A STRATEGIC SOLUTION TO STATE AND LOCAL TAXATION

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A STRATEGIC SOLUTION TO STATE AND LOCAL TAXATION
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MISSION
National Tax Resource Group (NTRG) delivers
property tax expertise and management of the ad
valorem appeals and administration processes for
national property owners via the expert direction
of an efficient, experienced and motivated team
of local principals. This innovative approach,
combined with our unparalleled in-house
technologies, provides our clients a streamlined
and seamless communications and reporting process
to accommodate the complex task of property tax
consulting on a national basis.
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The rEvolution of the Property Tax Industry in
America
In the 1970s, the business of property tax
consulting was a very local business indeed.
Local practitioners were retained in the event a
property owner was unhappy with their tax
assessment. By 1985, the business had blossomed
in the early days of the real estate bust in
Texas and throughout the southwest. By June
1990, the real estate recession had even reached
the shores of Southern Californiaand the
national property tax industry was born. Fueled
by large profits gained in places like Texas and
Arizona, tax firms that once had fewer than 20
employees were opening offices in major cities
such as Los Angeles, New York, and Washington
D.C. The recession continued and large
reductions in assessments were widely available
in most any large city in America. The height of
the industry was the early nineties and then
slowly the economy improved. Once it was evident
that market values would once again meet
assessments, the large reductions went away and
so did the large profits for the national firms.
This was the beginning of the decline in
large-scale national property tax consulting.
During the boom period for consultants in the
late eighties, these firms had paid large
salaries and bonuses and attracted the most elite
professionals in the business. Once the decline
in profits set in, these professionals became
subject to salary decreases and reduced or
eliminated bonus programs. The Big 5, after
getting into the industry via acquisitions and
mergers, forced key employees to sign contracts
and non-compete statements virtually eliminating
their right to leave and compete until January
2000. Once those contracts expired, the key
players resigned with very few exceptions and all
within a months time. A mass exodus ensued
as the elite consultants chose to form their own
firms so that they could control their own
destiny and compensation. It is estimated that
over 90 such firms were started between 1994 and
2000. I personally have knowledge of over 35
such start up companies just in a nine-state
region. With very few exceptions, these small
firms now provide the best in class
consultants. These professionals tend to get the
best results because they have the best
relationships with the local assessors office
and strive to do the very best job possible.
They are typically principals or sole owners of
their firms and therefore take ownership of
their results. In the aftermath of these events,
the national consulting team concept was (and is
today) very fragmented. For a company with
geographically diverse assets it may be necessary
to contract with 10 or possibly 20 different
consulting firms to get the best results or, in
some cases, just to get local expertise. NTRG
was formed in 1999 to alleviate this imposition.
We are the one firm that provides our clients the
service of the best consultants in the industry
and consolidates every aspect of the engagement
including information flow, invoicing, reporting,
communications, and valuation management. NTRG
does not compete with other tax firms, instead we
hire them where and when they are qualified to
provide the best in class results. We group
the once fragmented team of consultants together
again and manage and monitor their success for
our clients. Our relationship with these elite
professionals is based on performance, trust,
and, in most cases, years of personal history.

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BEST EXPERTISE IN LOCAL FIRMS

• rEvolution Timeline
• Pre-1980 Local practitioners control the
  market for property tax services
• Mid-80s to Early 90s The formation of national
  firms is fueled by the commercial real estate
  bust
• Mid-90s The beginning of downsizing and
  elimination of national firms due to increasing
  property values there become fewer single-source
  options for owners of geographically-diverse
  commercial portfolios
• Mid-to-late 90s Elite professional in the
  industry begin their migration to smaller groups
  and start locally-owned firms local expertise is
  again available but fragmented and, therefore,
  cumbersome to manage for many property owners
• 1999-Present Day NTRG introduces and continues
  to provide a uniquely successful business model
  that coordinates the fragmented expertise for the
  benefit of commercial property owners across
  North America.

