Getting Through a Tax Appeal; How To Request Property Taxes Reassessment

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Now that the holidays are over, what comes next?  It is the beginning of tax season.  And property taxes are no stranger to this time of year.  As expected given the tumultuous past years we have collectively faced after the real estate bubble burst a while back, many homeowners want to make sure they are paying the right amount of taxes on their property.  If you are unsure as to whether your property taxes accurately reflect the current value of your home, you can request the County Board to reassess the current taxes you are paying.

Even though it may sound like a lot of time between now and April 1st, the deadline to submit your application can creep up very quickly, leaving you in the dark with not enough time to prepare.  Here are some valuable tips on how to prepare for a tax appeal request along with some important links that will provide further information on the process.

For Tax Appeal Success, You Need Evidence

Until and unless you provide the board with valuable, viable information that supports your claim to have your home’s value reassessed it likely that you will not be too successful.  The key is providing evidence demonstrating that other, like kind properties in your area have recently sold for amounts that are far less than your current property value.

In the real estate industry agents and other professionals often deal with “comparable sales” reports.  These are detailed reports that derive what the value of a home should be based on other similar homes that have the same profile.  This profile could be amenities, number of bedrooms and bathrooms, square footage, type of structure, type of garage, location, school district – a number of factors.  Realtors aptly perform a comparable sales analysis since they are well versed in the area and have a vested interest in understanding their neighborhoods’ property values. 

Realtors know and understand the ins and outs of such procedures as applying for a reassessment of property taxes.  Both agents are attorneys, for different reasons, offer valuable insight and experience into the process. Important details like the fact that comparable sales must include sales that took place in the year preceding the current tax year and only through October 1st, can be missed if not managed by a professional.  For this reason, it is always a good idea to have that professional backing when you are filing for a tax appeal. 

How Can a Professional Help With Filing a Tax Appeal?

If you have decided to pursue a tax appeal, keep in mind that just like filing federal and state income taxes, the closer you get to the deadline the longer it can ultimately take for processing. 
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Here is a list of important and useful links that will guide you through many aspects of the tax appeal process.  If you have any questions, please do not hesitate to contact us and we would be glad to take this on for you!

LA County

http://assessor.lacounty.gov/extranet/guides/prop8.aspx

Orange County

http://egov.ocgov.com/ocgov/Assessor%20-%20Webster%20Guillory

San Bernardino County

http://www.sbcounty.gov/assessor/decline.asp

Insider Tips on How to Win the Competitive Edge When Buying a Home

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With our all-time low interest rates and prices so low it’s no wonder that buyers are lining up trying to take advantage of the great deals out there right now.  But if you are one of those buyers that are finding it tough to deal with the competition, what can you do better to make sure you get the home of your dreams?  There are a few things that many buyers, under the guidance of their savvy agents, are doing to stand apart from the rest.  Here we’ve shared them with you to make your real estate buying endeavors both fruitful and as seamless as possible!

Be Prepared In Advance and Know What to Expect

Too often when prospective homeowners walk into a new property, they do not take into consideration the all-important fact of how much they can actually afford.  It’s one thing to have a ballpark figure in mind but it’s another to have an actual preapproval letter from your bank.  Buyers that have a preapproval are taken far more seriously by sellers than the buyers that express an interest in the home but then have to start from square one.

Know what the market holds when you go to make an offer on a property? Many times a buyer will not have studied the area’s market trends and as a result ends up suffering the consequences.  For example, in a strong market where there are good homes at desirable prices, buyers find themselves competing against others in what ends up to be bidding wars.  Being prepared in advance and being willing to offer more than the asking price is sometimes what is necessary to get you that dream home.  Keep in mind that eventually, the market will experience an upswing so you will see some return on your investment.  By focusing on what you are getting now with the best of what the market has to offer, you will end up with a winning transaction.

