Something must be fishy if your model match neighbor is paying less in property taxes than you, right? Not necessarily. Is this a point you should bring up during a property tax appeal? It’s really not a strong point because your neighbor Joe could have purchased at a different time than you, and the difference in sales price will result in a difference in taxes paid each year. All things considered, if Joe purchased in 2002 at $247,000 and you bought an identical home in 2008 for $505,000, Joe is going to be paying about half as much in taxes than you do because of Proposition 13 in California. Assuming you purchased your home at a fair market value, your purchase price will most likely be the “Proposition 13″ value (also called the “base year value”). This means subsequent years of taxation will be based upon that value level – $505,000. If the market declines, then the assessor may issue a temporary decline in value under “Proposition 8″ (the real estate prop – not the marriage one), but that still does not take away the original $505,000 Proposition 13 base year value. If the market improves over time, your property taxes can still return to that level. That’s not going to happen for quite some time though in the Sacramento area.

Good or bad advice? I sometimes hear advice from real estate professionals for home owners to make a list of what neighbors pay in taxes, but this isn’t good advice to follow for reasons listed above. The Assessor even states on their website that “only open market sales that occurred before March 31, 2011, can be used to review your 2011-12 value” (not your neighbors taxes). While it may seem to be a secondary form of value support in certain cases, the best thing you can do is provide solid comparable sales between January 1 – March 31 of the given year. Or even provide sales between September to December of the previous year in addition to January to March. Hard facts such as sales from the market are worth way more than saying “but Joe next door pays less than me and I should pay less too”.

If you have any questions or you need help with the tax appeals process in Sacramento County or a surrounding area, let me know. I run a property tax appeal company and I’m always happy to help answer questions.

If you have any questions, or real estate appraisal or property tax appeal needs in the Greater Sacramento Region, contact Lundquist Appraisal by phone 916-595-3735, email, Facebook, Twitter or subscribe to posts by email.

This is a quick reminder that new property tax assessments will be coming out for Sacramento County on July 6, 2010. The Sacramento County Assessor will post them on their website here. Make sure to check out your property to ensure the Assessor has your house valued correctly. These new assessment figures should be based on the value of your property on January 1, 2010. Please let me know if you have any questions and see my property tax appeal website if you think you might be a candidate to dispute your property taxes or if you’d like us to investigate your property further (for free).

By the way, I just got word last week that the Assessor agreed to reduce property taxes by 28% for a local home owner I helped last year. That’s what I like to hear!!!

Since we are taxed at a rate of up to 1.25% on the total assessed value of our properties, this basically means that for every $10,000 of assessed value you are paying roughly $100. Thus if you purchase a house for $300,000 and the value is $300,000, you will pay roughly $3,000 in property tax per year.

Imagine the following:

Assessed Value $25,000 too high = you overpay by $250 per year
Assessed Value $50,000 too high = you overpay by $500 per year 
Assessed Value $100,000 too high = you overpay by $1,000 per year
Assessed Value $150,000 too high = you overpay by $1,500 per year
Assessed Value $200,000 too high = you overpay by $2,000 per year

As I stated in a previous post, my primary residence is currently assesed $35,000 too high and so I am scheduled to pay an additional $350 per year beyond what I should rightfully pay the Assessor. That doesn’t sit well with me. But there are home owners facing much more drastic situations where if they appeal their property taxes, they have a potential to save as much as $500-$1,000+.

Many times local home owners opt out of doing anything to contest their property taxes because they just don’t know what to do. That’s where we come in. We are glad to walk Greater Sacramento home owners through the process of appealing property taxes. We can help you understand what you can do and also what we can do for you. Whether you live in one of the following counties or own property in Sacramento, Placer, Yolo, El Dorado, San Joaquin, Stanislaus, Yuba, Sutter, Solano, or Merced County, give us a call today at 916-595-3735 or email us at LundquistCompany@gmail.com We invite you also to take a look at our property tax appeal website at www.SacramentoTaxAppeals.com

The Sacramento County Assessor’s Office has their 2009-10 assessed values up on their website as of today. You can go HERE and search for your house based upon the beginning letter of your street name. If you get stuck in the process, go ahead and give me a call at 916-595-3735.

This is a very important figure by the Assessor’s Office. This can very well determine whether you will be comfortable with their level of assessment or move forward with a property tax appeal. My property, for instance, is still assessed $35,000 too high and that basically works out to me paying $350 too much in property taxes this year. Some residents may be much worse off though unfortunately.

