Cama X Release 1505 updates

V15.5 CAMAvision® Updates and Enhancements

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Calculation Changes

This update requires a revaluation on both the working and certified parcels. This is needed to properly initialize new fields.

UPDATED.

The calculation for commercial building extra Overhead Door w/Seal

Manual and

Overhead Door w/Seal

Power incorrectly priced these doors as Each

instead of PSFSA. These

two door types were added with the 2008 Manual. If your data has either of these door types you will see value changes during the revaluation. If you do not want your parcel values to change for doors of these types, you can note the width and height in the comment field and then set both of these dimensions to one. When you are ready,

you can set the width and height back.

UPDATED.

The calculation for quarters-over on

detached carports

incorrectly used the wrong table to lookup the base value. This has been addressed. Detached carports and their accompanying quarter-over pricing are new to the 2008 Manual, so any garages entered prior

to upgrading are not

affected. If you have added quarters-over

to detached carports

since updating to the 2008 Manual, you will see value changes

during the revaluation.

UPDATED.

The action of zeroing out the quantity on a residential building extra, but not zeroing out the unit price, would cause an incorrect summation of the residential replacement cost new (RCN). While this does not affect values

so users will not see a value correction, the RCN will be recalculated for residential structures during the revaluation process.

ENHANCED (User Request). Added Cubic Foot priced Wood, Steel, and Reinforced Concrete to the Commercial Component Framing (CFRAM) table. This will not

affect any existing values.

ENHANCED. Commercial Component Foundation

(CFTNO) and Footer

(CFOOT) are being combined to allow users to more accurately price structures that have partial basements. Previously the user could only price one or the other (footer or foundation) and put the remaining as a structure adjustment or extra. This change will not

change how existing structures are priced, but users may want to review

buildings with a mixed footer/foundation and update accordingly.

ENHANCED (User Request). Added Stable SF pricing to the Ag Outbuilding main area adjustment table (A_ADJ). This will not


ENHANCED (User Request). Added Portable Shed pricing to the Yard Shed (YSHED) table. This will not


ENHANCED (User Request). Added ability to enter a 2-digit decimal value into the quantity amount on a miscellaneous yard extra (YMISC). This will not


ENHANCED. Additional sizes have been added to the Income Module mini-storage by SF pricing: 50 SF, 125 SF, 200 SF, 275 SF and 300 SF. For compatibility with existing structures the 50 SF line defaults to using the existing 60 SF values and the other new lines use the values from the 100 SF line. This will not


Main Menu

REMINDER. Multiple instances

of the program can now be open. Two

instances of the program are allowed to be running. The typical use would be to log into the Old (1998) Manual and

New (2008) Manual for comparison. Or to log into a Working and

Certified. Users could even log in twice to the same database provided they had two accounts

you are not allowed to be active as the same user more than once in the same

database. And it should be noted that additional network licenses are not

required to take advantage of this feature.

NEW (User Request). With the proliferation of users with multiple monitors, it has been requested that CAMAvision startup on the same screen and remember its window size. The option has been added to the user preferences. The default (off) behavior will have CAMAvision open full-screen


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and on the primary monitor. This preference is machine dependent and cannot roam like other user preferences.

Pricing Tables

ENHANCED (User Request). Income Module Tables. Improved the display and separation of various Type Sets; making them easier to read and understand. Using the toggle buttons on the toolbar, users can switch between seeing table entries for Type Set 1, 2, 3 or all.

ENHANCED (User Request). Improved access to the table factoring wizard. Also added option to fill selected rows and columns with sequential values.


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Batch Routines

ENHANCED (User Request). The Reconciliation Value Update batch has been completely rewritten. A new feature is the ability to import starting values for all your parcels from your tax vendor. Previously this feature was only available on per-parcel basis. The Help has been updated to explain how to use this feature in a batch process.

ENHANCED. For the Revaluation Batch,

a

parcels changed count has been added to the by-PDF and by-Map Area value change reports.

ENHANCED (User Request). Added a summary report by Class for the Revaluation Batch.


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ENHANCED (User Request).

A shortcut to compare Main and Test tables had been added to Revaluation batch.


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ENHANCED. Prior Year records will now store the location

and class

at the time the prior year

record is created. This means users will be able to query and compare parcel location and class to previous years. Existing prior year records already stored in CAMAvision will leave these fields blank. These fields are searchable within the Query Wizard. At present there are no plans to include these fields on any reports other than custom value notices.

Parcel Search

NEW. Added latitude and longitude of a parcel to the General tab.

NEW.

Added location and class to

the prior year summary.

NEW.

