Winans.pdf

John Winans, Sandra Winans, Petitioners V Township Of Martiny, Respondent · 25-003536-TT

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W.I.

RECEIVED 

JUL.302025 

wu. 

STATE OF MICHIGAN 

MICHIGAN TAX TRIBUNAL 

GRETCHEN WHITMER 

DEPARTMENT OF LICENSING AND REGULATORY AFFAIRS 

ORLENE 

HAWRS 

GOVERNOR 

LANSING 

DIRECTOR 

PROPERTY TAX APPEAL PETITION FORM 

VALUATION / EXEMPTION / CLASSIFICATION APPEAL 

Do not use this form to appeal Principal Residence Exemption, Qualified Agricultural Exemption, Special Assessment, or 

Non-Property tax disputes. 

submit this document, you may be held in default. 

Pursuant to Michigan Tax Tribunal Rule (TTR) 277(3), you MUST submit a copy of the notice giving rise to the appeal 

(e.g. Board of Review Decision or Notice of Uncapping) with this Small Claims Petition, if applicable. If you do not 

Section 1: Petitioner’s Contact Information 

First Name 

MIL 

Last Name/Company Name 

John & Sandra 

Winans 

Mailing Address (No., Street, P.O. Box or Rural Route) 

217 East Pine, PO Box 417 

City or Town 

State 

ZIP Code 

Westphalia 

MI 

48894 

Telephone Number 

989/640-6276 

Fax Number 

winans.sandy@gmail.com 

E-mail Address (do not enter unless you want MTT to send all correspondence via e-mail) 

Section 2: Petitioner’s Attorney/Autho rized Representative’s Contact Information 

I. 

First Name 

MI 

Last Name 

Firm Name (if any) 

Address (No., Street, P.O. Box or Rural Route) 

City or Town 

State 

ZIP Code 

Telephone Number 

Fax Number 

E-mail Address (do not enter unless you want MTT to send all correspondence via e-mail) 

Section 3: Subject Property Information 

parcelsareyou | [] vest 

[of No™ 

How many 

Ifyou are appealing more than one parcel, are they contiguous or adjoining? 

appealing? 

*If yes, use a multiple parcel form for information regarding any contiguous parcels.

STATE OF MICHIGAN 

GRETCHEN WHITMER 

DEPARTMENT OF LICENSING AND REGULATORY AFFAIRS 

ORLENE HAWKS 

GOVERNOR 

LANSING 

DIRECTOR 

Section 4: Issues Being Appealed (check all that apply) 

[J True Cash and Taxable Value 

O Poverty Exemption 

[A Taxable Vatue Only (calculation) 

[] Disabled Veterans Exemption 

0 Uncapping of Taxable Value 

7 Eligible Manufacturing Personal Property (ESA) 

[J Exemption from Taxation (other than the denial of a 

[J Classification 

Principal Residence or Qualified Agricultural Exemption) 

Section 5: Explain the Reason for this Appeal 

Martiny Township Assessor errored by not presenting our property tax appeal to the 

Board of Review 

We are contesting that the original assessed/taxable 

value at the time of the sale in 

March of 2023 was much higher than the actual value of the property at that time. 

(see attached for detailed information) 

Section 6: Jurisdictional Issues 

Year(s) you are appealing: 

2024, 2025 (out of town and missed deadline by 2 days in 2024; assessor failed to present our appeal in 2025) 

Did you protest the assessment at a Board of Review (BOR)? [| Yes 

[No 

If Yes, check which BOR you attended AND attach the BOR decision: [] March 

[J uly 

[J December 

If No, check the applicable reason(s): 

Not required to attend 

Assessment Change Notice was not received by Petitioner 

[mi] Appealing a purported Clerical Error or Mutual Mistake of Fact (if yes, include explanation in Section 5)

STATE OF MICHIGAN 

GRETCHEN WHITMER 

DEPARTMENT OF LICENSING AND REGULATORY AFFAIRS 

ORLENE HAWKS 

GOVERNOR 

LANSING 

DIRECTOR 

Section 7: Valuation Information use the multiple parcel form for additional, contiguous parcels. 

