Property Tax Assessment Appeal due by 9/15

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ps99472

ps99472

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In the process of starting my appeal, want to remind everyone of the deadline.  To the resident RE experts, do short sales count in the comps?  How many comps would I need to get it successfully appealed?  I know the comps sale price can't be 90 days past Jan 1, how about prior to Jan 1? 
 
ps99472 said:
In the process of starting my appeal, want to remind everyone of the deadline.  To the resident RE experts, do short sales count in the comps?  How many comps would I need to get it successfully appealed?  I know the comps sale price can't be 90 days past Jan 1, how about prior to Jan 1? 
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I believe the county bases the assessments based upon closings prior to Jan. 1st or 90 days after (which includes sales that happened in the second half of 2010).  Short sales and REO sales definitely count.  I would send at least 3 closed comps that support your case for a lower assessed value.  Good luck and keep us posted.
 
USCTrojanCPA said:
ps99472 said:
In the process of starting my appeal, want to remind everyone of the deadline.  To the resident RE experts, do short sales count in the comps?  How many comps would I need to get it successfully appealed?  I know the comps sale price can't be 90 days past Jan 1, how about prior to Jan 1? 
Click to expand...
I believe the county bases the assessments based upon closings prior to Jan. 1st or 90 days after (which includes sales that happened in the second half of 2010).  Short sales and REO sales definitely count.  I would send at least 3 closed comps that support your case for a lower assessed value.  Good luck and keep us posted.
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Are you allowed to cherry pick your comps?  The regular and short sales in my area have a spread of $250k+
 
davenlei said:
USCTrojanCPA said:
ps99472 said:
In the process of starting my appeal, want to remind everyone of the deadline.  To the resident RE experts, do short sales count in the comps?  How many comps would I need to get it successfully appealed?  I know the comps sale price can't be 90 days past Jan 1, how about prior to Jan 1? 
Click to expand...
I believe the county bases the assessments based upon closings prior to Jan. 1st or 90 days after (which includes sales that happened in the second half of 2010).  Short sales and REO sales definitely count.  I would send at least 3 closed comps that support your case for a lower assessed value.  Good luck and keep us posted.
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Are you allowed to cherry pick your comps?  The regular and short sales in my area have a spread of $250k+
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Sure why not, I'd be picking out the 3 lowest ones and have the county chew them over.
 
I just finished my application, and for my 3 comps I have one short sale in my neighborhood with the same exact floor plan sold on 3/18/11 and two other comps from a neighboring area but built by the same builder with the same exact floor plan sold on 1/16/11 and 11/10/10.  The two comps from the neighboring area has similar amenities but is superguard gated so their value should be worth more then mine?  Of course all 3 comps were below my assessed value so hopefully these would be enough.  Anyone know if redfin printouts are sufficient to present as proof?  I also opted for a hearing officer instead of the formal court hearing, hopefully that is a good choice.  Maybe the assessor will call me before the hearing to settle this prior...

So for 2 hours worth of work/research on Redfin I can potentially save $400 if they agree with me... not too bad..  I'll never be able to make $200/hr again in my life time...
 
So just got an email from the county to attend a assessment appeal workshop.... anyone has experience with an appeal?  do i really need to go to a workshop?  I thought you just show 3 redfin comps and that's it?  right.. should be simple for me.. same floorplan, same builder, a block away from my house..  sold for less... why would I need to attend a workshop?  is it for the general public who is not as real estate aware as people on this forum? 
 
I've appealed my taxes twice and never attended the workshop.  It's really not that difficult, but some people have very little RE knowledge and don't understand how comps work.  My only advice is to use the worksheet that is on the appeals website when submitting your comps.  It will be in a format that they are familiar with.  I lost my last appeal because my comps were in an excel spreadsheet instead.  They assessor argued that I wasn't submitting comps, but "just a bunch of data".  The first time I appealed, I used the exact same spreadsheet and I won my appeal, so this process can be very arbitrary.

The assessor will cherry pick the highest sales possible, so you should not feel bad about cherrypicking the lowest sales.  Don't be afraid to be aggressive as long as the sales are valid comps.  I didn't face the hearing officer, but instead went in front of the appeals board and they usually choose a value in the middle of what the assessor presents and what the owner presents.

