The Muncie Sanitary District did not use licensed appraisers in setting the $395,000 sale price when it purchased a flea market for three times the building’s assessed value, the district administrator now says.
Nikki Grigsby, the sanitary district administrator, said the district used appraisals from local real estate brokers Austin Schmaltz and Adam Covault to help set the price for the flea market building that the district bought in September. Neither is certified under Indiana law to do such appraisals.
“Neither of these individuals are licensed appraisers in Indiana,” Indiana Professional Licensing Agency Communications and Legislative Affairs Director Trent Fox, told The (Muncie) Star Press.
Indiana regulations state that it is a Class B infraction for a person to act as a licensed or certified real estate appraiser without a license or certification. An infraction ranks below a misdemeanor among Indiana offenses and carries a possible fine of $1,000.
It was reported that the building was sold to the sanitary district in September for $395,000. It had been purchased in August for $150,000. The assessed value for the property is between $108,000 and $120,000, according to the Delaware County assessor’s office.
Grigsby reportedly said that purchasing the property for $395,000 saved the district “over $1 million” compared with another plan that would improve the White River levee in the area on the city's east side.
Jay Allardt, a certified appraiser, told the paper there were at least a dozen people in that region of Indiana who were certified to do appraisals such as the flea market building.