TAXES: Are you tired of being overtaxed on personal property? (Alameda: assessor, house)

[toomuchtax]

A friend is considering filing a lawsuit against the county for relief from ridiculously high tax bills based upon insanely high assessments on personal property. Also considering other grass roots efforts to make change. The County has absolute control and NO expertise on assessing the value of our personal property and often times is completely out of the ball park to the county's benefit of course. Not to mention the conflict of interest because it is to the benefit of the County to assess ridiculously high so that it receives a higher tax!! There is NO reasonable due process to challenge the assessors insane asessments. We have many accounts of the county assessing personal property at 5 to 100 times more than the worth.

Any one else out there have a similar problem? Are you sick of this too?

[jw2]

I don't believe any of your post but I will start with:
Name one property that is assessed 100 times its worth

[Garden gal]

Hmmmm... I think my taxes have been low here. They are much lower than the property taxes my inlaws pay in Ohio. I don't own a very high end home though.

[parker]

I think the property taxes are VERY reasonable in California. 1% of the purchase price...that is a no brainer! In Colorado there is a Mill Levy and taxes are based on that Levy and swing wildly each assessment period, and there is no cap to the amount it can be raised each assessment period. I will take CA's prop tax structure any day!!!

[1AngryTaxPayer]

I guess it depends on when you bought. If you bought in 2006 you probably have some serious taxes, especially if you haven't been re-assessed. That may be where the OP is getting hosed. What exactly do they base the re-assessment on.

[parker]

Current market value on the re-assessment...Then when the market comes back up it cannot go back above the original market price. Too bad so sad if someone bought in 2006...the purchaser knew the cost of property taxes based on purchase price.

[parker]

link for re-eval on prop tax....Ventura County Assessor - Decline in Value

[Ultrarunner]

Originally Posted by parker

Current market value on the re-assessment...Then when the market comes back up it cannot go back above the original market price. Too bad so sad if someone bought in 2006...the purchaser knew the cost of property taxes based on purchase price.

When the market comes back the assessed value caps out at the fair market at time of transfer PLUS the annual 2% inflation factor...

Of course... improvements could also trigger reassessment.

The problem is Assessors, at least the one in my county has been very slow to act and has a policy of dragging out formal appeals the statute allowed 24 months... this is what is too bad and so sad.

[SOON2BNSURPRISE]

I paid $310,000 and the County reassessed it to $310,000. It had been set at $346,000 at the time I bought the home. They were quick about taking care of it and I didn't have any problems getting them to take care of business. Not sure what the OP is talking about at all. As far as I know the assessors go on what other places have sold in the area. When I told them I had paid $310,000 they did ask if I had purchased a forclosure home, which I had. They did tell me that the value of the home may be more than the price I paid. After a couple weeks they told me that they would go with the $310,000. I guess if they would have assesed it at $340,000 I could figure I have more equity? LOL About the only thing that would get me is a bottled water from my own fridge. LOL Anyway, I am happy with the current assesment and see no need to make any changes in how things are done at this time. Sorry TooMuchTax.

[Ultrarunner]

Companies similar problems with personal or business property taxes...

The local Hospital had a very costly medical laser that was assessed based on the price paid... so far so good.

The problem is a new technology has replaced and surpassed the ability of the old laser... so the $250,000 laser is now basically worthless as a medical instrument... yet the county still had it valued around 250k which is about 50 times what it is now worth...

You are right... the county assessor has little experience on the value of medical lasers so the burden falls entirely on the taxpayer to prove...

On a side note... I had for years paid a personal property tax for a Sears Free Standing Gas range in the home I bought... it was a line item on my Tax Bill.

After calling the Assessor to question why I was the only one paying a tax for a gas stove that I knew AND I don't even own a Sears Gas range because the one that came with the House when I bought it was tossed because the glass oven door was cracked...

I asked for the Asssessor to send someone out to inspect and I got a call saying they had decided to remove it from my Alameda County Home Property Tax Bill... this was in the 80's...