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Real estate appraisals for divorce, estate settlement, loans, property tax appeal, pre-listing and more. We cover Sacramento, Placer and Yolo County. We're professional, courteous and timely.

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Assessor

One reason to take the Assessor’s records with a grain of salt

August 26, 2014 By Ryan Lundquist 8 Comments

If the Assessor or Realist says a property is a duplex, does that make it a duplex? Not necessarily. Let me share a quick scenario to help illustrate the importance of taking what the Assessor says with a grain of salt. I recently appraised a property in Sacramento that is listed by the Assessor as a duplex (two houses on one lot). Upon inspecting the property though, the second dwelling was really an accessory unit instead of a full-fledged second unit. But more importantly, after digging around a bit I learned the secondary unit didn’t actually have any permits on file with the planning department or the building department. Granted, there was a fire in the 1970s at Sacramento County headquarters, so permits are incomplete at times, but still all signs in this case pointed toward the secondary unit NOT being permitted (despite Tax Records showing two units).

official records - image purchased by sacramento appraisal blog and used with permission - text

Moral of the Story: The Assessor doesn’t have the final say when it comes to what a property is and whether it is legal or not. In other words, just because the Assessor or Realist says there are two units does not mean there are actually two legal units on the property. Does zoning allow for two units? Were both units built with a permit? These are questions that are best answered from the planning and building department, so we need to give the most weight to what both of these departments say. On a related note, keep in mind Realist might also be incorrect about square footage, zoning, or bed/bath count, so be cautious about giving ultimate authority to what you see listed in Tax Records.

I hope this was a helpful reminder and maybe a good reference point when working with clients. Finding out what is actually legally constructed and allowable in terms of zoning takes work, but it can make all the difference, right?

Questions: Any thoughts on stories to share? Do you think a house with a non-permitted secondary accessory unit would sell for more in the marketplace? I’d love to hear your take.

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Filed Under: Resources Tagged With: Assessor, Assessor's Records, Building Department, incorrect number of units in Tax Records, incorrect square footage, official records, Planning Department, Realist, Sacramento County, Tax Records

How a home owner paid me $89.00 to save $1,016 on his property taxes in Sacramento County

September 27, 2010 By Ryan Lundquist 6 Comments

When should a home owner formally appeal his/her property taxes? How do you know if you should dispute the Assessor’s value? The rule of thumb is really simple. If there is enough savings left for you after you have paid someone to help you appeal, then it’s absolutely worth it. If there really isn’t any potential for money to come back to your wallet, then don’t even bother.

Have a look at the video below (or HERE) and see how a home owner in Sacramento County paid me $89.00 to save $1,016. Not a bad deal, right?

I act as a “tax appeal consultant” instead of a real estate appraiser when I do tax appeal work. See www.SacramentoTaxAppraisals.com or call 916.595.3735 and I’ll check out your property for free to see if it looks like there is any potential savings to be had. This offer is good for residential property owners in Sacramento, Placer, Yolo, El Dorado, San Joaquin, Stanislaus, Solano & Merced Counties.

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Filed Under: Property Taxes, Resources, Videos Tagged With: Assessor, Lower Property Taxes, Placer County, property tax consultant, Property Taxes, Reduce Property Taxes, Sacramento consultant, Sacramento County Assessor's Office, Sacramento County Property Taxes

The Assessor’s Value vs. True Market Value

November 16, 2009 By Ryan Lundquist 2 Comments

This is a graph I put together earlier today for a home owner as part of the total package for appealing his property taxes. All dots represent model match sales over the past three years in a specifically defined neighborhood in the Sacramento area. The Assessor’s Office bases their value for this year on January 1, 2009, which is represented by the vertical line. For reference, I also included all model match sales through November 2009. What do you see? How does this graph strike you?

Graph by Sacramento Tax Appeals

When looking at all model match sales, it’s not hard to see that the Assessor valued this property too high. In this case, the assessed valued was only about $30,000 higher than true market value, but this amount is still $300+ out of the home owner’s pocket for the year. It’s more common for me to help property owners dispute their taxes for residential properties when there is a greater savings of $500, $1000 or even thousands of dollars, but in this instance the home owner felt strongly about moving forward to contest the Assessor’s value.

Let me know if you have any questions. You are welcome to call me at 916-595-3735 or visit www.SacramentoTaxAppeals.com. Remember, the deadline for appealing property taxes in many counties surrounding Sacramento is November 30, 2009.

www.SacramentoAppraisalBlog.com The Assessor’s Value vs. True Market Value

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Filed Under: Property Taxes Tagged With: Assessed Value vs. Market Value, Assessor, Property Taxes, Sacramento

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First off, thank you for being here. Now let's get into the fine print. The material and information contained on this website is the copyrighted property of Ryan Lundquist and Lundquist Appraisal Company. Content on this website may not be reproduced or republished without prior written permission from Ryan Lundquist.

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The information on this website is meant entirely for educational purposes and is not intended in any way to support an opinion of value for your appraisal needs or any sort of value conclusion for a loan, litigation, tax appeal or any other potential real estate or non-real estate purpose. The material found on this website is meant for casual reading only and is not intended for use in a court of law or any other legal use. Ryan will not appear in court in any capacity based on any information posted here. For more detailed market analysis to be used for an appraisal report or any appraisal-related purpose or valuation consulting, please contact Ryan at 916-595-3735 for more information.

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