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A PROPERTY TAX MANAGERS ROLE

• Increase overall tax reductions through careful
  selections of tax consultants in local markets
• Increase effectiveness of property tax management
  by co-managing property tax appeals
• Take ownership of overall process in reducing and
  administrating property taxes
• Review the outcome of analysis by each consultant
  to determine likelihood of success and continued
  appeal(s)
• Make annual decisions regarding consultant
  selection and retention to maximize appeal
  efforts
• Provide status reports to the Asset Management
  and Financial teams

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OUR VISION

• To increase appeal results and tax savings by
  utilizing local, qualified expertise for every
  assignment
• To provide our clients with a seamless
  national tax consulting service offering a
  one-point-of-contact solution
• To continue to develop and integrate innovative
  technologies in order to maintain our superior
  communication and reporting delivery methods for
  the benefit of our consultants and our clients
• To maintain our position in the industry as the
  most effective and innovative consulting group of
  its kind in North America
• To increase the benefits received by our
  clients through the continued examination of
  valuation methodologies and implementation of new
  strategies for the reduction of ad valorem taxes
  on a national basis
• To continue to recruit the finest local
  consultants available in the industry to provide
  our clients with best in class results
• To minimize the resources required by the
  clients staff in streamlining the entire
  consulting process

Applying our methods in subsequent years has
resulted in permanent tax relief for this
facility allowing them a net benefit of 280,043
to date. 
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How is NTRG Different?

• We do not compete with other tax firms, we hire
  them
• We are not a brokerage firm for tax services,
  we directly manage the entire process
• We have contractual relationships with every
  consultant and our relationships are based on
  performance and expertise
• Our Online Portfolio Management (OPM) system is
  a unique and unparalleled feature in our industry
• Our dual review system has not been
  replicated by any other firm
• We oversee each and every appeal and perform
  valuation sessions with our client on each asset
• We have the real ability to conform our
  reporting and online data output for each
  clients needs
• Each consultant team consists of tax firm
  principals who are motivated and dedicated
  professionals
• Our selection of consultants for each team is
  not based solely on location, but rather location
  and expertise

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Conventional Tax Firms vs. NTRGA review of
methods and expertise

• THEY... use regional offices to cover wide,
  geographic areas
• THEY... typically employ General Consultants
  who are not experts in any particular property
  type
• THEY... must operate within the four walls of
  expertise in the firm
• THEIR... clients properties are represented by a
  salaried staff member
• THEY... in regards to complex and mixed use type
  properties, use a conventional depreciation
  method to reduce assessments
• THEY... assign properties based on consultant
  availability and work load
• THEY... have lost many of their best consultants
  who left to form their own consulting businesses
  across the United States

• WE... use local expertise with local
  relationships
• WE... engage specialists and experts in specific
  fields of property valuation based on client
  needs
• WE... assemble each team from an unlimited pool
  of consultants based on expertise and knowledge
  of each property type
• OUR... consultants are principals in their own
  firms and take real ownership of each assignment
• WE... engage specialists by class of property who
  have knowledge of the specific valuation issues
  of complex properties
• WE... assign properties based on expertise as
  well as local knowledge
• WE... utilize these best in class consultants
  across the nation to provide, true, local
  expertise for our client

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NTRGs Objectives

• Provide the absolute best local consultant and
  solution for each property in each market
• Streamline the entire property tax appeal and
  administration process through superior
  technology, pro-active information gathering, and
  proper management of processes and consultants
• Provide our clients with the real ability to
  have input to the strategy and outcome of each
  and every appeal from an Executive Level
• Provide our clients with access to every aspect
  of the property tax administration and appeal
  processes
• Provide on-going best in class solutions for
  each term engaged

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NTRG Consultant Locations
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Dual Review System Valuation Process

• Information reviewed internally by NTRG and
  local consultant
• Conclusion of value jointly determined
• Valuation conclusion communicated to Client
• Information logged on NTRGs Online Portfolio
  Management (OPM) system

Property taxes are a runaway train in most
corporations. The ever changing environment and
revenue-hungry taxing jurisdictions call for
someone to monitor every move thats made and to
stop any unnecessary windfalls for the local
governments. Robert Boudreaux, former IRS
Valuation Engineer
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Services Provided

• NTRG provides a complete range of services
  designed to effectively minimize our clients
  property tax liability.
• These services generally include the following

