Peter Austin
Work Experience
Property Assessment
Experience since 1978 has included the review of up to 400 property assessments each year including negotiations with BC Assessment and attending Appeal Board hearings. Pre-roll consultations with BC Assessment have been conducted annually to ensure that BCA are fully aware of any factors affecting the value.
Arbitrations
Disputes arise between landlord and tenants, partners and others where rents and values can not be agreed upon. Mr. Austin, with his Chartered Arbitrator designation and vast experience as an expert witness, has handled many arbitrations over the years.
Rental Studies
Many landlords and tenants need evidence to support their claim for an increased or decreased rent upon the renewal or turnover of a lease. For many years, both short form (in the form of a lease chart) or a full appraisal prepared by Mr. Austin, have assisted parties in negotiating a rental both feel is market rate.
Appraisal
Austin Real Estate Consultants cover most types of real property, ranging from vacant land to major developed complexes for clients that include many of British Columbia's and Canada's largest companies, various levels of Government, and Financial Institutions. The company has been retained by many major landowners and law firms to assist them with their assessment appeals, expropriation, rental disputes, and other legal matters.
Feasibility and Due Diligence
Austin Real Estate Consultants also performs research and feasibility analysis for:
- developers investigating the potential for development sites and
- purchasers with regard to the viability of investment proposals. The company has been contracted by several clients to investigate problem projects.
Property Management
The parent company has been active in the management of a shopping centre from inception including the arranging for tenant set up and move in. The company has also been active in the management of an office building and over 20 apartment buildings, with as many as 100 units, at one point in time.
Development
The company has been the owner of several land parcels. The company has steered projects through to the building permit stage, overseeing renovation, conversion, and refurbishment of over 25 multifamily properties.
Education
Peter Austin’s Teaching assignments include Appraisal at UBC for the Diploma course, Property management course at Langara and guest speaker for various professional organisations including the Fraser Valley Real Estate Board and BC Central Credit Union. He has also organised and spoken at several Property Tax Seminars put on by Lorman Educational Services of Wisconsin USA, as well as the annual Assessment review for BC sponsored by CPTA and one of their National workshops at Kananaskis.
Strata Dispute Resolution
Peter Austin’s qualifications include:
- Degree in Real Estate
- Qualified Real Estate Appraiser for over 3 decades
- Certified Arbitrator [ C.Arb ]
- Past president of the Canadian Property Tax Association
- Current Board member of the BC Arbitration and Mediation Institute
- Current Owner of several Strata units
- Current Member of the "Restoration subcommittee" for the last 2 years for Strata at Arbutus Village, Vancouver
- Current Executive member of Strata for last 4 years for Summerville Court, Mobile
- Past Member of Council for a Strata Corporation at Whistler for 4 years
- Appeared as expert witness in front of many tribunals and Supreme Court.
Peter Austin : Qualifications
Professional Experience
1973 - 1975 |
Knowlton Realty - industrial, commercial, ICI sales and leasing |
1975 - 2003 |
Appraisal & consulting, shopping centre leasing, initially as a sole practitioner, then forming Burgess, Austin & Associates in 1978 |
2004 - present |
Principal - Austin Real Estate Consultants |
Degrees and Designations
- Fellow - Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors (FRICS)
- Member of the Appraisal Institute of Canada (AACI)
- Chartered Arbitrator (C. Arb)
- Bachelor of Science (Estate Management) (B. Sc)
Associated Activities
Canadian Property Tax Association |
Chapter chair 2005-2011 National Committee Member 1997 – 2002 National President 2000 |
BC Arbitration and Mediation Institute | Provincial Board Member 2011 – current |
Asia Pacific Initiative | Federal-Provincial Study -Real Estate committee 1995 |
Greater Vancouver Apartment Owners Association | Director 1990 - 1994 |
Int. Council of Shopping Centres | West Canadian Committee 1991 – 1993 |
Little Mountain Residential Care & Housing Society | Director 1984 - 1989 |
Lecturer | U.B.C. Real Estate Diploma Course and Langara College |
Executive member | Summerhill Court Home Owners Assoc Mobile,Alabama |
Member Working committee | VR563 renovation project, Vancouver |
Strata working committee for Civil Resolution Tribunal Act |
Publications
- Reasons For Landlords To Appeal Their Property Assessments
- Developers need to Appeal the Additional School Tax (AST)
- Expected Assessed Value Changes In 2022
- 2022 Property Assessment Value Changes
- Misconceptions within the Property Assessment Process
- Additional School Tax Exemption for Developers
- Minimizing Property Tax on Development Land
- Why Such An Increase 2021 Industrial Property Taxes?
- Burnaby Industrial Properties Appear to be Over-Assessed
- Have BC Assessment Over-assessed Retail Spaces
- 2021 Property Assessment Value Changes
- Assessment Of Residential Sites Under Construction
- Should Homebuilders Be Paying Additional School Tax?
- City of Vancouver Land Averaging 2020
- Government Assistance: Property Tax
- 2020 Assessment of Apartment Properties
- Development Sites: Is The Additional School Tax Applicable?
- 2020 Property Assessment Value Changes
- BC Lower Mainland Market Update 2020
- Taxes Affecting Real Estate In 2019
- Development of Sites Under Construction - 2020
- Land Averaging For 2019 Property Tax In Vancouver
- 2019 Property Assessment Value Changes
- Understanding B.C.'s Proportional Representation Referendum (PPTX)
- Amacon Update
- Vancouver Vacancy Tax
- 2018 Property Assessment Value Changes
- Mayor's Council Proposal for Funding Transit
- Resolving Disputes - A New Approach
- Mixed Use Properties - Potential reclassification for Property Taxation
- Classification of Mixed Use Properties September 2016 Update
- Possible Effects of FIT on Assessments
- BC Foreign Investors Tax
- NAIOP Industrial Panel
- Classification of Mixed Use Sites - Part 2
- Opportunities for Brokers
- Valuation of Properties Under Construction
- Is Assessed Value Equal to Market Value?
- Civil Resolution Tribunal Update - October 2014
- Assessment Appeal Board Changes Classification for Mixed Use Development Sites
- Strata Civil Resolution Tribunal Update
- Reviewing Appraisals - Download
- Resolving a Rental Dispute
- How are School Taxes Calculated? | doc