My New Blog

It's that time of year again. Your county is now assessing your home for your property tax bill. Your county will spend the next 6 months assessing every home in the county and then they will notify you of their results in June with a "Notice of Property Tax Assessment". You will have 60 days to appeal their results at that time. Tax bills will then be mailed to the respective homeowner in September.

For those of you who have bought your house after about 2004, it is a given that your property values have dropped below your original market value. As a matter of fact, here in my county of Orange, property values are at pre-2002 levels. In 2007, the counties resisted dropping the taxable value of most homes even though values were in a free fall. 2008 saw the counties offering a token break of property values and who knows what they will do in 2009 after over two years of drastic property value losses. Many homeowners accept only what the Assessor gives them and they miss out on the real tax savings they deserve after having their property values suffer such huge losses.

If you would like me to review your property for any possible tax savings, please contact me via e-mail or at 714.969.8565.

Until my next blog, good luck in this teetering market and don't hesitate to contact me with any questions you may have. Feel free to post an opinion. 

Have you submitted an application for your property tax appeal? If so, you need to gather comparable property information for your hearing.

I can help you by providing a professional and inexpensive real estate appraisal for your use. Don't risk making errors by trying to do the work yourself. I know how to research the most applicable comparable properties and will put them in an easy to read, highly professional format.

Here's what one happy customer recently said about my services:

"Michael: Thanks for the good work you completed for me on the appraisal. The county has agreed to a stipulation in support of your work".

- Lynn H., Huntington Beach

Have questions? Need more information? Call me today at 714-969-8565.

There's a helpful article in today's Orange County Register that discusses the tax appeal process. In the next few weeks, the Assessor's office will be mailing out tax notices informing owners of their property's taxable value, which is the basis for the taxes that will be due in November. If you think you'll be overcharged for your property taxes this year due to declining values, you'll want to get ready to appeal your assessment.

The deadline for filing for an informal assessment review has passed - it was April 30th. If you missed that deadline, you can still seek a hearing through the formal assessment appeals process. You can file for your appeal from July 2 thru Sept. 15th by filling out an application.

After you submit your application for the formal appeal process, you'll need to find comparable properties which support your claim of decreased property value. You will need to find at least three similar properties and research their location, size, amenities and value on or around January 1, 2008. As a professional real estate appriser, I can provide this service for you. I have created an appraisal report for use in determining property value for tax appeal purposes. It's shorter and less complicated than the appraisal reports used for loan purposes and I charge a lower fee as well. I will not only provide you with the appraised value of your home but I will provide you with the three required comparables you'll need in your hearing.

I have attended a formal appeal hearing in front of the three member appeals board that is mentioned in the article. The name "formal appeal hearing" sounds intimidating but don't let that deter you. It's not very difficult at all. If you have solid comparables to support your argument, you'll do just fine. For this reason, I strongly suggest you take advantage of the services I have to offer.

Please contact my office to learn more about my appraisal services for appealing your tax assessment. I can be reached at 714-969-8565 or at mcrose@coastappraisalinc.com

Do you think your property tax bill will be too high?

Don't pay it without knowing it's right!

The Assessor's Office is assessing your property for the 2008 tax year right now and will mail out your tax bill beginning July 1, 2008. Your property taxes may be assessed too high and we can help you find out for sure.

If you plan to appeal your assessment, the assessment appeal filing period runs from July 2 thru September 15, 2008. You will want to have supporting comparable property sales data to include in your appeal. An accurate, objective appraisal will help you get your tax rate adjusted and that's where we come in.  

Call us today and we can get started before your tax is due. We can be reached at 714.969.8565 or mcrose@coastappraisalinc.com

Announcement:

I am now an FHA (Federal Housing Authority) Certified Appraiser

I am pleased to announce that I have recently been added to the FHA Roster and am now HUD approved. I can begin doing FHA loans immediately. 

Being on the FHA Appraiser Roster is a guarantee to you that I have the industry experience and knowledge to assist you in your appraisal needs, as well as a testament to my history of professionalism and credibility in the Real Estate Industry.

As an FHA Certified Appraiser, I will ensure that:

• You receive an accurate determination of property value
• You receive your appraisal in a timely and efficient manner

As an FHA Certified Appraiser, you have my pledge that I will provide a clear, fair, and objective determination of any property's value, and have the peace of mind in knowing that I am on your side to help protect your interests.

I truly appreciate your business, and look forward to serving you in the future.

Michael Crose

Coast Appraisal, Inc.

Office: 714-969-8565

mcrose@coastappraisalinc.com

I've had more time on my hands lately since my appraisal business has slowed down as a result of the mortgage crunch. It has given me time to reflect on the real reason I became a real estate appraiser, which was to learn about recognizing good investments when I see them. Well folks, I'm seeing them now and I'm starting to invest! 