Added name information to the parcel search most recently used list. The name stored will be the first field that is non-blank: DBA, Deed holder, or Contract-to in that order.

Parcel Maintenance

ENHANCED. Added Latitude and Longitude of a parcel in the address area. These fields were requested by some of our mapping partners. Latitude and Longitude are stored in decimal degrees in these new fields.


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ENHANCED (User Request). An Insert button has been added to Commercial. It allows users to insert new commercial structures instead of just adding to the end.

ENHANCED. Changed the area data entry fields in commercial and ag-building adjustments, equipment and plumbing to allow for area square footages that are larger than 999,999 SF.

ENHANCED (User Request). Added

a Quick Tip reminder for the user when using the Exempt check tag and the Exempt class. This is a system-wide maintenance setting that is configured in the system Parcel Maintenance screen. Client s that have Solution s as their tax vendor should use Parcel Tag should be used. For them it is recommended that exempt parcels be identified with Exempt tag (not just with the Exempt class).


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Added options allowing either the property address or mail-to address to be pasted into the Board of Review Petition screens.


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When adding a new Board Petition, all the date fields will default to blank instead of previously defaulting to the current date.

ENHANCED. Added the storing of Location and Class for Prior Year records. Starting with this release, a parcels location and class at the time the prior the record is created

will be stored. These fields will be blank for previous years; however a user can

manually edit them in the Prior Year editor within parcel maintenance. One possible use for these fields is to include them on custom assessment notice reports; showing previous and current classification as well as values.

IMPROVED. Several users reported that they couldn t use the Vanguard Manual lookup. Particularly users with limited access rights on their computers or networks reported problems. We researched the problems and will be updating the PDF viewer with a new version.


Removed unnecessary sound that would ding when navigating through the status screen s date fields.


For users taking advantage of the new Normal/Abnormal sale identifier in the Sale NUT table, this has been added to the NUT Code selection on the sale data entry screen. Normal sale codes are identified with a (N)

as indicated on the screenshot.


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Sketch

NEW (User Request).

Added a structure summary list that can be viewed at all times during sketch. It allows users to see all the structures on a parcel, and not just linkable structures either. A possible use will be putting together plot plans; users can see all

structures on a parcel without having to toggle between the maintenance screens and sketch.


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NEW.

Added 29 new

standard markers. They will appear within the Markers menu on the sketch. A typical use

could be with plot plan layouts, but they can be used for any purpose. The new markers consist of three different sizes of: squares, rectangles, hexagons, tanks, arrows, triangles, pointers, a silo

(Circle0), and a dwelling.


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Income Module

NEW.

Customizable income and expense lines. All income and expense tables have added

customizable entries. Income tables have added about 10 user definable lines. Expense tables have added about 25 lines each.

NEW. User definable statements. Each statement type now has three type sets. The first type set for each statement is already defined for everyone. These are the standard

statements. The other

two type sets for each income type are user definable. For example, perhaps your jurisdiction has two distinct types of apartments

different enough that you d like two very different types of statements. Now you can define these unique types: setup type one and type set two for apartments.

NEW. Income

statements can now be tied to the structure pricing and percent of use applied. What this means is that you can price part of a parcel on the income approach and part on the cost manual approach.

ENHANCED.

Improved handling of grid when in browse-only mode.

ENHANCED. Improved security options for access to edit, view and print statements.

Comparable Search

NEW (User Request). Added a Save as Template option that will save all settings except

the subject and custom candidate list. This will allow users to define search criteria that can be used over and over with minimal editing. It can essentially reduce the Comp Search process down to a few steps: load a template, define the subject, and Run.

IMPROVED (User Request). Adjusted how time adjustment percentages are entered on-screen. Previously a 1% monthly adjustment needed to be entered as 0.01 and was the smallest adjustment that could be made. The data entry for this value has changed allowing for fractional percentages per month. For example, 1% is now entered as 1.00%. Half a percent is entered 0.5, a quarter is 0.25, etc.

Value Export / Import

NEW. Allow the import of property address Latitude and Longitude fields. Tip: A great place to get these fields would be from your GIS Mapping systems.

NEW. Allow the export of property address Latitude and Longitude fields, Plat Map, Route#, Computer ID and MLS fields in the Extended Export file. This is an optional setting so

it won t interfere with existing layouts.


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ENHANCED (User Request). Added separate access-rights control to the Name Import.


Added option to include the reconciliation time stamp

and comment

to

the recon change export file

(RECNCxxx.XFR). The timestamp is formatted HHMMSS and the

comment is a free-form 80 character text field. Solutions clients will want to use this feature.

Query Wizard

NEW (User Request).

Added a table to reference various static land fields in CAMAvision including:

land type, adjustment type, site/excess grading, etc.

