The Dock Fight Podcast is about BC Assessment: the Youbou appeals, the hearings, the freedom of information records and what I found when I went looking for answers.
What is the Dock Fight podcast about?
It is the story told out loud. In 2023, my neighbours on the waterfront in Youbou believed BC Assessment had overassessed them for the third year in a row, and I helped them appeal.1 What followed was a Review Panel that confirmed every one of their assessments,2 an Appeal Board that lowered 89% of their appeals, 25 of 28,3 a whistleblower inside BC Assessment, and thousands of pages of government records released under freedom of information.
Each episode follows a part of that story and the records behind it. The podcast runs alongside my book, OverAssessed. The book is the full written account, and Dock Fight is where you hear it.
The whole story
Listen, read and check it for yourself
The Youbou Appeal Group
The waterfront homeowners at the centre of this story, their appeals and how they won.
Meet the Youbou Appeal GroupThe Recordings
The hearings, inspections and calls behind the episodes, so you can hear what happened yourself.
Hear the RecordingsThe Evidence
The records behind every episode, from Appeal Board decisions to freedom of information releases.
See the EvidenceWhat the homeowners said
The homeowners at the centre of the podcast. Here is what they said.
The pilot intro brings in the 2 voices the podcast is built around: my late friend Andy Ross, one of the Youbou homeowners, and the BC Assessment whistleblower.
"They knew that their system was broken."
Andy Ross, Youbou
Reduced $815,500 over 4 appeals, saving approximately $4,078 in property tax.
Appeal Nos. 2023-04-00107, 2024-04-00073, 2024-04-00074, 2025-04-00064
What the news reported
When the podcast launched, the Cowichan Valley Citizen asked me why. Here is what I said.
Cowichan Valley Citizen, March 6, 2026
Realtor launches podcast series on property over-assessments in Lake Cowichan area
"Andy was determined that his experience be preserved as it actually occurred."
Jason Anson, quoted in the Cowichan Valley Citizen, March 6, 2026, on why Dock Fight was made.4
Andy Ross is one of the 2 voices the podcast is built around. The other is the BC Assessment whistleblower. Every story about these appeals is on News Features.
Episode 1
It starts with a phone call from inside BC Assessment.
In May 2023, while the Youbou appeals were under way, I received a call from a person inside BC Assessment. What they told me about how values are set, and what was happening inside the organization, is where the first episode begins.
"He's called a supervisor on the legal team and he sent out a memo saying 'DO NOT RELEASE PROPERTY RECORD CARDS'."
The BC Assessment whistleblower, recorded telephone call, May 2023. Transcript released under freedom of information.5
More on what the whistleblower said, checked against the record, is on The BC Assessment Whistleblower Files.
Watch Episode 1
What the Ministry of Finance said
When I started posting videos, the office that runs the Review Panel was counting.
"Mr. Anson (Youbou properties) is in the news again (Lake Cowichan Gazette) and now he is doing a weekly You Tube series called 'Ask a BC Assessment Expert'."
The Property Assessment Review Panel Administrator, Ministry of Finance, in an email to BC Assessment and government communications staff, "Assessment in the news," November 13, 2023. Released to me under freedom of information.6
From a YouTube series to a podcast
Nov 10, 2023
the Lake Cowichan Gazette reported my YouTube series
Nov 13, 2023
the Review Panel Administrator flagged it, writing "More videos to come from him."
Mar 6, 2026
the Cowichan Valley Citizen reported the launch of Dock Fight
1 story
told out loud, with the records behind every episode
The same email went to BC Assessment's government relations staff and to government communications. In my view, if the office that runs the first level of appeal is tracking a homeowner's videos, the videos are worth making. Dock Fight is where the whole story is told.
What BC Assessment said
The whistleblower described a memo about property record cards. BC Assessment's own all staff email says the same thing.
"A calculation error has been identified for 2023 PRCs." ... "Otherwise, please refrain to release the PRC to the requesting party until further notice."
BC Assessment, email to all appraisal and administrative staff, "2023 PRC calculation error," January 20, 2023. A PRC is a property record card. Released to me under freedom of information.7
What was happening to the record cards that January
Jan 20, 2023
staff told to hold back 2023 record cards where the 2022 values did not match the notice7
11 days
before the January 31 deadline to file a Review Panel complaint that year
10%+
value changes BC Assessment flagged from system and data changes in its move to new software8
All staff
the email went to every appraiser and administrative staff member
On the call in Episode 1, the whistleblower told me a memo went out in January telling staff not to release property record cards. This email, sent to all appraisal and administrative staff on January 20, 2023, says the 2023 cards were showing the wrong 2022 values, and tells staff to refrain from releasing a card until further notice when the values do not match.7
In my view, the property record card is the one document a homeowner needs to see how their value was set, and in January 2023 some were being held back in the weeks before the appeal deadline. Episode 1 plays what the whistleblower said, and this is the record that backs it up.
Common questions
About Dock Fight
Where can I listen to Dock Fight?
Episode 1 is on this page and on YouTube. New episodes are added here as they are released. You can also follow my YouTube channel, Lower My Property Taxes.
