Section 1. Authority. These rules are promulgated under
authority of W.S. 16-3-103, W.S. 39-11-102.1 and W.S. 34-1-142.
Section 2. Purpose. These rules are intended to clarify
the undefined and ambiguous portions of W.S. 34-1-142, and
establish uniform procedures to facilitate the processing and
transfer of information disclosed in a statement of
consideration ("statement").
Section 3. Approved Form; Retention; Prohibition.
(a) The three-part, carbon-pack statement of
consideration form (SBOE Form 3) approved by the State Board
("Board") on June 21, 1993, or a computer-generated emulation
in the same format containing the same information, is hereby
adopted as the prescribed form to implement W.S. 34-1-142, and
is incorporated herein by reference.
(b) Assessors shall retain their copies of the
statements, excluding those for which exemptions exclusions
were granted, for a minimum of three years. Statements for
which exemptions exclusions were granted may be destroyed at
any time pursuant to assessor's office policies.
(c) No County An official shall is prohibited from
retaining or destroying the State Board copy of the statement.
Section 4. Exemptions Exclusions.
(a A) In addition to those transfers specifically
exempt by W.S. 34-1-142, the following are exempt excluded as
the information is not useful or relevant in determining
sales-price ratios:
(i) Transfers which establish a chain of title,
and which are related to the most recent deed associated with
performance of a contract. In this instance, the prior,
related deeds are exempt excluded upon filing the most recent
deed with a statement. (Board Policy Statement #1);
(ii) Transfers pursuant to a court decree of
distribution from an estate, (as opposed to a sale of real
property as a part of estate administration). (Board Policy
Statement #2);
(iii) Transfers of cemetery lots. (Board Policy
Statement #4);
(iv) Transfers of mineral interests with no
surface estate. (Board Policy Statement #5);
(v) Transfers by certificate of purchase or
sheriff's deed; or
(vi) Any other transfers specifically exempt by
the Board following a request for exemption exclusion pursuant
to Section 8 of this Chapter.
(C) The exemptions exclusions granted by W.S. 34-1-142,
and paragraphs (a)(i) through (a)(vi) of this section allow
the county clerk to accept an instrument evidencing such
transfer upon receipt of either:
(i) A completed statement (parts A, B, C, and F)
without disclosure of specific transfer-related information in
parts D and E; or
(ii) An affidavit from the grantee, his or her
agent or attorney explaining the transaction, and the
exemption claimed.
(D) The clerk shall assure the statement or affidavit is
complete and identifies the provisions of law or rules which
authorizes the exemption exclusion.
Section 5. County Assessor Responsibilities-Verification.
(a) The office of each county assessor shall:
(i) Review and confirm, as necessary, all data on
each statement. Recommended procedures for processing the
statements, including sales questionnaires or interview forms
contained in the "A Primer: SOC Sales Verification and Data
Entry" dated August, 1993, are incorporated by reference. The
information on the statement shall be confirmed or verified by
contacting buyers, sellers or others if:
(A) There is reason to believe the data on the
statement is not complete or accurate;
(B) The sale represents a less common type of
property;
(C) The sale price is significantly higher or
lower than the current assessor estimate of fair market value;
(D) The sale is part of a sample of single-family sales which are routinely confirmed by audit or
exception; or
(E) Other considerations are present which
make the sale significant for analysis.
(ii) If appropriate, adjust sales information for
financing, personal property, time of sale, and corrections
obtained through verification. No adjustment to sales price
shall be made for real estate commissions, closing costs,
title insurance or property taxes, unless the buyer agrees to
pay all the commission or all the taxes, in which case the
amounts of the payments shall be added to the sales price.
(iii)Complete the information within the box on the
statement entitled "for use by county assessor only". Sales which
are determined to be invalid shall be identified by writing in
the box the appropriate CAMA invalidation code (pursuant to
Section 6(c) of this Chapter) in the box. Documentation
supporting the reason for invalidation shall be preserved with
the assessor copy of the statement.
(iv) Enter the factual sales information for all
valid sales into the computer assisted mass appraisal system
(CAMA).
(v) Sort the statements into the following groups:
"exemptions", "exclusions", "invalid" and "valid" and send
them to the Board at Herschler Building, 122 West 25th Street,
Cheyenne, Wyoming 82002-0110, on or before thirty days of
entry of sales information in the CAMA system and no later
than March 1 of the following year. within the following time
frames:
(A) For the months of July through January,
statements shall be processed and sent to the Board no later
than the 15th working day of the month following the month
filed with the county clerk; and
(B) For the months of February through June,
the assessor may delay processing and sending statements,
consistent with the work flow and other demands of the office.