Parcel Identification Number: 

5407022060000 

Classification of Froperty: 

Real 

Personal 

(check one) 

N] 

Agricuftural 

Commercial 

industrial 

Residential 

Timber-Cutover 

Developmental 

Utility 

(check one) 

Current Assessed Value (also known as State Equalized Value) as established by the BOR: 

260000 

Current Taxable Value as established by the BOR: 

249089 

What do you believe Is the Tair market value (also known as True Cash Value)? 

Upon the sale in 2023, we feel the fair market value should have been $390,000 

Multiply the True Cash Value by .5 and enter here. This is your contention of Assessed Value. 

$195,000 

if you believe the Taxable Value differs from your contention of Assessed Value, enter your contention of Taxable Value. 

$54,089 ($249,089 - $195,000) 

Section 8: Classification Information only the mi Dep't of Treasury may appeal this issue to the Tribunal 

Parcei Identification Number: 

Current Classification of Property as established by Board of Review: 

Real 

Personal 

(check one) 

O0 

Agricultural 

Commercial 

Industrial 

Residential 

Timber-Cutover 

Developmental 

Utility 

(check one) 

What do you believe is the property's classification? 

Real 

Personal 

{check one) 

0 

Agricultural 

Commercial 

Industrial 

Residential 

Timber-Cutover 

Developmental 

Utility 

(checkane) 

If improved property, how is the property currently being used? 

If improved property, for what use was the property designed?

STATE OF MICHIGAN 

GRETCHEN WHITMER 

DEPARTMENT OF LICENSING AND REGULATORY AFFAIRS 

ORLENE HAWKS 

GOVERNOR 

LANSING 

DIRECTOR 

Fee Information 

Does the subject property have a Principal Residence Exemption of at least 50% as of the date of the filing of this petition? 

[J ves 

[Ano 

Are you appealing ONLY the denial of a Poverty Exemption? 

O Yes 

[7] No 

if you answered yes to either or both of the above questions, you are not required to pay any filing fees. 

The filing fee is based on the greater of the State Equalized Value or Taxable Value in contention. 

If you are appealing more than one 

parcel, the parcel with the highest State Equalized Value or Taxable Value in contention will be used to determine your filing fee, plus 

$25.00 will be added for each additional parcel being appealed, not to exceed a total filing fee of $1,000. 

if your property is residential property (see MCL 205.762) and 

the State Equalized Value or Taxable Value in contention is: 

Filing Fee is: 

$100,000.00 and under 

$125.00 

$100,000.01 to $500,000.00 

$200.00 

$Over $500,000.00 

$300.00 

If your property is 

NOT residential property (see MCL 205.762) and 

the State Equalized Value or Taxable Value in contention is; 

Filing Fea is: 

$100,000.00 and under 

$250.00 

* Plus $25.00 for each additional parcel, as indicated above. 

if your property is 

NOT residential property and the State Equalized Value or Taxable Value in contention is $100,000.01 or greater the 

appeal does not qualify for Small Claims, Therefore, an Entire Tribunal petition must be filed. 

Signature “required 

Petitioner or Attorney/Authorized Representative’s Signature: 

Ist SV A 

SE (D ryp

The Martiny Township Assessor, Brad White, acknowledged erroring by not presenting our property tax 

appeal 

to the Board of Review. He said he mistakenly clipped our appeal 

to another. John Winans met 

with him in person on Friday, 3/7/25 and we sent our appeal over by email the same day. The Board met 

on Monday, 3/10/25, and somehow the Assessor didn’t recall our appeal was missing from the 6 items he 

was to present 

— which 

is frustrating when only the weekend had passed since we contacted him in 

person and he only had 5 other appeals to present. Now we find out that due to his error 

we are forced to 

pay a fee to appeal this to the Michigan Tax Tribunal. 

We would like a fair review of the assessed/taxable value of our property based upon the time period 

when we purchased it in March of 2023 and not just a 50% split of the sale price along with adjustments 

made back to that initial time period. 

Here is our appeal to Martiny Township from 3/7/25: 

Hello Mr. White. Last year | reached out to you with questions on our initial appraisal (we missed the 2024 

appeal process window by 2 days due to being out of town), and you advised that an appeal could be 

made in March 2025. 