My plan is simple, as most good real estate investment strategies always are. First, I find properties that are going through some sort of distress sale. I then number crunch them for a cash flow (mortgage, insurance and tax costs compared to rental income), and then contact the listing realtor directly and put in your offer. I recently purchased two properties that were 150% and 175% below the previous purchase prices in 2005 and 2006. This is a good example of how inflated prices were, and the inflated prices had prevented investors from having a positive cash flow. Historically, mortgage costs exceeded expected rental income 2:1 on a new purchase, and that made for a horrible investment unless you could count on appreciating equity returning your money in the future, and of course you could, to a certain extent, when values were rapidly climbing. Those days of a large increases in your equity band are gone, at least for the next 6-8 years.

I have done many weeks of late night research on SoCal neighborhoods that have multiple distress listings (REOs, Short Sales, Foreclosure, Trustee Sales), and there are very few pockets of neighborhoods in Southern California that offer properties that can be purchased as an investment and which provide a positive cash flow. But they are there, and they are growing. It just takes some effort.

Lastly, for those of you out there that are not investors but just looking for a place to call home, the time is now. There are lots of good deals, even some great deals if you do your homework. It will only continue to get better (or worse depending on how you look at it).

Recently, I appeared with a client at a tax reassessments appeal hearing in Orange County. My client bought his home just as the market was turning downward in mid 2006 for $890,000 in the city of Fountain Valley (Orange County, CA). After I did his retroactive appraisal last week, we discovered it was worth less than $800,000 by January of 2007. (Incidently, it's now worth about $725,000). The client was appealing his January 2007 assessment, as very well he should have. Not only did the County Assessor not recognize that he lost almost $100,000 on his home, the Assessor actually said his value increased 2% (the maximum allowed by Proposition 13, or they probably would have increased it more).

I was somewhat surprised to find that the hearing officials actually tried to defend the Assessor's action, even when presented with overwhelming evidence from my client's appraisal. The Assessor had his own representative appraiser at the hearing who presented evidence (although weak) to support the tax increase, but our facts were hard to overcome. In the end, my client will have his assessment reversed and decreased, but probably not to the full extent that the market dictates.

For those of you considering a reassessment appeal, more decreases are coming with time. The County officials are slowly loosening up, and the 2008 Assessment Appeals will be very successful, in my opinion. I'm sure the Assessor's Office is under strict orders to fight these assessments appeals as much as possible, but their attempts are becoming more anemic and futile as property values continue to drop and affect every facet of our economy.

If you purchased your home in the last 2 years it's very likely your market value has dropped below your tax assessment level. Do not expect the Assessor to automatically decrease your assessed value, you will need to request it. Even when this declining market forces the hand of the Assessor to cut some tax assessment levels on a "few" homes, I guarantee it will be only cut a token amount. When you request an appeal, even an informal appeal over the phone, they will require some sort of appraisal or comp search on your part.

If you are interested in appealing your tax bill, send me a quick email and I will reply with my suggestions, or at least point you in the right direction. My contact info is;   mcrose@coastappraisalinc.com

If you purchased your home in southern California within the past 2 1/2 years, you're probably paying to much in property taxes. Don't assume that the Tax Assessor is going to show you any mercy by automatically lowering your property taxes because it does not benefit the county coffers for them to receive less money from you, the taxpayer. 

Most counties have an appeals process in place and it would behoove the savvy homeowner to look into it. My office is located in Orange County so I will give you a quick outline on the procedure here in Orange County:

Step 1- Call the Assessor and request an Assessment Appeals Application. They may suggest that you apply for an informal review, and may suggest that it's possible that your tax can be reduced at this point with no further action required. However, it's more likely that you will be given a hearing date, see step 3 below.

Step 2 - Complete the Application and mail it back to the address on the application.

Step 3 - You will be given a hearing date before an Assessment Appeals Board. This board usually consists of 3 individuals who can be an Appraiser, Attorney, Real Estate Broker, or a CPA.

Step 4 - At the hearing, your evidence is presented to the board to prove that your property is valued less than what is has been assessed. Your evidence, at a minimum should be three (3) comparable sales that are similar to your property and must meet the "90 Day Rule" (90 days before or after your assessment date, the closer the better). A professionally prepared, independent appraisal from a licensed appraiser would go a long way in this situation because a full appraisal would answer all of the questions they may, or may not, ask. Study your appraisal because all of the answers will be there at your fingertips. If you so desire, you can invite your Appraiser to attend the hearing with you.

Step 5 - You will be notified of the Board's findings, which can not be appealed, except of course to Superior Court.

For further information or to request us to do your appraisal, please see our tab called "Property Tax Reduction". You can contact me at mcrose@coastappraisalinc.com if you have questions about this process or would like to place an order for an appraisal.