• Securing necessary data from client
• Performing a physical inspection / review of each
  property
• Interviewing the asset manager responsible for
  each asset to discuss specific valuation issues
  of every property
• Formulating an opinion of value for each property
  using the cost, income, assessment comparable and
  market methods of valuation
• Conducting a dual valuation review of each
  property by the local consultant and in-house
  NTRG consultants
• Establishing target values with the asset
  manager
• Filing the required renditions, reports and
  appeals with assessing authorities
• 8. Negotiating the assessment with assessment
  authority through informal hearings
• 9. Preparing and presenting formal appeal to
  assessment authority or appraisal review board

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Services Provided (contd)

• 10. Providing litigation support, when necessary
• 11. Advising client of all available property tax
  saving strategies to assure minimum tax liability
  in the future
• Providing custom hardcopy reporting to all
  management and administrative levels
• Preparing pre-acquisition tax estimates
• Conducting delinquent tax searches
• Providing property manager-level administrative
  services
• Conducting teleconference valuation sessions with
  the Asset Manager or appointed contact(s) for
  each property

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Our Approach to Service
Process

• We personally gather all necessary data directly
  from the client and our internal resources
  (public information)
• Each property is set up in our OPM system and
  made available to the client and the designated
  local professional
• Our internal review process begins in concurrence
  with the local consultants review
• A conclusion of value discussion is held with the
  client
• Target Values are approved by client
• Administrative processes are completed and
  available to the client via the OPM system
• Appeals are filed and concluded while continually
  notifying the client of our results via the OPM
  email system
• Quarterly Reports are issued in hardcopy to each
  Asset Manager and client management

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Benefits

• KEY BENEFITS
• Provide best in class consultants in each
  market
• Provide interactive control of each appeal and
  actual oversight of the appeals process and
  results
• Increased tax savings through proper consultant
  selection and process management
• Client control and input through live valuation
  discussions on each property
• Information access and superior reporting
  through advanced technology
• Decreased client administrative burden through
  pro-active information gathering process
• Eliminate the need for consultant consideration
  and hiring process
• Eliminate consultant interviewing
• Provide seamless property tax management
  processes regarding consultant selection,
  information flow, appeals, and reporting

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Increased Effectiveness a comparison
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Tax Appeal Effectiveness Comparison
A COMPARISON BETWEEN THE EFFECTIVENESS OF
PROPERTY TAX REPRESENTATIVES WITH WITHOUT LOCAL
EXPERTISE (using general assumptions)
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The Advantage of Technology

• Web-Based Software NTRGS Online Portfolio
  Management (OPM) for Property Tax Data

• NTRG has developed an in-house and proprietary
  software package for the exclusive use of its
  employees, clients and consultants.
• The OPM is available to select NTRG clients as a
  way of accessing important property tax data
  including
• Assessment and Appeal Data
• Site Photos
• Maps
• Property Tax Statements
• Tax Savings Information
• Property Tax Budgeting Data
• Run Reports and Queries
• Data Sorts
• Site Maps (if available)
• Level III Secure Site w/ password authenticity

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Industry Experience
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Industry Experience

• Our consulting teams have a wide variety of
  experience in the tax valuation of all commercial
  properties. Property types include the
  following 

• Office Buildings
• Hotels and Resorts
• Industrial and Warehouse Properties
• Land
• Mixed Use Properties

• Retail and Mall Properties
• Multi-Family
• High Tech Manufacturing
• Food Processing Facilities
• Distribution Facilities

 The average NTRG consultant has more than twenty
years of experience in the ad valorem tax field.
Individuals are ranked not only by location, but
by type of property they represent. In many
cases, we have several local experts who are
distinguished by their ability to work certain
property types (e.g., Hotels or Industrial
facilities)
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Representative Clients

• KIMBERLY CLARK CORPORATION
• TRANSWESTERN PROPERTY COMPANY
• AUTONATION
• PNL COMPANIES
• ANC RENTAL CORPORATION
• REMINGTON HOTEL CORPORATION
• MIDLAND LOAN SERVICES
• CRIIMI MAE
• GENERAL ELECTRIC COMPANY

• VANGUARD CORPORATION
• EQUIS
• IRON MOUNTAIN CORPORATION
• CB RICHARD ELLIS INVESTORS
• TRAMMELL CROW COMPANY
• AMSTAR REALTY GROUP
• MACERICH COMPANY
• CINTAS CORPORATION
• CalSTRS
• GREAT WEST LIFE INSURANCE CO

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NTRG Clientele