We paid $483,000 for our property at 14316 Park Drive, Mecosta (parcel 5407-022-060-000) in March of 

2023 and understand that the initial assessed value was 

just calculated at 50%. The assessed value went 

from $153,900 in 2022 to $260,000 in 2025 which is a percentage change of nearly 70%. Between 2023 

and 2024, our taxes went from $2,412 to $9,949 which is an increase of $7,537 or 313%. We knew there 

would be an increase with the taxes uncapping at the time of sale, but we feel the tax increase and initial 

assessed value is way too high. 

We are appealing that the initial assessed value is too high because we felt we were purchasing a 

property that was overpriced for the market at that specific time period. 

It had been for sale for 

9 months 

and didn’t sell even over a summer when lake properties typically sell quickly if they are priced 

appropriately. We made the offer in February 2023 as we knew there would likely be more interest in the 

spring. Ultimately, we negotiated quite a bit higher than our realtor felt the property was worth and that 

we had initially intended to do. We knew the structure was quite dated and then our home inspector 

missed a lot of deficiencies which contributed to us feeling we had paid more than it was worth for the 

condition it was in. 

Also, John met with you (Brad White} at the township office on 3/7/25 where you provided additional 

perspective on the assessment process which was appreciated. You provided the property record, and it 

was noted that it does riot include any specifics relative to the year the structure was built (past inquiries 

only resulted in an estimate of ‘1800°s’) or that any specific additions or modifications had been made 

overthe years. Upon further review, it notes that 

it has a wood frame/exterior but technically the 

sidewalls are insulation board and substandard. The property record also notes it was remodeled in 

2022, but there’s absolutely no proof of any significant updates to support that notation {the siding,

STATE OF MICHIGAN 

GRETCHEN WHITMER 

DEPARTMENT OF LICENSING AND REGULATORY AFFAIRS 

ORLENE HAWKS 

GOVERNOR 

LANSING 

DIRECTOR 

PAPER FILING INSTRUCTIONS FOR 

VALUATION/EXEMPTION/CLASSIFICATION APPEAL 

Follow these instructions for filing this small claims petition. For any questions that are 

not answered in these instructions, see the Tribunal's website at 

www.michigan.gov/taxtrib or contact the Tribunal at 517-335-9760. 

Mail the completed form and filing fee (if one is required) to: Michigan Tax Tribunal, 

P.O. Box 30232, Lansing, Mi 48909. 

Section 1: Petitioner's Contact Information: “Petitioner” is the person, business, or 

entity filing the appeal. 

Section 2: Petitioner's Attorney/Authorized Representative’s Contact Information: 

Petitioner does not have to be represented by an attorney or authorized representative 

to file an appeal with the Tribunal. 

If Petitioner is represented, provide all contact 

information for the attorney or authorized representative. 

If Petitioner elects to have an 

attorney or authorized representative, only the attorney or authorized representative will 

receive notices and documents from the Tribunal. 

IMPORTANT: 

If the contact information for Petitioner, or the attorney or authorized 

representative, if fisted, includes an email address, the Tribunal will use that email 

address to electronically serve all future documents issued by the Tribunal. A request by 

Petitioner or Petitioner's attorney or authorized representative to opt out of electronic 

service once an email address is provided must be made in writing. 

Section 3: Subject Property Information: 

+ 

How many parcels are you appealing: List the number of parcels under 

appeal. 

» 

Are they contiguous or adjoining: 

If multiple parcels are being appealed, 

indicate whether the parcels are adjoining. If multiple parcels are being appealed, 

a separate petition must be filed for each non-adjoining parcel being appealed. 

* 

Property Address: Provide the address of all properties being appealed. 

* 

Taxing Authority: Provide the name of the city OR township (not both) where 

the property is located. 

* 

County: Provide the name of the county where the property is located.

i 

STATE OF MICHIGAN 

GRETCHEN WHITMER 

DEPARTMENT OF LICENSING AND REGULATORY AFFAIRS 

ORLENE HAWKS 

GOVERNOR 

LANSING 

DIRECTOR 

Section 6: Jurisdictional Issues: 

Year(s) you are appealing: List the tax year(s) being appealed. If more than one 

year is being appealed, explain the reason(s). 

Did you protest the assessment at a Board of Review (BOR): Indicate 

whether Petitioner protested the assessment to a BOR. 

If Yes, check which BOR you attended: Check which month Petitioner 

attended the BOR. 

If No, check the applicable reasons: 

If Petitioner did not attend a BOR, indicate 

why you did not attend. 