Adding a Personal Touch To Appeal to Sellers

The transaction of buying or selling a house can be very impersonal at times but it does not have to be that way.  One of the best ways that highly successful real estate agents succeed in helping their clients get their dream properties is to add a personal touch – especially when it comes to communication with the sellers.  An example is sending a letter introducing the family that is vying for the property, with details about them, why they love the house, or what makes them the perfect fit for the home.  When sellers come across this type of thing, it gives them a warm glimpse into the people that could be moving into their home – a home that they are undoubtedly very attached to and would like to see go to only the perfect new owners.  Another thing that works well is complimenting the sellers on how they have maintained the home or on other aspects of the house you find very appealing.
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At the end of the day, if the house is meant for you it will likely become yours but not without you and your agent doing the best possible to stand out from the rest.  For a customized consultation on how we can help you buy the perfect home, we invite you to visit us soon!

Positive Expectations – Real Estate Forecasts for 2012 and Beyond

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The key to getting a property sold in 2012 are.....


1. Market it early in the year - For those thinking of selling, do not wait. As we get closer to the summer the competition will increase and foreclosure / short sale inventory will rise. You want to market the property when competition is low. The more competition, the less money we tend to get on the sale.

2. Market it aggressively - Aggressive marketing is the job of the real estate agent you hire. Too many agents list a property, put it in the MLS and wait for someone else to do the work. That marketing strategy doesn't work anymore. To get it sold in 2012, the property has to be pushed....the 'squeaky wheel gets the oil.' The property marketed aggressively gets the buyer.


3. Review activity often - Showing activity will tell a story. If there are no showings or a lot of showings, it means something. Too many sellers don't review the showing activity or the feedback that is generated when marketing a property. In most cases, it is the agent who is not providing the information to the owner therefore they cannot make the proper adjustments in a timely manner. The market is constantly changing and sometimes a minor change to the way a property is listed makes the difference in selling or not. Personally, I make sure the information is delivered often to my clients and I feel that has a major influence on our sales success.


4. Don't get offended - Unfortunately, there are some buyers that want to make low offers. Don't get offended by this. Review the offer and make a counter offer at full price if you want to. Remember, you are in charge of what you take and you can always reject an offer if it is not satisfactory to you. Offers equal activity and activity eventually leads to sold.


5. Make a financial decision - Too often, we let our emotions get in the way of making good financial decisions. Sometimes we sell too low or we don't sell when we should. The key to making a sound decision is to look at it from a financial perspective and do what makes the most sense financially. I know it hurts emotionally, I have taken my own beating on a few properties and it never feels good. The key is to make sure that my emotions don't contribute to further losses. 

Now that everything’s back on track after a busy holiday season, we finally have a moment to step back and observe the market in 2011,  despite reports of supposed “doom and gloom” and even though the economy was not doing very well, The Radcliffe Group had one of its best years ever and we have you, our valued clients and supporters, to thank for all that.

What Makes a Good Market “Great”?


The main thing that we can attribute our selling success from 2011 to is having motivated sellers and serious buyers. It’s as simple as that. So, what exactly makes a good market “great”? We find that the perfect combination of the right price, excellent condition and accessibility, makes any home a strong contender in the crazy competitive property-selling world today.


Toward fourth quarter of 2011, we witnessed a very strong surge of sales and many of them were sold at or above list price.  We saw multiple offers taking place, demonstrating that buyers indeed are out there seeking the perfect home.   That’s exactly what we expect to see more of in 2012.  In fact, at this point we often receive requests from clients that are seeking a new home or would like to buy because they anticipate a rising trend in home prices to come by the end of the year.  Though prices have not begun to rise, an upswing seems very likely so savvy buyers continue to be on the lookout already.


Low Interest Rates Continue, Inventory Moves and Prices Begin to Climb


Our prediction for 2012 is that as buyers continue to reap the benefits of our current market and unbelievable interest rates right now, inventory will begin to level off and we will start to see more stabilization in the market. Not only that – the seemingly “bottomless pit” that has been our declining home prices, seems to have come to an end.


Fewer, But More Serious Buyers Dominate the Season


Though there may be fewer buyers now than we might see a couple months from now, the ones that are out there are downright serious about purchasing a home. This is great news for sellers right now since there is less selling competition to have to worry about and at the same time a potential for more serious offers.

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As we move into what seems to be the hopeful next phase of our real estate journey beginning the past several years, it is with great confidence that we forecast an amazing year ahead. Please do not hesitate to contact us if you would like a custom consultation to learn how we can assist you with your real estate endeavors today or even if you just have some questions you would like answered about any of this. We look forward to hearing from you!