Please see our property tax appeal website at www.SacramentoTaxAppeals.com or you are welcome to call 916-595-3735 or send us an email too at LundquistCompany@gmail.com

We have put together a property tax appeal FAQ for local home owners within the Sacramento Region. We hope to answer some of your questions and that you will walk away from this document with a better understanding of the tax appeal process and what you need to know as a home owner. If you would like a copy of “Tax Appeal FAQ for  Home Owners” , give us a call at 916-595-3735 or send us an email at the email address below. If you email us, try to remember to type “Sacramento Property Tax Appeal” in the subject line of your email since we don’t want to delete you as SPAM. We can also fax this document to you.  

PH: 916-595-3735  EMAIL: info@SacramentoTaxAppeals.com

At some point around June 2009 the Sacramento County Assessor’s Office should be mailing a letter to certain households stating that the Assessor has lowered the assessed value on particular homes (if they determined that value declined). Don’t worry, if you are located in Placer, El Dorado, Yolo, San Joaquin, Solano or any other local county, you may also be getting a letter.

Here is the scenario: You purchased your home in the Sacramento Region for $550,000 in 2005 and so you were paying about $6,000 in property tax based upon 1.25% (the maximum percentage in CA). The assessed value of your home was based upon the purchase price which was assumed to be fair market value at the time of sale. Your home has since declined in value over time and the Assessor says your home is now worth $450,000. Thankfully your current taxes get bumped down then to around $5,500 based on the adjusted assessment at $450,000.

This is wonderful news, right? You are happy to save five hundred dollars and the Assessor looks really good too in light of gaining a ton of positive publicity in the media because he has “lowered property taxes”. This should be great cause for celebration, but the only problem is that your home is actually worth somewhere between $375,000 and $400,000 rather than $450,000. In effect, this means that you are paying for $50,000-$75,000 of value that you don’t actually have. In essence, this comes out to paying $500 to $750 out of your pocket each year that you should not have to pay.

This is only a mild scenario. There are home owners in niches of surrounding counties that are paying way more than $500 too much each year because the assessment is off by $100,000-$400,000.

Think about your property tax assessment this way:

• Assessed Value $25,000 too high = you overpay by $250 per year
• Assessed Value $50,000 too high = you overpay by $500 per year 
• Assessed Value $100,000 too high = you overpay by $1,000 per year
• Assessed Value $150,000 too high = you overpay by $1,500 per year
• Assessed Value $200,000 too high = you overpay by $2,000 per year

What are your options?

1) Do nothing. Surprisingly, this is often an option that many people choose because appealing property taxes is unfamiliar turf that people sometimes just don’t know how to handle. Or life is busy and this whole process seems like a pain to deal with. But are you comfortable paying even $50 extra per month to the County? What else could you be doing with that extra $500 each year?

2) Pay a minimal fee to me to handle the entire situation for you. I can do all the research, stand before the appeals board on your behalf, make charts and graphs, assess neighborhood trends, and put together convincing evidence for a lowered opinion of value – a true reflection of the real estate market. You have a potential to save a great deal of money each year.

Taxes are a part of life and there is no escaping them, but we don’t want to pay a penny more than we have to. Make sure that you are keeping your hard-earned money in your pockets by paying your fair share of property tax and no more. Please contact me at 916-595-3735 for any details.

What’s been happening in the real estate market in the city of Rancho Cordova in 2009 so far? Below is a graph and some stats for you: 

Rancho Cordova Real Estate Market Trends in 2009:

• 179 total sales in MLS in 2009
• 77 current Active listings
• 129 current Short Sale listings
• 104 current Pending listings
• 99 of 179 sales were in the 95670 zip code
• 80 of 179 sales were in the 95742 zip code (Anatolia)
• Overall 2009 Median Sales Price for 95670:  $165,000
• Overall 2009 Median Sales Price for 95742:  $290,000
• Low Sales Price in 95670 in 2009:  $75,000
• High Sales Price in 95670 in 2009:  $420,000
• Low Sales Price in 95742 in 2009:  $220,000
• High Sales Price in 95742 in 2009:  $510,000

Property Taxes in Rancho Cordova (and Surrounding Counties):

While on the subject of Rancho Cordova, I wanted to say a few words on property taxes. When looking at my blog stats and what keywords people are typing in to get here, it is clear that property taxes are on the minds of fellow Cordovans as well as many locals in surrounding counties. There are quite a few people finding this blog by searching for things like “How to Lower Property Taxes in Rancho Cordova”, “City Taxes in Rancho Cordova”, “Stockton Property Taxes”, or “Placer County Property Taxes” (etc…) 

I hope the following information proves to be helpful:

1.Our local cities (including Rancho Cordova) do not collect property taxes. Property taxes are handled through the local Assessor’s Office (for Rancho Cordova, that would be the Sacramento County Assessor’s Office).

2. The Sacramento County Assessor’s Office has not yet released their assessed values for 2009. Their assessed values will be based upon January 1, 2009. You should receive a letter in the mail if they determined that your property taxes have decreased based upon a decline in value last year.

