www.amesassessor.org A Basic Tutorial For the Ames City Assessor s GIS Web Site For Real Estate Data and Maps Created July 1, 2008 Property of Ames City Assessor s Office and The Schneider Corporation

If you're having problems getting into the web site, click on How to use this Site, and follow the troubleshooting techniques to help resolve your problem. Select Select If you want to make Story/Ames your default jurisdiction, check here. Select After you ve made the proper selections, click on Enter. Guidepost Search Engine If you use the name search function to search multiple states/counties, your results will not display anything for Ames or Story County. However, if you use address search, your results will include Ames and Story County. Updated: 9/16/2008 G:\AsrGroup\DOC\City Orientation\Beacon Web Site Tutorial.doc Page 2 of 15

Search Page Overview Map See Page 14 Search See Page 5 Results See Page 6 Report See Page 8 See Page 4 See Page 7 To access commercial and residential sales listings in the City of Ames, click here. To access commercial and residential sales listings in Story County (excluding Ames), click here. When data was last uploaded to the web site. To connect to Ames City Assessor s other website, click here. To connect to Story County Assessor s other website, click here. Updated: 9/16/2008 G:\AsrGroup\DOC\City Orientation\Beacon Web Site Tutorial.doc Page 3 of 15

Help Each page/tab in Beacon has a corresponding help page. Depending on what page you are on, clicking the button at the upper right corner of the page will take you to the corresponding help page. Also, once you have entered the Help area/window, you can click on the link for any other help page. Help Pages Change Options Your default settings for the Map function. Send Feedback If you were already looking at an appraisal report for a specific parcel, this field will be populated with the property ID number for that parcel. If your feedback does not have to do with a specific parcel, just uncheck the box. You are not required to fill in contact information if you want to send feedback. However, if you would like us to reply to your feedback be sure to fill this in. Updated: 9/16/2008 G:\AsrGroup\DOC\City Orientation\Beacon Web Site Tutorial.doc Page 4 of 15

How to Use the Search Page/Tab Enter the Parcel ID either with or without the hyphens See below for examples (Do not spell out numbered streets, i.e. Type 3rd instead of third) You can either scroll down in the drop-down list to find the street you want or type the first letter of the street name to narrow down your list. Example (Property ID): 09 02 350 100 Township: Washington (T83N R24W) 09 Section: 2 Block: 350 Address Search Examples and Results Bals Examples Results 4203 3100-3120 Ever 401 20th Parcel ID Owner Property Address City 0535250000 AMES, CITY OF 401 E 20TH ST AMES To protect individual privacy, a search by name is not available to the public at this time. Updated: 9/16/2008 G:\AsrGroup\DOC\City Orientation\Beacon Web Site Tutorial.doc Page 5 of 15

Results Page/Tab The Results Page/Tab returns a list of results A) from the criteria you entered on the Search Page B) that were identified on the Map Page If the criteria entered on the Search Page defines only one parcel, the program will go right to the Report Page and skip the Results Page. The Results Page will retain your list of results until you do one of the following: A) enter new criteria on the Search Page B) on the Map Page 1) identify a new parcel (feature) or set of parcels. 2) clear your results using the eraser on the Maps toolbar. Results can be sorted by Parcel ID, Owner, Property Address, City or Sec/Twp/Rng To sort a column, click the column header. The first sort will be done in ascending order. Click the column header again to change between ascending and descending order. To view a report for a parcel, click on either the report icon or the corresponding Parcel ID. If you would like to see a results list showing all of the property owned by a specific individual, click on that owner s name. (If they own only one parcel, the program will automatically take you to the Report Page.) SMITH, KAREN L (D) CAREMOLI, ANDREA & CAPRA, MARIAGRAZIA (D) Updated: 9/16/2008 G:\AsrGroup\DOC\City Orientation\Beacon Web Site Tutorial.doc Page 6 of 15

Print Setup / Print / Email Print Setup /Print Options = Options only available with the Map Page Optional Title Bar Items The Update button will redraw the print preview page to reflect the changes you have made to the print options. Print the report Email a link to the report Double arrows on the far right side of each module may be clicked to collapse/expand a module, so only the desired modules will be displayed/printed. Updated: 9/16/2008 G:\AsrGroup\DOC\City Orientation\Beacon Web Site Tutorial.doc Page 7 of 15