Section 6. County Assessor Responsibilities - Data Input
(a) Every non-exempt sale that is not excluded, open-market sale shall be entered as a valid sale in CAMA.
(b) The source of the verification of the sales
information on the statement shall be entered into CAMA as
follows:
(i) "1" indicating the information was confirmed
with the buyer;
(ii) "2" indicating the information was confirmed
with the seller;
(iii) "3" indicating the information was confirmed
with the agent; or
(iv) "4" indicating the information on the statement
was deemed accurate and was not confirmed through the buyer,
seller or agent.
(c) Valid sales shall be indicated by inserting a "0"
(zero); invalid sales shall be identified by the most
appropriate CAMA code for the transaction, as follows:
(i) "1" for sales involving additional parcels, trades or common property, including:
(A) Additional parcels (where two or more
parcels are sold and the value of the individual parcels
cannot be ascertained);
(B) Trades (where the value of the traded
properties cannot be ascertained); or
(C) Incomplete or unbuilt common property, if
the sale suggests the price is influenced by promises to
complete common elements at some later date.
(ii) "2" for sales which were not exposed to the
open market, or the marketing time for the property could not
be considered normal.
(iii)"3" for sales in which the physical characteristics of the property have changed or are incorrect, as follows:
(A) The physical characteristics (which
influence value) changed after the sale; or
(B) Sales involving property whose property
characteristics (which influence value) do not match the
characteristics of the property on February January 1st of the
assessment year.
(iv) "4" for sales between relatives or corporate
affiliates.
(v) "5" for liquidations or forced sales including;
(A) Sales involving courts, government
agencies and public utilities, if such sales suggest an
element of compulsion or a desire to convey surplus property;
(B) Sales in which a financial institution as
a lienholder is the buyer, unless invalidating such sales
results in an inadequate sample, or if such sales constitute
a major portion of the market (as in depressed areas). If
such sales are used, adjustments shall be considered for any
differences in price from conventionally financed sales;
(C) Sales settling an estate, if such sale
suggests an element of compulsion (such as satisfying the
decedent's debts or the wishes of an heir);
(D) Forced sales, including those resulting
from a judicial order where the seller is usually a sheriff,
receiver or other court officer; or
(E) Transfers between former spouses as part
of a divorce proceeding.
(vi) "6" for sales involving abnormal financing,
land contracts, sales of convenience, sales of doubtful title
or partial interests, such as:
(A) Sales which involve abnormal financing
(such as terms which are not normal in the market and cannot
be adjusted to reflect current market);
(B) Sales involving land contracts, unless
sufficient information is available for reasonable adjustments
for time and financing;
(C) Sales of convenience, which may be
intended to correct defects in a title or serve some similar
purpose;
(D) Sales of doubtful title; or
(E) Sales involving partial interests, unless
it may be reasonably assumed from several concurrent sales,
the sum of the partial interests fairly indicates the sale
price of the total property.
(vii) "7" for sales involving excessive personal
property, or any other situation which makes the sale not an
"arms length" transaction, and for which supporting
documentation is developed. Other situations may include:
(A) When objective circumstances suggest
either the buyer or seller or both were not well informed;
(B) When data for the sale is incomplete and
unverifiable; or
(C) For sales involving charitable, religious
or educational institutions, if such sales suggest an element
of philanthropy or restrictive covenants.
(viii) "8" for sales involving sales of
agricultural property valued on productivity.
(ix) "9" for sales involving a situation which
makes the sale not an "arm's length" transaction. An
explanation shall be made in the sales notes.
Section 7. Statement Processing.
The Board may request the Department to assist the
Board to routinely confirm a sample of sales within each
county to ensure that sales processing, validation and
adjustment procedures are understood and followed uniformly.
Section 8. Exemption Exclusion Requests.
Any person requesting an exemption exclusion pursuant to
W.S. 34-1-142(c)(viii) shall submit to the Board and
Department of Revenue, in writing, sufficient details
concerning the transaction to enable the Board to determine
whether sales-related information would be useful or relevant
in determining sales-price ratios. A joint written Board and
Department decision on the exemption exclusion request shall
be issued. The decision shall constitute final agency action
subject to review by the appropriate district court.