NEW.

For Pro Version users, the ability to export custom reports to Adobe® PDF format has been added.

Reports

NEW (User Request).

Group totals by Location/Class. This report has been added to the Group Totals Count Report.


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NEW. Resale Analysis report. Appears under the General Sales report section.

NEW. Residential Depreciation Analysis report. Appears under the General Sales report section.

NEW.

Ag-outbuilding Occupancy report. Appears under the Occupancy report section.

NEW. Income Statement questionnaires for: apartments, campgrounds, golf courses, hotels, manufacture home parks, offices, restaurants, warehouses and general-purpose.

NEW.

Income capitalization rate report.

NEW.

Income gross rent multiplier report.

NEW. Income summary.

ENHANCED (User Request). Added the option to print both buyer and seller names

on the Sales Summary with Photos report.

ENHANCED (User Request). An option to Sort by Name has been added to the Sales Ratio Map and Subdivision stratification reports.

State Specific

Iowa

ENHANCED. Parcel Maintenance -

Sale Screen Enhancements. Data entry fields for Iowa DOVs are to be added to each sale. These fields will aide in identifying reviewed DOVs and transferring to Iowa Department of Revenue. Note: This is still a work in progress as Vanguard and IA DR&F continue to work on details. Some fields and how they are entered may change.


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Minnesota


When adding a new CRV record, the 1031 Exchange field (located on CRV page 2) will default to N . Previously it was set to blank.

ENHANCED.

Per MN Department of Revenue regulation changes two new fields have been added for 2010. Crop Productivity Index

and Forest Productivity Index

have been added to the CRV data screen and CRV export.


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Missouri

REMINDER (User Request). An option to calculate exempt assessed value to $0 has been added to the Parcel Calculation Methods

(located within the Table Utilities). Currently the system passes the exempt appraised values right into the assessed fields. This has the effect of adding the full exempt amount to the assessed parcel value. Some users have indicated the exempt value should not be included; with this setting, users

have a choice on how to configure their respective systems. Note: A revaluation is required to apply this change to all parcels

and it will

create assessed value changes.


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ENHANCED.

An option to show/hide exempt values has been added to the Assessment Book report. Some clients use the totals from the Assessment Book to validate other (group total) reports and it was necessary to add this option to the Assessment Book since the other reports support it.

ENHANCED (User Request). The Doing Business As (DBA) field has been added to the export file for Ulrich Systems.

ENHANCED. During BoE,

the Update Certify process will now preserve BoE starting values on the certified version of the parcel.

It will also add a BoE balancing entry if necessary.

ENHANCED.

Upon BoE activation, the batch process will now store starting (original) values for all parcels into the system log. This was done in an effort to mitigate the instances of value discrepancies between Form 11 and 11A.

Addressed an issue with the New Construction by Tax District report where it would cumulatively add parcel counts and values when executed multiple times in a row without closing. This could only occur when the Return to this screen after report finishes option is checked and the user runs the report multiple times. Note: even in this scenario, the values displayed on first run were correct.

Addressed a Transaction is active error message that would occur if the user tried to execute the Tax District Totals report a second time in a row without closing. The error could even abnormally shut down the report (i.e., cause to disappear from the screen). This could only occur when the Return to his screen after report finishes option is checked and the user tries to run it a second

time.

North Dakota

NEW. Added the ND Assessment Book report.


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ENHANCED.

Improved handling of multi-classed land

on parcels when exported to Dakota Systems.

The first step to using this feature is the setup of the Land Use table as discussed at the 2010 ND User Group Meeting. The first four line items

must look like this:

Because some clients have already edited this table, the Restructure program will not be able to automatically change it as needed. In these cases it will be easiest to contact VCS Technical Support for help.

Once the Land Use table is edited and Test-to-Main copied (no revaluation required), users should immediately use it to set the Land Use for all multi-classed land. The Dakota Systems export relies on this field to determine how land is split for the export. If the land is not multi-classed, land use can remain N/A which tells the export to rely on the property class set on the General screen.

It would still be a good practice to always set the Land Use, regardless of whether the land is multi-classed or not.


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ENHANCED.

The Dakota Systems export has been enhanced to use the Land Use setting for each land. This flag will determine how lands values are split in the export. This is of particular importance for multi-classed land. If Land Use is left as N/A the property class of the parcel will determine how land is split in the export file.

ILLINOIS

ENHANCED (State Req.).

The PTAX-228 Notice to Taxpayer

report has been updated per state required changes: brief parcel summary on side one, and an explanation of how taxes are calculated on side two.

Cama X Release 1505 updates

Documents

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