Property Taxes (Los Angeles, Thousand Oaks: how much, house, neighborhood)

[phillyzoo]

How are property taxes calculated for Los Angeles city? I.e., if I buy a $350,000 home how much can I expect to pay in taxes and would the tax bill go up if I do 100k in renovations?

[Charles]

At 1.2% (maybe it's 1.1% or 1.0%, I'm going on my bad memory) that's $4200/year. Yes, if you add $100K upgrade then it is 1.2% of $450K.

[EscapeCalifornia]

Does a major renovation bring the tax basis to market price? For example, say you pay $200k for a house. Years later, the tax basis is up to $250k while the market value is $700k. You then put $100k into it the house. Is you new tax basis $350k or $800k?

[Charles]

Originally Posted by EscapeCalifornia

Does a major renovation bring the tax basis to market price?

For example, say you pay $200k for a house. Years later, the tax basis is up to $250k while the market value is $700k. You then put $100k into it the house. Is you new tax basis $350k or $800k?

I am almost positive in CA the answer is no, meaning in the example above, the new tax basis goes to $350K.

I remember this happening in our neighborhood in Thousand Oaks (with very similar numbers). Our neighbors (not "Mr. Cheap" Charles), were upgrading with $100K pools their homes they had purchased for $360K. At the time they upgraded, similar homes were selling for maybe $700K, but their tax bases went to like $460K not $800K.

My idea of an upgrade is a $8 bird feeder from Lowes.

[PinkLadyK]

Wow, this is a nice surprise (coming from Houston/Austin where the prop tax is closer to 3%).

[adysmom]

Originally Posted by PinkLadyK

Wow, this is a nice surprise (coming from Houston/Austin where the prop tax is closer to 3%).

You are in for another big surprise when you go to D.M.V. too get your new car and driver license.

[BennyPhoenix]

Originally Posted by PinkLadyK

Wow, this is a nice surprise (coming from Houston/Austin where the prop tax is closer to 3%).

No it's not.
In L.A. you are paying about 1.1% on a house that can easily cost 5 times as much as in houston.

[ffej]

Originally Posted by PinkLadyK

Wow, this is a nice surprise (coming from Houston/Austin where the prop tax is closer to 3%).

You don't have state income tax in TX.

[CAtoCO]

The above poster's are correct. The tax rate is $1.10 of the purchase price of the property. Once you completed upgrades, the property will be re assessed and you will receive a supplemental tax bill for the difference. If you put 100k in upgrades into a house, that doesnt mean you will for sure get an assessment on an additional 100k. The county may or may not agree that you increased the value of the home by 100k. So, you may luck out on that note! In a lot of cases, you will get assessed based on the amount of permitted work that is filed with the city, as long as the work is considered an upgrade, and not normal home improvement due to maintenance, etc.

Hope that helps.

Amy