As detailed in the message below I have joined Colliers, a global leader in real estate and a top provider of property tax services in Ontario.

At Colliers, I will continue to oversee the review of each client’s property and, where necessary, act as your representative in litigation. Colliers offers a team of highly respected professionals and unparalleled access to market data—resources that will enhance the level of service you’ve come to expect.

As a first step, I recommend a comprehensive review of your current property tax assessments for property tax saving and refund opportunities. Given the time since your last review, this is both timely and necessary.

My existing contact details remain active for now:

• Phone: (416) 410-5196 or 1 (800) 690-2658

• Email: Lorne@blspc.ca

I also encourage you to update your records with my new contact information:

• Email: Lorne.Bumstead@Colliers.com

• Direct Line: (416) 607-4326

Thank you for your continued trust. I look forward to working with you in this new chapter.

 Message from the President and Owner, Lorne W. Bumstead

Over the past 25 years, it has been an honor of a lifetime to serve my many clients. In 2002, after taking over Colt Realty Advisors, Bumstead Associates Inc. was formed. In 2008, upon the necessity of joining the Law Society of Ontario, to fill the requirements of the Law Society, this Company was changed to Bumstead Legal Services Professional Corporation. Then, it became necessary for two people to do an appeal; the Advocate representing the Client, and the Expert Witness. That was when Peter Ward was retained. Then, with Covid, the re-assessment was cancelled in 2020, and cancelled annually, until finally now, it is just assumed that there will be no re-assessment until one is announced.

In 2021, I did consider filing appeals on some properties that I had reduced, where the reduction was not to the amount that I was hoping to achieve, On these appeals, the assessment as settled or decided by the Board was defended by the Municipal Property Assessment Corporation under “Issue Estoppel” which is a legal doctrine that prevents parties from relitigating issues that have already been decided by a previous court case or tribunal decision. Since then, MPAC used this tool to prevent property owners from appealing assessments for many properties in Ontario.

With the effluxion of time and due to recent interpretations of this doctrine by the Assessment Review Board it has become less relevant, and now has minimal if any application in most cases. Properties change. Tenancies change. Use of properties change. Depreciation does not always occur uniformly across all properties. In these circumstances it would be timely to again review the assessments of each property considering each of these and other issues; regardless of whether the assessment was worth appealing in 2017 or not, or whether the assessment was reduced in or since 2017 or not.

Since the requirement in 2008 for property tax representatives to be licensed by The Ontario Law Society, and more recently the requirements of the Assessment Review Board I can no longer be your advocate and expert witness or valuation analyst. In this new environment I now need credentialed valuators to act as expert witnesses, and Peter Ward has retired. Additionally, it has became increasingly difficult to act as an independent assessment consultant due to the complexity of the current property tax appeal system and the costs of assessment and market data. As such, I am proud to announce that I have joined Colliers, one of the world’s leading real estate firms— and a leading provider of property tax services in Ontario. In addition to a property tax services team of highly regarded professionals, Colliers has industry leading access to data.  I will remain responsible for the review of each of the properties of each client and should there be a requirement for an appeal I will be acting as your representative within the litigation.

I am now recommending a first step, which  is to conduct a thorough review of each of your property tax assessments. I believe that given the time since this review was last performed, every property should now be reviewed.

I look forward to continuing within this profession.  This is similar to my transition when I left Nash Associates and joined Colt Property Tax Group, and when I subsequently acquired complete ownership of Colt Property Tax Group, and it became Bumstead Associates Inc. I considered numerous options open to me to continue providing quality property tax services. My choice of Colliers was based on many factors, but most importantly on where my clients of many years, like yourself, would be best served. I know that with the resources and expertise that Colliers is giving me, the opportunity to provide this same type of service that you have come to expect from me mindful of the new and more challenging environment for property tax services. I likewise know that each Colliers member that you deal with will provide you the same type of service and respect that you received from each member of my staff at Bumstead Legal Service.

For now, my telephone numbers of (416) 410-5196 and 1 (800) 690-2658 will remain a direct contact to me. Likewise, my e-mail of Lorne@blspc.ca will remain active. I do however have new contact, which is Lorne.Bumstead@Colliers.com and a new direct telephone number which is (416) 607-4326. Please feel free to continue to use the old contacts for mow, however it would be good to update these at your earliest convenience.