I know the comps sale price can't be 90 days past Jan 1, how about prior to Jan 1? 
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You can use comps from anytime before Jan 1st.  The assessor can as well, and in my case he used a comp from 8-9 months prior to Jan 1st, even though there were more recent sales that supported my value over his.  (This was in 2008 when prices were falling rapidly and very few sales were occuring.)

Don't expect the assessor to play fair and try to anticipate which sales he might use if you can.  If you are familiar with the sales he presents you will have the upper hand because you can state why the properties he presented aren't valid comparables.  (Bigger lot size, better area, nicer view, etc.)

Good luck.
 
Anyone else in the appeal process?  Haven't heard anything from the county, already paid my first property tax installment, they must have a ton of appeals to go thru...  Mine shows up as "in review" but they haven't contacted me for the review process.
 
I had to wait into the new year last time I filed an appeal.  You can always call if you are concerned, but I think you're fine.
 
Just called the clerk, looks like my hearing will be in late summer, by that time I can just hand them in person another appeal..
 
Time to keep track of closed sales till the end of the month if you plan on appealing your  2012/2013 property taxes.  90 days past Jan are the only accepted comps.  I got more short sale comps to show the assessor if it comes out high again.  Hard to keep track since my current appeal is ongoing. 

I emailed Redfin closed sales to myself and title it 20xx comps so when the time comes i can just search my email for the listings.  We're talking some time in 2013 before they get to your case, so keeping track of the comps would be the biggest challenge.
 
ps99472 said:
Time to keep track of closed sales till the end of the month if you plan on appealing your  2012/2013 property taxes.  90 days past Jan are the only accepted comps.  I got more short sale comps to show the assessor if it comes out high again.  Hard to keep track since my current appeal is ongoing. 

I emailed Redfin closed sales to myself and title it 20xx comps so when the time comes i can just search my email for the listings.  We're talking some time in 2013 before they get to your case, so keeping track of the comps would be the biggest challenge.
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They sure do make it as grueling as possible time wise so people just throw in the towel, eh?  I guess you can expect a refund by 2015?
 
ps99472 said:
I just finished my application, and for my 3 comps I have one short sale in my neighborhood with the same exact floor plan sold on 3/18/11 and two other comps from a neighboring area but built by the same builder with the same exact floor plan sold on 1/16/11 and 11/10/10.  The two comps from the neighboring area has similar amenities but is superguard gated so their value should be worth more then mine?  Of course all 3 comps were below my assessed value so hopefully these would be enough.  Anyone know if redfin printouts are sufficient to present as proof?  I also opted for a hearing officer instead of the formal court hearing, hopefully that is a good choice.  Maybe the assessor will call me before the hearing to settle this prior...

So for 2 hours worth of work/research on Redfin I can potentially save $400 if they agree with me... not too bad..  I'll never be able to make $200/hr again in my life time...
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Doesn't sound like you'll make $200/hr...maybe closer to $50/hr.
 
amount of time realized in the appeal process will outweigh any financial savings...  i will donate the savings to my kids college fund
 
ps9 said:
why would I need to attend a workshop?  is it for the general public who is not as real estate aware as people on this forum? 
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View the Power Point presentation by clicking HERE to download beforehand or in lieu of attending. It will show you everything you need to know which is what they would show at the workshop.

People who want more info can also visit the Clerk of the Board - Property Assessment page.

I think it's odd that for $10, the Assessor offers to pull the comps for us. Why have them do it when they are the ones the owner is trying to appeal. There is a site called EasyTaxFix.com that is specifically for property tax appeals. It's a flat fee. They pull comps for you to meet the 90 Day Rule, you can adjust them, and it will fill out the forms for you. I have not used them myself... only read about it. Here is their demo video:

[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=prZoyDYFsgU&feature=player_embedded[/youtube]
 
ps9 said:
amount of time realized in the appeal process will outweigh any financial savings...  i will donate the savings to my kids college fund
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The whole process those guys at County created to appeal your assessment was surely meant to discourage as many people as possible from challenging their assessed values.
 
P.S. In Orange County, I would pause at the part of that demo video that says to sign and mail in your forms which makes it sound like the comps included. The Clerk of the Board says not to send in any evidence with the request for appeal because they will be tossed out in the trash. Instead, you bring the comps to your hearing. That P.P. presentation will indicate exactly how many copies a person needs. The PP slides are a bit cheesy but I read through all of them and found it more helpful than trying to navigate the numerous links and broken PDFs on the COB's webpages.
 
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