Turning Assessments into Savings: Property Tax Wins from the Past Year

By Eric Owens, Director at Swartz and Associates

In commercial real estate, our firm realizes that every dollar saved on property taxes goes straight to the bottom line for our clients. At Swartz & Associates, we specialize in uncovering those dollars—through our valuation analysis, strategic appeals, and an understanding of local tax jurisdictions.

Over the past year, our team has helped property owners across multiple states achieve meaningful reductions in assessed value and tax liability.

Below are a few of these wins:

• Big Box Retail – Denver, CO: Secured a $10.9M value reduction, resulting in $393K in real estate tax savings.
• Big Box Retail – Kansas City, KS: Achieved a multi-year $20.15M value reduction, saving our client $833K in taxes.
• Single-Tenant Office – Des Moines, IA: Delivered an $8.7M reduction, generating $218K in savings.
• Multi-Tenant Office – Des Moines, IA: Secured a multi-year $15.2M reduction, saving $482K in taxes.
• Multi-Tenant Office – Kansas City, MO: Achieved a $9M reduction, resulting in $299K in savings.

What’s behind these results?

• Valuation Modeling: We build custom models that reflect real-world income, expense, and market dynamics.
• Jurisdictional Expertise: Every county has its own rules, timelines, and nuances. We know how to navigate them.
• Data-Driven Appeals: Our appeals are backed by evidence—rent rolls, operating statements, market studies—not just opinions.
• Client Collaboration: We work closely with owners, asset managers, and accountants to ensure every angle is covered.

Why it matters:

• Lower assessments mean lower taxes, higher NOI (Net Operating Income), and stronger asset value.
• Successful appeals can improve debt coverage ratios and support refinancing.
• Tax savings can be reinvested into capital improvements, tenant incentives, or portfolio growth.

Whether you own a single asset or manage a multi-state portfolio, property taxes are too important to ignore. If you haven’t reviewed your assessments recently, now is the time—appeal windows are tight.

Let’s connect if you’d like to explore potential savings or benchmark your current assessments. We’re always happy to share insights, run preliminary models, or walk through your jurisdiction’s appeal process.

Swartz + Associates, Inc. (SAI) is a full service property tax firm specializing in the review, analysis and appeals of real and business personal property tax valuations. If you need help with your property taxes, give us a call!