Appraiser I

Appraises land and improvements, and/or mobile homes for tax assessment purposes; performs related work as required. The position is located in the Ada County Assessor's Office.

DISTINGUISHING FEATURES OF THE CLASS:
This is an entry-level position to be used during the employee's introductory period or longer if determined necessary by immediate supervisory personnel. This classification is to be utilized for those employees who have little or no mass appraisal experience.

• Studies building permits to obtain information regarding size, type of construction and other factors which affect value;
• Personally visits and inspects property in order to verify information contained on permits and appraisal records and to ascertain the quality of the workmanship and material;
• Collects and verifies the accuracy of assessment data and assures the correct data is in the official file for each property assigned;
• Checks zoning maps and regulations for the purpose of ascertaining effect of the value of property;
• Determines availability of utilities and roads to property to be appraised;
• Reads and analyzes above information and completes an appraisal of the market value of residential or mobile home property;
• Calculates square footage of buildings and draws scale plans of buildings;
• Interviews homeowners, contractors, brokers, real estate agents, appraisers and others in related fields to gather data on property being appraised;
• Maintains appraisal data on trends, cost and other factors affecting values of real property;
• Uses computer technology to gather sales data and model properties to ascertain property values.

• Takes photographs of buildings and land;
• Explains to taxpayer or others, procedures used in property assessments;
• Performs a variety of miscellaneous duties related to the appraisal/assessment process.

• High school diploma or equivalent;
• Must have, real estate or building trades experience;
• Appraisal training or college courses in real property appraising preferred;
• Knowledge of the principles, methods, practices and techniques of appraising and/or Real Estate sales/brokerage experience;
• Knowledge of building construction practices;
• Knowledge of building and land values;
• Knowledge of business math sufficient to calculate square footage and determine values;
• Ability to read and understand building construction plans, specifications and blueprints;
• Ability to use good judgment;
• Ability to produce work at a high level of accuracy;
• Ability to possess a high level of personal integrity;
• Ability to make rough drawings of buildings;
• Ability to meet and work effectively with others;
• Ability to prepare written reports that present the conclusions and supporting data in a clear and concise manner;
• Ability to utilize computer software (spreadsheets, database and word processing);
• Ability to determine the most effective method of communication for the situation at hand and exercise skill in the application.

• Appraisers furnish their own transportation throughout the county
• Must adhere to a professional code of ethics as a sworn Deputy Assessor.

• Typically the work of the Appraiser I takes place in a field setting;
• The Appraiser is required to visit assigned properties including construction sites to gather information on the structure being built. Frequently, the appraiser visits and inspects other property in order to ascertain value. These inspections or visits require the appraiser to move over the land and inspect various parts of structures;
• Sometimes he/she must negotiate fences, hazardous or steep terrain with rough and rocky surfaces;
• At times the appraiser may be exposed to dogs and/or farm animals and snakes;
• The appraiser must be able to locate section markers on the ground.