Posts from — December 2009

Most buyers probably wouldn’t want to see a “Sub-Standard” sign on a house they are considering purchasing. The City of Sacramento Building Department and Code Enforcement are aggressive about enforcing standards on properties, and these signs get posted on garages and front doors for a variety of reasons. I’m not sure what the exact issue was with the house I took this picture of today in South Sacramento while snapping comp photos, but properties I have appraised before with ”sub-standard” notices have had problems such as rodent infestation, illegal additions, shoddy workmanship, lack of adequate natural light, and things of that nature. Houses like this tend to be sold to investors – all cash. There is a story to be told every time we see a sign like this, isn’t there?

Earlier this morning I was able to attend the Sacramento Association of Realtors main monthly meeting. Today’s session was the CanTree Dedication Breakfast. It’s impressive that $65,000 was raised this year by SAR members and affiliates to support feeding local families through the efforts of the Salvation Army. In total, through 27 years of service, SAR has raised over $2,000,000 for the Salvation Army. Excellent work everyone!!!

www.SacramentoAppraisalBlog.com Photos from the Field: Sub-Standard Housing Sign & SAR CanTree Drive Results

Today I took the last batch of property tax appeals for the year to the Sacramento County Assessment Appeals Board at 700 H Street in Sacramento (as pictured below). Before I headed out of the office though I thought it would be interesting to calculate the difference between the Assessor’s property tax assessment and my calculation of fair market value. Guess what, when considering only these eight tax appeals, the Assessor’s Office had these properties valued higher by $2,860,000, which essentially means local property owners were scheduled to pay $30,000 more in property taxes than they should this year. Ouch.  

Today was the last day to appeal property taxes for 2009 in Sacramento County (and in most if not all counties in California). If you did not dispute your taxes this year, you will have the opportunity to do so next year. You can expect new assessments for 2010 to come out at some point between May to July 2010 depending on which county you are located in. The assessment appeals period will then go from July 2010 to either September 15, 2010 or November 30, 2010 (depending on which county you are located in). Remember, your property assessment for next year will be based on your property’s value on January 1, 2o10.

If you have any questions or a story to share, comment below.

www.SacramentoAppraisalBlog.com Assessor Value vs. Market Value: A Difference of 2.86 Million Dollars