wide approach strengthens individual appeals because we can identify patterns of over-assessment across a client's holdings and present consistent market evidence. Learn more about our team and approach.
RELATED SERVICES
We Also Serve These Property Types
Michigan Property Tax Appeals — Tax Tribunal representation statewide
Indiana Property Tax Appeals — PTABOA and IBTR representation
Ohio Property Tax Appeals — Board of Revision and BTA representation
How to Appeal Commercial Property Taxes — Step-by-step guide
How Much Does a Property Tax Appeal Cost? — Fee structures explained
Retail Property Tax Appeals — Shopping centers and strip malls
Office Property Tax Appeals — Office buildings and commercial space
Industrial Property Tax Appeals — Warehouses, plants, and distribution centers
COUNTIES WE SERVE
CRE Brokerage Property Tax Appeals by County
Wayne County, MI — Portfolio tax appeals in Metro Detroit
Oakland County, MI — Portfolio tax appeals in Oakland County
Kent County, MI — Portfolio tax appeals in Grand Rapids
Hamilton County, OH — Portfolio tax appeals in Cincinnati
Cuyahoga County, OH — Portfolio tax appeals in Cleveland
Lake County, IN — Portfolio tax appeals in Northwest Indiana
ARE YOUR CLIENTS OVER-ASSESSED?
Get a Free Portfolio Assessment Review for Your Clients
Give your clients a tax advantage. We review entire portfolios, track deadlines across jurisdictions in Michigan, Indiana, and Ohio — including Wayne, Oakland, Genesee, Hamilton, Marion, and Lake Counties — and handle the appeal from start to finish.
No fee unless we save you money.
