Appraiser

Appraiser

The City of Alexandria is located in Northern Virginia and is bordered by the District of Columbia (Potomac River), Arlington, and Fairfax counties. With a population of approximately 150,000 and a land area of 15.75 square miles, Alexandria is the seventh largest city in the Commonwealth of Virginia. Alexandria has a vibrant waterfront and is a unique and historic place to live and work.

About one-quarter of the City's square miles have been designated as a national or local historic district. We proudly embrace our racially and culturally diverse community. If you are interested in working for the progressive City of Alexandria, we invite qualified candidates to apply for the Appraiser position.

An Overview

The City of Alexandria’s Finance Department is looking for one (1) detail-oriented, self-starting, and resourceful
Appraisers to join our team. As a member of the Real Estate Assessments Division, the Appraiser performs mass appraisals of residential and small commercial land and property for assessment purposes. This work is done through field inspections and office review of relevant documents and records. Appraisers utilize a variety of software when performing their work, including Real Ware to manage appraisal data, Apex to sketch floor plans, and ArcGIS to read and manipulate maps.

The day-to-day work of the Appraiser is performed under the general supervision of an Appraiser Supervisor.

What You Should Bring

The ideal candidate possesses a working knowledge of property valuation principles, building construction practices, and real estate transactions and markets as well as the physical ability and willingness to perform independent, on-site physical inspections of real property. Additional skills and abilities include:

• General knowledge of the major components of residential architecture and building construction, materials, and techniques;
• General knowledge of political, legal, social, and economic factors affecting property values;
• Skill with Microsoft Office, particularly Excel (e.g. tables, basic functions) and Word (e.g. writing reports, formatting);
• Ability to read and understand building construction plans;
• Ability to develop expertise using professional appraisal and assessment software packages to create accurate, timely, and complete data;
• Ability to perform internet-based research;
• Ability to organize long-term, multi-step processes in such a way as to make regular, consistent progress and meet deadlines;
• Ability to meet with members of the public and explain the basics of current assessments in an accurate, courteous, and professional manner;
• Ability to deliver professional presentations in front of an audience;
• Must have a valid driver’s license.

The Opportunity

• Performs mass appraisals of residential and some small commercial properties in the City of Alexandria in accordance with the Code of Virginia, the Uniform Standards of Professional Appraisal Practice (USPAP), and International Association of Assessing Officers (IAAO) standards;
• Utilizes professional appraisal software (Real Ware, Access databases) to develop accurate, timely, and complete valuation data for assigned properties;
• Utilizes professional geospatial mapping software (ArcGIS) to read and understand maps of neighborhoods and properties in the City;
• Performs physical inspections of properties in the City, as needed;
• Utilizes professional floor plan sketching software (Apex) to translate field property measurements into accurate drawings;
• Evaluates the performance of the Division’s assessment model using a variety of statistical and qualitative analysis techniques;
• Meets with property owners and members of the public to answer assessment questions;
• Prepares oral, visual, and written presentations to defend assessments before the Board of Equalization and in the administrative appeal process;
• Maintains and updates property tax record and sales data;
• Performs related work as required.

About The Department

The City of Alexandria's Finance Department is a fast-paced, diverse, and customer service focused operation that is responsible for the assessment, collection, and enforcement of all City taxes, the management of…