Whose voices are in Dock Fight?
Mine, the Youbou homeowners, including my late friend Andy Ross, and the BC Assessment whistleblower. Episodes also play recordings of the hearings and calls behind the story, checked against the records.
Can I hear the full recordings?
Yes. The hearings, inspections and calls behind the episodes are on The Recordings, so you can hear what happened yourself.
A note on the record
Dock Fight tells what happened between 2023 and 2026, under the previous government. The new government can hear it from the start.
What a new government could do: Hear from homeowners directly. A public review of the appeal process should include the people who went through it.
Every episode started with one homeowner's assessment. What about yours?
Start with your address and see how your BC Assessment compares to what homes like yours actually sold for.
Check My PropertySources
- Cowichan Valley Citizen, Robert Barron, January 29, 2021, "Property values jump significantly for Lake Cowichan area"; Lake Cowichan Gazette, Robert Barron, January 14, 2022, "Property values in Lake Cowichan rise dramatically"; Lake Cowichan Gazette, Robert Barron, January 27, 2023, "Waterfront property in Youbou up 28%: BC Assessment".
- Property Assessment Review Panel decision notices and BC Assessment correspondence with each appellant, 2023.
- My BC Assessment Appeal Record: Property Assessment Appeal Board decisions on the Youbou appeals, files 2023-04-00105 to 2023-04-00133; Times Colonist, February 10, 2024.
- Cowichan Valley Citizen, Robert Barron, "Realtor launches podcast series on property over-assessments in Lake Cowichan area," March 6, 2026. Read the article
- The BC Assessment whistleblower, recorded telephone call with me, May 2023; transcript sent to the Property Assessment Appeal Board on May 11, 2023, and released under freedom of information, FOI file FIN-2025-52395.
- Ministry of Finance, FOI file FIN-2025-52395, pages 1008 to 1009: email from the Property Assessment Review Panel Administrator, "Assessment in the news," November 13, 2023, and the reply from Government Communications and Public Engagement.
- BC Assessment, email to all appraisal and administrative staff, "2023 PRC calculation error," January 20, 2023, as reproduced in BC Assessment FOI file 2025-10, page 325 (Bates 0380).
- BC Assessment, "ValueBC to iasWorld Value Change Review," email to assessment and customer managers, August 15, 2022, with update September 5, 2022, BC Assessment FOI file 2025-10, page 326 (Bates 0381).
My Record: January 1, 2023 to December 31, 2026
$22.6M+
cut from the values BC Assessment put on homeowners' properties
My 3 largest reductions for a homeowner: $2,063,000, $1,954,000 and $1,438,000
$110K+
in estimated property tax refunds and credits for homeowners
My 3 largest estimated refunds or credits for a homeowner: $10,315, $9,770 and $7,190
40
homeowners I helped appeal their BC Assessment
100% won a reduction. The average homeowner had approximately $566,000 taken off their value and an estimated $2,800 back in property tax.
63
appeals won, out of the 65 those homeowners took to a decision
97% won, at BC Assessment, the Review Panel and the Appeal Board
91%
of written Appeal Board decisions, made by an independent adjudicator, lowered the value
30 of the 33 that went that far
7,079
Vancouver Island home sales I checked against their BC Assessment
Less than 1% were assessed at what they sold for, and 40% were assessed above it
32
news stories about the appeals I helped with
Run more than 400 times in 68 news outlets across BC
23
freedom of information requests to BC Assessment for its records
$11,047.06 in fees BC Assessment estimated to release them. I paid $30 in total, after fee waiver requests on public interest and hardship grounds.
Are You Overassessed?
When BC Assessment gets your home's value wrong, I prove what it is actually worth using real sales of similar homes, so you don't pay more property tax than your fair share.
Jason Anson
I am not a lawyer or an appraiser, and nothing on this site should be considered legal or tax advice. When I help you, you are still the appellant and you file your own appeal. Every result depends on the evidence for that property, and the decision belongs to the Property Assessment Review Panel or the Property Assessment Appeal Board, not to me. My past results do not predict yours, and I cannot guarantee any outcome.
Helping homeowners with property assessment appeals is not a licensed activity in the province of British Columbia. It is not regulated by the BC Financial Services Authority (BCFSA) or the Real Estate Services Act, and it is not considered a real estate service.
I am also a licensed real estate agent with eXp Realty. That work gives me my experience in valuation and market movement, which is the evidence of market value the Review Panel and the Appeal Board weigh. This site and my appeal work are completely separate from eXp Realty. They are not affiliated with, endorsed by or provided through my brokerage, and the views here are my own, not eXp Realty's.
What I write about BC Assessment, the Property Assessment Review Panel, the Property Assessment Appeal Board, the Minister and Ministry of Finance, and the other public offices on this site is my own opinion, and I consider it fair comment on a matter of public interest. My opinions are my honest views, marked as my view, and based on facts anyone can check: Appeal Board decisions, public records and records released under freedom of information. Quotes from documents and news stories are the words of the people quoted. If anything here is inaccurate, let me know and I will correct it.