PVA TERMINOLOGY

APPEAL: A process in which a property owner contests an assessment either formally or informally. 

APPRAISAL: An estimation of value. 

APPRAISAL DATE:  The date as of which the assessments for a tax year are made. 
 Kentucky date of assessment is January 1st. 

ARM'S LENGTH SALE: A sale between two unrelated parties, both seeking to maximize their positions from the transaction. 

ASSESSED VALUE: The monetary amount at which a property is valued. 

ASSESSMENT YEAR: The 365 days beginning with the appraisal date. 

ASSESSOR: The head of an assessment jurisdiction. In Kentucky they are called the PVA. 

CADASTRAL MAP: A scale map showing the dimensions of each parcel and related information. 

CAMA: "Computer Aided Mass Appraisal"  The method used to generate comparative values by computer.

CHRONOLOGICAL AGE:  The number of years elapsed since an original structure was built. 

COMPARABLE:  Recently sold properties that are similar in important respects to property being appraised. 

COST: The money expended in obtaining an object or attaining an objective. 

COST APPROACH:  "Principle of substitution" seeks to determine the replacement cost of an improvement less depreciation plus land value. 

DATE OF SALE: The date on which the sale was agreed to. 

EASEMENT: A right held by one person to use the land of another for a specific purpose, such as access to other property. 

ECONOMIC LIFE: The period of time during which a given building or other improvement to property is expected to contribute (positively) to the value of the total property. 

ECONOMIC OBSOLESCENCE: Loss in value of a property that stems from factors external to the property. 

EFFECTIVE AGE: The typical age of a structure equivalent to the one in question with respect to its utility and condition. 

EQUITY: The degree to which assessments bear a consistent relationship to market value.

FEE APPRAISAL: Appraisal of properties one at a time for a fee. 

FEE SIMPLE: In land ownership, complete interest in a property, subject only to governmental powers such as eminent domain. 

FIELD REVIEW: The practice of reviewing property from the exteriors. 

FIXTURE: An item of equipment that because of the way it is used, has become an integral part of the building or other improvement.

FUNCTIONAL OBSOLESCENCE: Loss in value of a property resulting from changes in tastes, preferences, or market standards. 

GIS: Geographic Information System (Digital mapping, etc.).

GROSS INCOME MULTIPLIER: The factor by which gross income is multiplied in order to obtain an estimate of value. 

GROSS RENT MULTIPLIER: The factor by which gross rent is multiplied in order to obtain an estimate of value.

IMPROVEMENT: Anything done to raw land with the intention of increasing its value. 

INCOME: The payments to its owner that a property is able to produce in a given time span.

INCOME APPROACH: Uses capitalization to convert the anticipated benefits of the ownership property into an estimate of present value. 

INTANGIBLE PROPERTY: Evidence of ownership of value or the right to value, for notes, bonds, stocks, etc. 

LAND CONTRACT: A contract for sale in which the seller retains title until the buyer completes installment payments for the property. 

LEASEHOLD: The interests in a property that are associated with the lessee as opposed to the lessor. 

LEGAL DESCRIPTION: A statement in words or codes identifying land for all purposes of law.

LOCATIONAL OBSOLESCENCE: Loss in value due to sub-optimal siting of an improvement. 

MARKET: The place in which buyers and sellers interact. 

MARKET PRICE: The price a particular buyer and seller agree to in a particular transaction.

MARKET VALUE: The most probable sale price of a property in terms of money in a competitive open market.

MASS APPRAISAL: The process of valuing a group of properties as of a given date, using standard methods, and allowing for statistical testing. 

NEIGHBORHOOD: The environment of a subject property that has a direct and immediate effect on value. 

PARCEL: A contiguous area of land described in a single description or as one of a number of lots on a plat. 

PARCEL IDENTIFICATION SYSTEM: The scheme by which parcel identifiers are generated.

PARCEL IDENTIFIERS: A code, usually numerical, representing a specific land parcel's legal description. 

PLAT: A map intended to show the division of land into lots or parcels.

PROPERTY: An aggregate of things or rights to things. These rights are protected by law. 

PERSONAL PROPERTY: All property other than real property - moveable. 

PROPERTY SPLIT: A result of the sale of a piece of property held by a single owner such that different pieces of the property are owned by different owners. 

REAL PROPERTY: The rights to land and improvements to the land. 

REMAINING ECONOMIC LIFE: The number of years remaining in the economic life of a building or other improvement as of the date of the appraisal.

REPLACEMENT COST: The cost, including material, labor, and overhead, that would be incurred in constructing an improvement having the same utility to its owner as the improvement in question. 

SALE PRICE: The price for which a property was sold. 

SALES COMPARISON APPROACH: Estimates a property value by reference to comparable sales. 

SALE DATA: Information about the nature of the transaction.

SALES FILE: A file of sales data. 

SITE CHARACTERISTICS: Characteristics of a particular property, especially land size, shape, topography, etc. 

TANGIBLE PROPERTY: Actual physical property. 

TAX BASE: The total of all the assessed values in a given community. 

TAX RATE: The percentage of assessed value at which each property is taxed in a given district. 

TITLE: The union of all elements constituting proof of ownership. 

VALUATION: The process or business of appraising. 

VALUE: The estimate sought in valuation.

WARRANTY DEED: A deed conveying to the grantee title to the property free and clear of all encumbrances except those stated in the deed itself.