Supreme Court of Ohio Addresses Entity Transfer Valuation

The Supreme Court of Ohio recently decided a case involving an entity transfer sale – one of the hottest subjects in Ohio commercial real estate right now.  See Columbus City Schools Bd. Of Edn. V. Franklin Cty Bd. Of Revision, 2020-Ohio-353.  That case dealt with a property tax valuation determination made by the Board of Tax Appeals, stemming from the sale of a 264-unit apartment complex that was accomplished through an entity transfer with a purchase price of $35,250,000.  The Board of Tax Appeals determined that an arm’s length sale had occurred in that case and rejected the opposing appraisal on the basis that purchaser had not rebutted the presumption that the entity sale price established the value of the property.  This decision is unfavorable for the commercial real estate industry because the many transactions take place by the way of an entity transfer, and because under our current systems, that is an essential structure to make certain deals work.

To read that full Decision, click here.