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Did the Assessor’s Office Get Your Value Right?

Written By: Anatolia Tax Appeal on May 5, 2009 One Comment

lac08153-048One of the big factors in property tax appeals is that the best available data from the local market should be applied on your behalf. This is an elementary valuation concept, but often times the reason why your property taxes are too high is because the mass-appraisal process instituted by the Assessor’s Office fails to incorporate the most reliable data for your household. In essence, your home ends up being compared to dissimilar houses or outdated market trends, which leads to a large discrepancy in value (and then your wallet hurts). Additionally, many residents wonder too if the Assessor’s Office is feeling the pressure of dwindling funds in Sacramento County and if that has a way of influencing assessed values.

The most similar houses on your street, immediate tract, and surrounding area in Anatolia should be given strong weight when rendering a legitimate opinion of value. The overall trends in the real estate market and perception among local buyers too plays an enormous role in your property’s worth. Additionally, there are external factors such as the state of the economy, available financing and job security that also factor into the equation. There is not just one point of data to consider when determining what your property is worth, but a plethora of market research (as opposed to picking the highest sales in the market and comparing them to your property). 

There are often reasons why your house may not compare with the highest sale in the market anyway, right? Things like square footage, lot size, location, view, builder, age, condition, bedroom count, and level of upgrades can all make a big impact on the value of your home. Take for instance, the location. Imagine if your home backed to Sunrise Blvd. Would you say that the typical buyer would probably pay less for your property because of the increased traffic noise? Or do you think a buyer would pay a premium for a house with 500 additional square feet or a house with $100,000 worth of upgrades? Or if brand new houses in Anatolia are selling for much less than yours did in 2005 , would someone pay the same price for your house as they would for brand new one?

These factors certainly make a difference with the level of property tax you pay, but one of the most significant realities to confront is when current property taxes are not based on the true state of the overall housing market. Housing prices have declined so drastically in recent years and the prices are at levels much before 2004 in most cases (some say 2001). The truth is that the conditions of the market and the assessments given by the Assessor are capable of being way out of sync with current market trends (and not to the advantage of the home owner in most cases). This fact makes a big difference in our wallets too because we could be paying hundreds or sometimes thousands of dollars too much in property taxes each year unless we take steps to shed light on the true value of your home.

As your local tax appeal specialist, if you have any questions about the tax appeal process, please give me a call at 916-595-3735. My residential real estate company is based in Rancho Cordova and I am very familiar with Anatolia. 

http://www.AnatoliaTaxAppeal.com  Does the Assessor’s Office Get Your Value Right?

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