Did you request a Poverty Exemption at the BOR: Indicate whether Petitioner 

requested a poverty exemption at the BOR. 

If Yes, check which BOR considered your application AND attach the BOR 

decision: 

If Petitioner requested a poverty exemption at a BOR, indicate which 

month the exemption was requested at the BOR. 

If No, explain why: 

If Petitioner did not request a poverty exemption at a BOR, 

explain the reason(s) the poverty exemption was not requested at a BOR. 

Section 7: Valuation Information: Use the Mulfiple Parcel Form for additional parcels, 

if necessary. True cash value is the property's “usual selling price” or market price. 

Taxable Value is the lesser of the property’s State Equalized Value or its capped value. 

Taxable value may only increase by the rate of inflation or 5% (whichever is less) in a 

given year, unless there are additions to the property. 

Parcel Identification Number: Each parcel number being appealed must be 

listed. 

Classification of Property: Check the classification of the property being 

appealed. 

Current Assessed Value (also known as State Equalized Value) as 

established by the BOR: Provide the current state equalized value (which is 

50% of the true cash value), for the year(s) under appeal. (NOTE: this 

information can be found on the Notice of Assessment or from the decision of the 

BOR). 

Current Taxable Value as established by the BOR: Provide the current 

taxable value, for the year(s) under appeal. (NOTE: this information can be found 

on the Notice of Assessment or from the decision of the BOR). 

What do you believe is the fair market value: List what Petitioner believes is

STATE OF MICHIGAN 

GRETCHEN WHITMER 

DEPARTMENT OF LICENSING AND REGULATORY AFFAIRS 

ORLENE HAWKS 

GOVERNOR 

LANSING 

DIRECTOR 

If you believe the Taxable Value differs from your contention of Assessed 

Value, enter your contention of Taxable Value: List Petitioner's belief of the 

taxable value of the property for each tax year at issue. 

*If a parcel is being appealed for multiple years, provide the information for each year, 

for each parcel under appeal. 

Use a separate sheet of paper, 

if necessary. 

Section 8: Classification Information 

Parcel Identification Number: Each parcel number being appealed must be 

listed. 

Current Classification of Property as Established by BOR: Check the 

classification of the property being appealed. 

What do you believe is the property’s classification: Check what you believe 

the classification of the property is. 

If improved property, how is the property currently being used: Explain the 

current use of the property. 

If improved property, for what use was the property designed: Explain what 

the property was designed to be used for. 

Fee Information: 

Does the subject property have a Principal Residence Exemption of at least 

50% as of the date of the filing of this petition: 

If the property at issue has a 

principal residence exemption of 50% or more at the time of the filing of the 

petition, no fee is required. 

Are you appealing ONLY the denial of a Poverty Exemption: There is no fee 

for filing a poverty exemption appeal. However, if you are filing both a valuation 

and poverty exemption appeal, you must still pay the filing fee due for the 

valuation portion 

if you answered “no” to the question above. 

Use the chart on the petition form to determine the fee. Add $25 for each additional, 

adjoining parcel that you are appealing, not to exceed a total fee of 

$1,000. If there is 

more than one adjoining parcel under appeal, use the parcel with the highest State 

Equalized Value or Taxable Value in contention for the base fee. 

If filing multiple 

petitions, a separate payment must be made for each individual appeal or petition. 

Checks, money orders, or other draft payments must be made payable to the State of 

Michigan.

STATE OF MICHIGAN 

GRETCHEN WHITMER 

DEPARTMENT OF LICENSING AND REGULATORY AFFAIRS 

ORLENE HAWKS 

GOVERNOR 

LANSING 

DIRECTOR 

REMINDERS: 

Pursuant to TTR 277, Petitioner shall provide the Tribunal a copy of the notice or 

action taken by the local board of review or other unit of government. 

You must submit the original, signed completed petition form to the Tribunal. You 

should also keep a copy for yourself. 

Multiple Parcel Attachment to Petition Form: Only use this form if you are appealing 

multiple contiguous (adjoining) parcels in the same appeal. Additional copies of this 

form can be used, as needed. If you are appealing only one parcel, disregard this form. 

See above instructions on Valuation Information for Each Parcel under Appeal. 

