Long-Term Relationships

Bedford County

I am writing to give reference for Wingate Appraisal. Wingate has assessed and served Bedford County for many years. They have been the only company hired and worked with us since the 70's. We have always had a wonderful working relationship with this company and as Harold Wingate has passed away we have worked with Don Thomas. Don has worked with Bedford for many years along with Harold  and has always been professional and always willing to help in anyway needed. His management skills are always beyond what anyone would expect. Wingate gives us professional work and they also come back during the year and work our building permits. At times when we have had issues arise during the years between reassessment they are always ready and willing to help us in anyway and always a phone call away. They have always performed their studies ahead and ready to give us a very good  job. Wingate assessors are knowledgeable of the area and all new codes and assessment information in order to perform a good job for the county but also for our taxpayers. They are always willing to meet and talk with the property owners to get accurate information. Always polite and courteous and that is something that has always been the Wingate way. We have over 50,000 parcels of property and with our last reassessment we had very few appointments to object. The ones we had were handled by Wingate in a very professional way either to correct with more information given or to explain so the taxpayer understood their assessment. As long as I am the Commissioner of the Revenue in this great county I will want and push to always keep Wingate Appraisal working with us on assessments, whether reassessment or permits. - Julie Creasy, June 2020

Warren County

The County of Warren has utilized Wingate Appraisal Service for our paste three (2011, 2015, 2019) general reassessments. The Wingate team works closely with our local Commissioner staff in the office throughout the general reassessment and during the Assessor Hearings. They also provided assistance during the BOE Hearings. During the general reassessment Wingate advised us of any known errors that they discovered including mapping so that we may correct our current database and make adjustments as needed. Wingate worked well with the County Administration/GIS Department and Sheriff’s Office to show their weekly progress for billing, mapping, and for public safety reasons. Our GIS Department developed a link that contained G/R data and GIS data that offered the new assessment data along with the photo of the home to provide the most recent data to the public along with the GIS maps. Even after the conclusion of the general reassessment Wingate has been graciously helpful during court appeals and in between G/R for commercial assessments or other assistance. - Sherry T. Sours, MCR, June 2020

Southampton County

I am pleased to recommend Wingate Appraisal Service to conduct your locality's general reassessment. Wingate has worked for Southampton County for the past four reassessments, spanning over a twenty year period. Each time, the project manager worked hand-in-hand with my office every step of the way, making the process as smooth as possible. I have also used the services of Wingate to assess new construction in between reassessments for the past eight years. As during the general reassessment itself, the field representative is always willing to do whatever is asked of him, and always in a timely manner. If I ever have an issue arise, at ANY time, even long after the reassessment has been closed out, Wingate is more than willing to step up and do whatever they can do to help. They have proceed themselves repeatedly by going over and beyond the call of duty each and every time. Not once, during or after a reassessment, has this company ever declined to help me with any situation that arose. I have had many extremely good experiences with Wingate Appraisal Service; therefore, I strongly recommend them to your locality. I would be happy to speak with you personally if you have any specific questions. - Amy B. Carr, July 2020

Rockbridge County

During my tenure as Commissioner of the Revenue for Rockbridge County I have had the privilege to oversee three general reassessments. The last was effective January 1, 2017 with Wingate Appraisal Service as contractor for the county. I will say without a doubt that of the three it was the smoothest run of all. The Wingate staff was very professional from the interview right on through to the last Board of Equalization Meeting. Their work was of superior quality and performed in a timely manner. Field supervisor Miles "Skip" Willett always made himself available for questions from my office as well as from citizens. The most impressive thing to me was the dedication to detail. Hours spent in the field as well as in the office reviewing the work of the field assessors. I had not witnessed that during the previous general reassessments. I believe that you would be hard pressed to find a firm that would give you a better job than Wingate Appraisal Service. I hope that I have the chance to work with them again. - David C. Whitesell, June 2020

Rappahannock County

In 2020, Rappahannock County contracted with Wingate Appraisals Service to complete the county's 2022 general reassessment. Our county is on a six-year cycle for reassessments so it is a big undertaking for us. They offer different levels of service depending on your needs. For example, whether or not your office will do data entry, or if you plan to use a Board of Assessors or their professional assessor at appeal time. At each stage of the process, Wingate personnel have been responsive when we had questions and forthcoming with information about the procedure. For our county, Miles "Skip" Willett was the lead assessor. He is professional, knowledgeable, and thorough, to name a few of the qualities he brought to the job. The team performed our 2022 general reassessment during the height of COVID. They managed to stay on track despite the pandemic, with a few delays because the market was so volatile during that time. They revisited the numbers from their initial market study to make sure they still made sense. I recommend the services of Wingate Appraisal Service. It was a positive experience to work with them through this process. - Mary Graham, March 2022