Prop 13 (megatopic) (Country Club: place to live, clubs, businesses)

[CaliRestoration]

Originally Posted by rationalexpectations

personally, i don’t take dumps. I leave them. But to each, their own. ��

[expatCA]

Originally Posted by RationalExpectations

Personally, I don’t take dumps. I leave them. But to each, their own. 😀

Check out all the 2 and 3 story houses being built now in CA where you can take a dump and pull the toilet paper from your neighbor.



Well OK slight exaggeration, but they are so close you could be handed one and ... cost is in most cases above $900,000.00.

[JGC97]

Originally Posted by expatCA

Check out all the 2 and 3 story houses being built now in CA where you can take a dump and pull the toilet paper from your neighbor.

Well OK slight exaggeration, but they are so close you could be handed one and ... cost is in most cases above $900,000.00.

And have you seen how narrow the opening to any type of side yard gate is? You can barely get a rolling can or wheelbarrow through it. There's a reason for all that. The more houses you fit on a block, the more property tax revenue. And of course, more money in the developer's pocket.

[expatCA]

Originally Posted by HereOnMars

And have you seen how narrow the opening to any type of side yard gate is? You can barely get a rolling can or wheelbarrow through it. There's a reason for all that. The more houses you fit on a block, the more property tax revenue. And of course, more money in the developer's pocket.

Sad but true. The young think it is nice to live piled on top of each other and do not realize they are simply paying more for less, and the city and developers are the winners. Piling people on top of each other leads to more and more problems and a reduced quality of life. Many scientific experiments make this plain.

[Ultrarunner]

Originally Posted by 2sleepy

It depends on what area of Nevada you are talking about. In Reno the property tax on a 300k home is $2,667 a year, in Truckee CA $2484. Increases on non-commercial property in Nevada is capped at 3% a year. On commercial property the increase is capped at 7%. Property in Nevada is reappraised at least once every 5 years. What happens is that if your property value increased 20% at reappraisal your tax will either go up 3% or 7% - but since 20% increase is more than that, they defer all but the maximum increase (3% or 7% and impose that increase every year until your tax reflects the 20% increase.

It's still a bargain compared to some states like Texas but it's not as cheap as some people want to pretend it is, and having lived there I can tell you that the appraisers can use very subjective criteria to increase your home value, they were faced with a huge lawsuit several years ago by the residents of Incline. http://nevadapropertytaxrevolt.org/w...RGJ-081231.pdf

We went through that in Nevada with an assessment several years ago, our appraised value shot up by almost 30% because the appraiser claimed we had 270 degree unimpeded city views which was a flat out lie unless you stood on a ladder on the roof. We appealed it and they backed off, but it's just illustrative of the way that they try to squeeze more money out of you.

I recently bought a home in the SF East Bay... the Assessor has decided it is worth 49% more than I paid and was unwilling to even discuss let alone visit the property

Matter of fact was told if I did not agree the option to file a formal appeal along with $50 filing fee would start the 2+ year review... meanwhile all taxes must be paid as billed.

It is incredible to me the gall to simply assign a number without so much as a site visit or contact.

Can only imagine how things would be without a Prop 13.

I have current appraisals... both from my lender and one the Estate did and show the Assessor is off his rocker... but so it goes.

[2sleepy]

Originally Posted by Ultrarunner

I recently bought a home in the SF East Bay... the Assessor has decided it is worth 49% more than I paid and was unwilling to even discuss let alone visit the property

Matter of fact was told if I did not agree the option to file a formal appeal along with $50 filing fee would start the 2+ year review... meanwhile all taxes must be paid as billed.

It is incredible to me the gall to simply assign a number without so much as a site visit or contact.

Can only imagine how things would be without a Prop 13.

I have current appraisals... both from my lender and one the Estate did and show the Assessor is off his rocker... but so it goes.

I recall reading your posts about that, it's horrible that you had to go through that.

[Ultrarunner]

Me thinks it is simply a process to snare those that don't read their mail or too busy to take the next step as the appeal must be filed within a specific time frame to be valid.

When I invited the Assessor to come out for a visit... just name the time and date I was told staff is too busy for this.

