Sacramento Appraisal Blog

Market trends and 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.

Local Landmarks: The Ripon Water Tower (San Joaquin County)

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I snapped the photo below the other day when going to Modesto for an inspection (yes, while driving – kids, don’t try that at home). This is the Ripon Water Tower and it’s an easy landmark to spot because of its large size and location right next to Highway 99. Ripon is located South of Stockton and just North of the Stanislaus County line (click HERE for map).

ripon-pic

I am always intrigued by landmarks, design, bridges, houses, and other structures. What landmarks exist in your community? What do you think locals as well as passersby notice in your area when driving along the freeway or one of the main streets? 

Ripon Information:

The Anatolia Market in Rancho Cordova: Past 90 Days

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What has been happening in the Anatolia real estate market lately? Anatolia is a planned community located in the Southern territory of Rancho Cordova near Sunrise Blvd. & Douglas Rd. 

Over the past 90 days there have been 93 sales within the Anatolia market area (95742 zip code of Rancho Cordova). These sales are depicted below on the graph:

anatolia-rancho-cordova-past-90-days

There are currently 92 available properties in the Anatolia market (per MLS). It is possible that not all builders within Anatolia are listing their properties on MLS, though it is typical for them to do so in today’s market).

anatolia-rancho-cordova

Anatolia Neighborhood Data in Rancho Cordova, CA:

  • 92 current Active listings (Active, Active Short Sale)
  • 48 current Pending Listings
  • 93 sales over past 90 days
  • Median Price over past 90 days: $300,000
  • Low Sale over past 90 days: $170,000
  • High Sale over past 90 days: $513,000

The information above can be informative to the casual reader who is interested in local data, for the Anatolia home owner, and also for prospective home owners. If you are pondering the data and have questions or any sort of potential appraisal needs, please comment above or contact me at 916-595-3735 or www.lundquistcompany.com

Estate Settlement Real Estate Appraisals (Sacramento Region)

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victorianpicThis is one of those things that many of us may not know much about until we actually experience personally. My hope in this entry is to offer a bit of insight into the process of estate settlement as it pertains to real estate valuation.

How it Works: When an estate has a transfer of ownership due to death, it is very common for a real estate appraisal to be needed for tax and/or inheritance purposes. Typically an attorney or accountant will order an appraisal during such a circumstance or have a family member or heir choose an appraiser for the job at hand. 

Retrospective Value: In these instances it is fairly typical for the appraiser to perform a ”retrospective appraisal”, meaning that even though the property is inspected today, the property isn’t valued off of today’s date, but is instead based upon a previous date (usually the date of death of the owner of the property). For example, if an owner of a property passed away on May 16, 2008 and the current date is March 2, 2009, the appraiser would inspect the property today but then base the value on what the market was doing on May 16, 2008.  

3764yRetrospective appraisals can be challenging in that the appraiser needs to decipher the trends and perceptions of market participants in a previous time period instead of whatever is happening right now (which could be completely different). In a market like today, if much time has elapsed since the death of the property owner, the difference between the retrospective value and today’s current value can be striking, huh. 

Other Types of Value: In addition to needing a retrospective value in situations like this, sometimes the ordering party will also request a current “as is” fair market value or value based upon the date the title transferred from the deceased to the heir (if the transfer was after the date of death).  Remember, every situation is unique and the type of appraised value required all depends on the particular needs of the estate. 

The Good News: If you are in a situation like this or expect to be soon, take assurance that the type of value is not something you have to spend time worrying about. A good attorney or accountant can help direct you toward the type of value they need for your estate. And a good appraiser will know to contact the attorney or accountant to clarify exactly what is necessary in case the owner or heir is not exactly clear. Your circumstances may be very difficult understandably, so the hope is that at least the professionals around you can help to smooth over some of the details like this so you don’t have to think too much about them. 

I am available for any questions at 916-595-3735.

Lowering Your Property Taxes (Greater Sacramento Region)

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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.

appraisalpichousebigger1Each 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:

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.

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