We will be distributing the next update of Avitar Assessing on Monday, August 13th so look for your disc in the mail in the coming days.  This update was a long time in the making as it includes some pretty significant new features and capabilities, most notable of which is a new method for assessing parcels using a mass income approach to value.

As always, the complete list of new features is outlined in the accompanying update notes included on the disc itself.  But if your IT guy installs the update in the middle of the night and you never see the disc and the update notes, or if you’re just curious about what you’ll soon be receiving you can review the update notes now on our web site.  Additionally, we’ll be highlighting some of the more noteworthy new features in upcoming blog posts.

What you will not find in this update is a redesigned or altered MS-1 Report.  The DRA did not make any significant changes to the format of the report itself for 2012 — no new exemption categories, sub reports, or even layout changes.  We were told that the word “Form” in the title area might be changed to “Report” but we never received confirmation on that.  So the report in the system is unchanged for this year.  (Although the system automatically updates the year of the report in all necessary labels so, while unchanged, it is nonetheless correct.)

What the DRA was hoping to change this year was the way in which you submitted your MS-1 Report to them.  Rather than continuing to receive the reports by fax or by mail and then tabulating the data manually, they are developing a standard for us to implement in the software by which you can electronically submit the report data to them.  Beyond just a PDF of the report, this will be an XML file that will enable them to import rather than input the data for analysis — a worthwhile goal.  Except, as of this writing, we still did not have a finalized standard for the file specification, let alone the time remaining to implement it, test it, and distribute it to you for a September 1st submission date.  So for this year at least, Avitar’s users will still be submitting paper.  We’ll let you know more as we ourselves learn it.

If you have any general questions about the update or specific questions about the MS-1 Report do not hesitate to contact us.  And be on the lookout for the update disc arriving in the coming days.