Back in 2004 I bought a home... oldest and smallest in a neighborhood of more expensive homes... it was on the MLS and I happened to see the sign driving by.

At that time, the Assessor also assigned a higher value and I appealed... 3 different times in two years the doorbell rang and the Assessor person was there unannounced… said he needed to get some more date...

Later I learned this was standard practice to catch any upgrades/improvements post purchase that could be used to justify the higher value... after 3 visits seeing my Formica 1950 counters and Linoleum floors as well as my 1950's bathrooms he stopped coming...

[CA4Now]

Originally Posted by Ultrarunner

When I invited the Assessor to come out for a visit... just name the time and date I was told staff is too busy for this...

Apparently you need to be more "connected," Ultrarunner.

"The Los Angeles County assessor’s office has given favorable treatment to connected taxpayers, allowing them to pay lower property taxes for years and costing the county millions of dollars in lost revenue, according to a whistleblower lawsuit filed by three employees.

Stephen Adamus, Yvonne Austin and Scott Woods say County Assessor Jeff Prang, his top managers and county lawyers have violated tax codes to benefit property owners with ties to elected officials by giving them favorable decisions on reassessments. The trio alleges the county has intentionally lost legal cases, reversed property tax decisions and reimbursed millons of dollars to individuals and corporations in back taxes."

‘Connected’ taxpayers got breaks with L.A. County assessor’s office, whistleblowers allege:
https://www.latimes.com/california/s...blowers-allege

[Des-Lab]

Originally Posted by CA4Now

Apparently you need to be more "connected," Ultrarunner.

"The Los Angeles County assessor’s office has given favorable treatment to connected taxpayers, allowing them to pay lower property taxes for years and costing the county millions of dollars in lost revenue, according to a whistleblower lawsuit filed by three employees.

Stephen Adamus, Yvonne Austin and Scott Woods say County Assessor Jeff Prang, his top managers and county lawyers have violated tax codes to benefit property owners with ties to elected officials by giving them favorable decisions on reassessments. The trio alleges the county has intentionally lost legal cases, reversed property tax decisions and reimbursed millons of dollars to individuals and corporations in back taxes."

‘Connected’ taxpayers got breaks with L.A. County assessor’s office, whistleblowers allege:
https://www.latimes.com/california/s...blowers-allege

Well...that's how politics works.

And whistleblowers tend to find themselves, umm, "position eliminated", or worse, "tragically found shot of a self inflicted gunshot".

Sure, those tactics are as old as mankind itself...

But...they work. Anyone who is in a position of power and smell trouble or otherwise perceive a threat of superiority of some kind. Trust me....99.9999% of all corruption in this world happens with impunity and never sees the light of day. This is small potatoes. Heck it's not even a French Fry. A single green sprout in a hundred acre field, maybe.

And ain't nobody ever gonna change that. Some people get by in the Good Ole Boys Club and others have to pay through the nose. That's just how life goes.

This is why the line between "networking" and "cronyism" is a razor thin one.

"It's not what you know, it's who you know" was sage advice to young adults fifty years ago. It still is today. And it still will be fifty from now.

[bad debt]

Originally Posted by Des-Lab

Well...that's how politics works.

And whistleblowers tend to find themselves, umm, "position eliminated", or worse, "tragically found shot of a self inflicted gunshot".

Sure, those tactics are as old as mankind itself...

But...they work. Anyone who is in a position of power and smell trouble or otherwise perceive a threat of superiority of some kind. Trust me....99.9999% of all corruption in this world happens with impunity and never sees the light of day. This is small potatoes. Heck it's not even a French Fry. A single green sprout in a hundred acre field, maybe.

And ain't nobody ever gonna change that. Some people get by in the Good Ole Boys Club and others have to pay through the nose. That's just how life goes.

This is why the line between "networking" and "cronyism" is a razor thin one.

"It's not what you know, it's who you know" was sage advice to young adults fifty years ago. It still is today. And it still will be fifty from now.

Agreed. Especially in areas of real estate, construction, public works, and politics. Not saying it will always be that way, but it certainly might.