Report Page/Tab (Residential Property) As we to start to move our residential data to ProVal, the format of the Residential Report will start to look more like the Commercial Report. This is the most current owner information. Updated by the Auditor s Office at the Story County Administration Building in Nevada. Hyperlink to the County Auditor s Change of Address Form 1) Print the form. 2) Fill it out. 3) Mail it to the County Auditor s address that is listed on the form. Abbreviated Legal Description Maintained by the Auditor s Office This information comes from the Ames City Clerk Not every parcel will have this hyperlink. Hyperlink to the City of Ames Zoning Ordinance Summary Maintained by Ames Planning & Housing Updated: 9/16/2008 G:\AsrGroup\DOC\City Orientation\Beacon Web Site Tutorial.doc Page 8 of 15

Neighborhoods are assigned by the Assessor s office. A neighborhood is an homogeneous group of properties. Normal Parks (positive condition) Railroads (negative condition) Busy Roads (negative condition) Above-grade living area Above-grade living area Generally, attic area that is finished, but of lower quality Could include utility area of a home built on slab Quality rating for basement corresponds to ceiling height ranges *LvQ = * Living Quarters Shed, Pool, Tennis Court, 2 nd Garage, Elevator Includes residential and conversion sales from 1995 to present. Updated: 9/16/2008 G:\AsrGroup\DOC\City Orientation\Beacon Web Site Tutorial.doc Page 9 of 15

Urban Revitalization The Assessor calculates the assessed value. The Story County Treasurer calculates property taxes. This module is linked to the Story County Treasurer s Office This module is linked to the Iowa State County Treasurer s Association This is the most current instrument recorded (legal document) for this parcel. Clicking on the hyperlink takes you to Iowa Land Records where you should be able to view the actual instrument. The Story County Recorder is responsible for uploading the instruments to Iowa Land Records. Updated: 9/16/2008 G:\AsrGroup\DOC\City Orientation\Beacon Web Site Tutorial.doc Page 10 of 15

Report Page/Tab (Commercial/Industrial/Agricultural Property) This will inform you as to which Assessor is responsible for this parcel. If the owner s name is displayed as a hyperlink, it means they own multiple parcels in Story County. When you click on this hyperlink the Results Page/Tab will display a list of their parcels. Only agricultural parcels and parcels with forest reserves will list gross and net acres. The neighborhood for commercial, industrial and agricultural parcels is listed here. Updated: 9/16/2008 G:\AsrGroup\DOC\City Orientation\Beacon Web Site Tutorial.doc Page 11 of 15

Typically: Level Typically: All Typically: Paved Typically: Static Other Possibilities: High, Low, Rolling, Swampy Other Possibilities: Water, Sewer, Gas, Electricity Other Possibilities: Unpaved, Proposed, Sidewalk, Alley Other Possibilities: Improving, Declining, Blighted Legal Sq Ft and Measured Sq Ft can be different values, but for our jurisdiction they should be the same. Agricultural parcels only No data will be provided Since we have so few agricultural parcels in our jurisdiction, the Story County Assessor has been graciously processing them. Please refer to the Soils Report/Tab. Updated: 9/16/2008 G:\AsrGroup\DOC\City Orientation\Beacon Web Site Tutorial.doc Page 12 of 15

If there are multiple buildings on the parcel, there will be a card and a sketch for each building. Details concerning yard items & special features will appear here. Pavement thickness in inches Updated: 9/16/2008 G:\AsrGroup\DOC\City Orientation\Beacon Web Site Tutorial.doc Page 13 of 15

Map Page/Tab Toolbar Updated: 9/16/2008 G:\AsrGroup\DOC\City Orientation\Beacon Web Site Tutorial.doc Page 14 of 15

Photos The photos are for internal purposes of appraisal, but made available to the public on the web site. As we have limited resources and difficulty keeping up with photos, we only re-take pictures when there has been a structural change or significant improvement that would affect the appraised value of the home. Ames Comp Important Things to Know The site is best displayed and operated at a minimum of 1024 x 768 resolution, with dsl or cable modem internet service. In order to view the progress bar at the bottom of the application, you must maximize your window. This application is operated with session variables. These session variables time out after 15 minutes. If you sit on a page for more than 15 minutes without any activity and then execute a page, the application will act as if you just entered the site. Depending on what layers you have activated on the Map Page/Tab, the page may not fully display on your screen. When this occurs, use the scroll bar at the bottom of your window to display the far right portion of the page. Updated: 9/16/2008 G:\AsrGroup\DOC\City Orientation\Beacon Web Site Tutorial.doc Page 15 of 15