Sheila Anderson: Doesn't like being the 'wicked witch'

By SYDNEY P. FREEDBERG and CONNIE HUMBURG, Times Staff Writers
Published November 25, 2007

Sheila Anderson, left, argues with Hillsborough County Property Appraiser representative Lawrence Jay, right, during a hearing at the appraiser's office at the county building. They were deliberating the value of 41 parcels of commercial property represented by Anderson.
	[Daniel Wallace | Times]

ADVERTISEMENT Special Report Soldiers of Fortune Stanley Beck: South Florida's king of hired guns William C. Coleman III: Call him 'Wild Bill' St. Pete's David Zachem says colleagues do a poor job [Daniel Wallace | Times] Sheila Anderson is a tax representative who travels the state attending hearing to argue her client's tax bills.

The self-proclaimed "grumpy old woman" of the tax rep world is renowned for rants against the system and zealous appeals on behalf of property owners.

Like the time in 2005 she argued that the threat of sharks and sting rays might make an oceanfront condo worth less than what the property appraiser said.

"That would scare me," Sheila Anderson told a Broward County hearing examiner. She cited a litany of other reasons why the oceanfront property should have its value reduced, including this one: The ocean is dark at night so "there's not much to look at."

Anderson, 68, got the condo's assessment reduced by $61,130 to $663,000.

A short woman with oversized glasses and a fondness for dogwoods, she once represented properties for Helmsley-Spear of Florida. That was part of the empire built by the late New York property magnates Leona and Harry Helmsley.

Anderson, a licensed real estate broker, set up her tax rep firm, Commercial Property Services, in 1992 and works out of her home in Ocala.

Among her clients last year were CVS, UPS and Bally Total Fitness. In six counties, Anderson obtained at least $9.9-million in reductions, or about $183,000 in tax savings, according to a Times review. Success rate: 19 percent in six counties.

Anderson calls the numbers inaccurate, but she won't discuss specifics. Information about her business and clients is irrelevant, she adds.

Her firm charges a $100 fee, plus between 30 percent and 50 percent of any tax reductions, according to an agreement posted on her Web site.

Anderson says the tax system is tilted against taxpayers. She has accused state and county officials of rigging the process, running kangaroo appeals hearings and using propaganda to discourage property owners from challenging assessments.

"I would prefer not to be the wicked witch of the west," said Anderson. "But the process makes the hair stand up on the back of my neck."

[Last modified November 26, 2007, 11:56:24]