It is your responsibility to provide the Respondent (i.e., unit of government) or 

Respondent's attorney or authorized representative, with a copy of any attachments 

submitted with the petition form. The Tribunal will not forward a copy of any attachments 

to the respondent (i.e., opposing party). TTR 287 states that failure to provide the 

copies to the respondent at least 21 days in advance of the hearing may result in 

the exclusion of the attachments. 

The respondent will have an allotted period of time to respond, after which time the case 

will be ready for a hearing. The Tribunal will send a notice of hearing to the parties no 

less than 45 days in advance of the hearing. To check the status of your appeal, visit 

our website at www.michigan.gov/taxtrib and click on the “Docket Search” option.

Residential Building 

1 

of 

1 

Parcel Number: 

5407 

022 

060 

000 

Printed 

on 

03/07/2025 

Building Type 

(3) 

Roof 

(cont.) 

{11) 

Heating/Cooling 

(15) 

Built-ins 

(15) 

Fireplaces 

{16) 

Porches/Decks 

(17) 

Garage 

X 

{Single 

Family 

Eavestrough 

X 

{Gas 

Oil 

[Elec. 

Appliance Allow. 

Interior 

1 

Story 

|Area{Type 

Year Built: 

Mobile Home 

Insulation 

Wood 

Coal 

|Steam 

Cook Top 

Interior 

2 

Story 

Jel 

(1 

Story) 

Car Capacity: 

Town Home 

0iF 

t Overhan 

- 

Dishwasher 

2nd/Same 

Stack 

¥'iclass: 

¢ 

Ton 

9 

Forced Air w/o Ducts 

; 

: 

175{CPP 

: 

: 

Duplex 

glother Overhang 

R 

Garbage Disposal 

Two Sided 

200lcpe 

Exterior: 

Siding 

A-Frame 

¥ 

(Forced Air 

w/ 

Ducts 

|Bath Heater 

Exterior 

1 

Story 

160|cPP 

Brick Ven.: 

0 

(4) 

Interior 

Forced Hot Water 

Vent 

Fan 

Exterior 

2 Story 

175 Treated Wood 

Stone Ven.: 

0 

X [Wood 

Frame 

Electric Baseboard 

Hot Tub 

Prefab 

1 Story 

160 Treated Wood 

|Common Wall: 

Detache 

Drywall 

Plaster 

Elec. 

Ceil. Radiant 

Unvented Hood 

prefab 

2 Story 

reated 

Woo 

Foundation: 

18 Inch 

ET] 

T 

Paneled 

Wood T&G 

Radiant 

(in-floor) 

; 

208|Treated Wood 

fp; vorog 

2, 

Building Style: 

; 

Vented Hood 

Heat Circulatox 

: 

1 STORY 

Fri 

Decoration 

Electric Wall Heat 

Intercom 

Raised Hearth 

Auto. 

Doors: 

0 

TET 

Space Heater 

Jacuzzi Tub 

Wood Stove 

Mech. 

Doors: 

0 

Yr Built [Remodeled 

[Ex 

[X joxd 

7 

min 

Wall/Floor Furnace 

Jacuzzi repl.Tub 

Direct-Vented Ga 

Area: 

676 

0 

2022 

£1 

| 

| 

Forced Heat & Cool 

Jacu 

area: 

oT 

Condition: Good 

Size of closets 

Heat Pump 

, 

Microwave 

See 

: Ia 

Storage Area: 

0 

; 

fig [%[oxd 

[Small] 

[No Heating/Cooling 

Standard Range 

|Tricor BOel 

BS 

No Conc. Flooz: 

0 

| 

i 

{ 

: 

+ 

1, 

Room List 

Doors] 

|Solid|X H.C. 

Central Air 

Self Clean Range 

|.Ci 1 Base New 

: 311,445 

E.C.F. 

|[Bsmnt Garage: 

Ld 

| 

Wood Furnace 

Sauna 

Total Depr Cost: 230,486 

X 

1.240 

Basement 

{3) 

Floors 

: 

Trash Compactor 

5 

. 

‘ 

: 

C 

. 

ort Area: 

1st 

Floor 

i 

(12) 

Electric 

Central Vacuum 

Estimated T.C.V: 

285,803 

paper 

! 