3. When the Assessor’s Office releases their assessment of your property in hopefully May 2009, you can follow a specific set of steps to contest the level of your property taxes if you disagree with their opinion (this process is the same for anyone in Sacramento County or for that matter, anyone in surrounding counties. The exact dates for appealing taxes may differ, so you can check with your local Assessor with specific dates).

4. Read an article I wrote called “The Skinny on Lowering Property Taxes” that gives you the gist of what you need to do to contest your property taxes. I would be glad to help you with this process also. Please see www.SacramentoTaxAppeals.com for further information.

Local Assessor’s Offices in Surrounding Counties:

Let me know if you have any questions. I am glad to talk you through the process of appealing your property taxes in Rancho Cordova (or elsewhere) and help you understand what you need to do. Even if you are in a surrounding county that I also serve (Placer, Yolo, El Dorado, San Joaquin….), feel free to give me a call at 916-595-3735. Just last week I spoke with two property owners who found me through this blog and I was able to shed light on what they need to do for 2009 property taxes and also what they could have done in 2008.

Many local residents are wondering if they’ll need to contest their property taxes this year. Will the assessed value from the Sacramento Assessor be accurate? Will it take into consideration the substantial decline in last year’s market? Hopefully so.

Each local county has specific steps for home owners to follow to contest their property taxes if the owner feels the Assessor did not get it right. There are basically four steps to follow to appeal your property taxes as I have outlined in an article I wrote, “The Skinny on Lowering Property Taxes.” During this process the home owner is asked by the local Assessor’s Office to offer evidence for a lower opinion of value than what the Assessor came up with, but since not all home owners can provide that themselves, property owners sometimes need to hire a credible and local specialist to help provide solid and convincing evidence for the true value of their property. As a licensed and experienced real estate appraiser based in Sacramento, part of the supporting evidence I offer for home owners includes graphs of market trends, standing before the appeals board on your behalf, charts, convincing data and analysis, the best available comparable properties, and among other things, other properties that are not comparable but may have been used to support the Assessor’s value.

For your reference and in case you own rental properties in other counties, here is a list of Assessor websites for 10 Counties in the Greater Sacramento Region, Central Valley, & Bay Area:

• Sacramento County Assessor’s Website
• Placer County Assessor’s Website
• Yolo County Assessor’s Website
• El Dorado County Assessor’s Website
• San Joaquin County Assessor’s Website
• Stanislaus County Assessor’s Website
• Merced County Assessor’s Website
• Sutter County Assessor’s Website
• Yuba County Assessor’s Website
• Solano County Assessor’s Website

As a Sacramento-based real estate appraiser, I may be able to help you in this process. Please let me know if I can be of any assistance. You can reach me at 916-595-3735.

Have you received a letter? My household has been mailed two so far claiming that XYZ Company will help me lower my property taxes if I send them some money. Fellow residents, may I offer some advice? If you feel that the Assessor’s Office did not get your home value right, then don’t waste your money on out-of-area companies like this? If you need to contest your property tax levels, use a local specialist who knows your neighborhood very well and can personally talk you through the entire property tax appeal process.

Here is what you need to do:

1. First off, wait to see what the Sacramento County Assessor’s Office says your home is worth. They should have this data available around May 2009 (hopefully). Figures for 2009 property taxes aren’t even out yet, so be leery of companies that promise to be able to “lower your taxes” if they don’t even know what your home is assessed at?

2. If you are not satisfied with your property tax assessment, you can contact the Assessor’s Office and fill out a “Decline-in-Value Reassessment Application” between July 2, 2009 and November 30, 2009 (NOTE: Some other local counties besides Sacramento have a filing date of September 15, 2009). Basically, the application asks you to provide two similar properties that sold in 2009 between January 1 and March 31. Honestly though, this step is not an appeal and the best use of your time is to go straight to step 3. If you do want to do this step and you are unable to provide the needed information, I am capable of doing so for a very reasonable fee.

3. You can file an “Application for Changed Assessment” with the Assessment Appeals Board by November 30, 2009 for Sacramento County. This application basically asks you to provide evidence for your opinion of value. If you can supply this evidence through your own knowledge and research, that’s great. If not, this is where we can work together. As a local and reputable licensed real estate appraiser in the Sacramento area, I can act as a consultant on your behalf and provide detailed evidence of the true value of your property. With my detailed knowledge of how the appeals system works and what they look at to justify lowering property values, I can be a crucial asset for your property tax situation.

4. Don’t wait until the end of November to do Step 3. Make sure you have enough time to get your appeal in (or I can do that for you). After the November 30 deadline for Sacramento County, there is nothing more you can do to contest your property taxes if you miss the deadline.

Please contact me with any questions at 916-595-3735. I look forward to helping you understand the tax appeal process and working together if it is relevant for your needs.