2nd Floor 

Kisohen: 

O{Amps Service 

{Security System 

N 

: 

er: 

- 

i 

Bedrooms 

Others 

No./Qual. 

of Fixtures 

| Cost Est. 

for Res. Bldg: 

1 

Single Family 

1 STORY 

Cls 

C 10 

Bit 

0 

i 

{1) 

Exterior 

TEx. 

[x Tord. 

[Ein 

au 

Heating System: 

Foroed Air 

w/ Ducts 

5 

IX [Wood/8hingle 

(6) 

Ceilings 

: 

: 

roun, 

ea 

= 

SF 

Floor Area = 

F. 

HE 

No. 

of Elec. 

Outlets 

! 

[Aluminum/Vinyl 

1 

: 

i 

Phy/Ab. Phy/Func/Econ/Comb. 

$ Good=74/100/100/100/74 

Brick 

Po 

Many [Xave. 

1 

[Few 

Building Areas 

{ 

] 

: 

: 

A 

R 

; 

137 

Bilumbing 

Stories 

Exterior 

Foundation 

Size 

Cost New 

Depr. 

Cost 

| 

{ 

Insulation 

in 

1 

Story 

Siding 

Basement 

936 

i 

TE 

1. 

Average Fixture(s) 

| 1 story 

Siding 

Crawl Space 

616 

| 

(2) Windows 

(7) 

Excavation 

2 

|3 Fixture Bath 

Total: 

228,002 

168,738 

Many 

Large 

Basement: 

936 

S.F. 

| 

2 Figture Bath 

Other Additions/Adjustments 

X 

Avg. 

X 

(Avg. 

Crawl: 

616 

S.F. 

Softener, 

Auto 

Recreation Room 

936 

17,456 

12,917 

Few 

{small 

Slab: 

0 

S.F. 

Softener, 

Manual 

Plumbing 

Food Sash 

Height to Joists: 

0.0 

Solar Water Heat 

3 Fixture Bath 

1 

4,481 

3,316 

Metal Sash 

No Plumbing 

Water/Sewer 

Vinyl Sash 

(8) Basement 

Extra Toilet 

1000 Gal Septic 

1 

4,692 

3,472 

Extra Sin 

Water Well, 

50 Feet 

1 

2,590 

1,917 

Double Hung 

Sone. 

Block 

! 

Separate Shower 

Porches 

4 

[4 

4 

Horiz. 

Slide 

{Poured Cone. 

{ 

Ceramic Tile 

Floor 

cc 

(1 

story) 

16 

1,116 

826 

Casement 

Stone 

Ceramic Tile Wains 

CBP 

175 

3,134 

2,319 

Doub 

e Glass 

Treated Wood 

Ceramic Tub Alcove | 

cpp 

200 

37478 

257s 

Patio 

Doors 

tConcrete 

Floor 

Vent 

Fan 

ep 

160 

5 

523 

51 

3 

Storms 

& Screens 

(9) 

Basement Finish 

TIT 

Water/Sewer 

! 

beck 

‘ 

12 

(3) 

Roof 

936 

|Recreation 

SF 

Sabile Water 

Treated Wood 

175 

3,654 

2,704 

‘ 

X 

cable 

| 

[Gambrel 

{Living 

SF 

foots 

Treated Wood 

460 

6,895 

5,102 

! 

Po 

Public Sewer 

i 

Hip 

| 

IMansard 

Walkout Dooxs 

(B) 

1 

Water Well 

Treated Wood 

208 

4,098 

3,033 

Flat 

| 

[Shed 

No Floor 

SF 

11 

11000 Gal Septic 

Garages 

: 

I 

; 

{ni 

vy 

: 

{Walkout 

Doors 

(A) 

12000 

Gal Septic 

Class: 

C Exterior: 

Siding Foundation: 

18 

Inch 

(Unfinished) 

X |Asphait Shingle 

710) 

Floor Support 

| 

14 

Base Cost 

676 

24,126 

17,853 

! 

FoistsT 

Lump 

Sum Items: 

Lump Sum Items 

Chimney: Brick 

Unsupported Len: 

800 

BOATHOUSE 

300 

222 

Cntr. 

Sup: 

) 

| <<<<< Calculations too long. 

See Valuation printout 

for complete pricing. 

>>>>> 

***% Information herein deemed reliable but not guaranteed***

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