All Entries Tagged With: "california property tax"

Why California Property Tax Associates?

Welcome to the California Property Tax Associates commercial properties website. We dominate Commercial property tax reduction in this State with a long history of success!  Click this link if you are seeking information concerning residential real property assessments.

We are the property tax experts in the State of California.  We are not accountants or attorneys but many of our clients are, and yet choose California property tax Associates for good reason: we are one of the most successful companies working to reduce property tax assessments in California.  Unlike our competitors, we think outside the box!

Why is it necessary to retain a leading edge company with forward thinking, a company that dominates in it’s field?  Read the excerpt from an article written by attorney Eric Miethke about the property tax appeals process entitled “Why Taxpayers Hate the Property Tax System”:

“Most practitioners and property tax managers share a common bond: they feel that rather than being a system of adjudicating legitimate disputes, the property tax appeals process has become a system of rubber-stamping assessor values, even when those values are arbitrarily determined.

How could practitioners and property tax managers come to this conclusion? Simply stated, because it is the correct one. The property tax appeals system is inherently unfair, and is designed to provide maximum revenue collection and de minimus due process for taxpayers.”

So you see the need for a company with our kind of experience and thinking.  Beginning 20 years ago our principals began working to reduce California property taxes in the form of  assessment reduction and appeal throughout the state of California. In county after county, from apartments to commercial shopping centers, vacant land to industrial parks, we have been extraordinarily successful  in reducing California Property Taxes for our Clients for only one reason: we think outside the box.

In the State of California property tax is determined under the provisions of Proposition 13 as delineated in the California Property Taxes Law Guide.  Each county then has the responsibility to comply with these laws and are subject to audit to ensure compliance. But each county has its own interpretation of these property tax laws and does not need to follow the States guidelines completely. Therefore it becomes very important that county property tax reduction agents and consultants understand the possibilities in each given case.

California Property Tax Associates has vast experience throughout the  different Counties in the State of California with a history of success.   We use every conceivable strategy to secure the greatest possible reduction in assessed value for each of our clients.  And, our experience is not limited to representing commercial property owners because we are real property owners and managers.

Our principals own and manage California real property as well as an international residential development project.  We are landlords in our properties with tenants like 7-Eleven, Alberto’s Mexican Food, Dominos Pizza and ColdStone Creamery.   We understand commercial property like no other property tax consultant or agent can.

Please go on the the next page for more California Property Tax Information or, to speak with one of our Consultants you may call (909) 867-5000 or (888) 678-9TAX.  If you prefer, simply fill out the form below and we will contact you at your convenience. Deadlines vary by county, but for most counties it is November 30. Our costs and fee structure is simple:  No Savings, No fee!  But act now; once deadlines pass you have lost your right to appeal. Do not allow this opportunity to pass without beginning the process. Please call or write today.  Don’t pay more California Property Taxes than you have to.

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County by County Assessor Information

In the state of California each county is charged with assessing values to all property, both real and personal in accordance with Proposition 13 and the Property Taxes Law Guide. Throughout the counties there are differences of opinion as to the interpretation of these laws. The State Board of Equalization is charged with auditing each county to assure compliance with respect to property tax reduction, property tax appeal and the procedures associated therewith. Though the county must follow the procedures as they interpret them, the State Board Of Equalization audits among other things, Property Tax Assessment Compliance, Assessment Appeals Board Procedures Compliance, and general assessment procedures. The County Property Tax Assessor  has the right to deviate from the recommendations in the audit but must comply with a certain percentage in order to receive the allocated funds for the county. This leads to a great disparity in County Property Tax Reduction Procedures from county to county. To find the status of the particular County that interests you, please click on the link below.

If you need assistance to receive the county property tax reduction to which you are entitled under Prop 8, or representation before the County Assessment Appeals Board, or if you simply have a question about property tax reduction in your County, please call us at (909) 867-5000.

California Commercial Property Type Office

Below is an actual Assessment Appeals Board Case presented in Los Angeles County in March of 2000 for a 1998 appeal.  Certain information has been removed.

Appeal #98-xxxxx

March 14, 2000

APN:               2163-xxx-xxx

ADDRESS:      xxx  Ventura Blvd.

CITY:              Tarzana

USE:                Stores & Offices (Strip Mall)

SUBJECT

The Subject consists of a four unit strip mall located on Ventura Blvd. in Tarzana.  Built in 1985 it has 11,720 square feet on a single story.

The site upon which the property is situated is ill-suited for this type of property.  Measuring 75′ X 182′ it has only 75 feet of frontage on the street and is deep back off the street.  This functional obsolescence has made renting the property difficult.  In 1997 and most of 1998 there was only one unit rented for $1,750 per month.  ‘97 income was only $21,000 and ‘98 was 27,034.

COMPARABLE PROPERTY SALES

The following sales have been recorded in the time period of this valuation:

Comp #1

This comparable sold in October of 1996 for $550,000 and is located approximately 5 miles….

Comp #2

Located approximately 1 mile from the subject this comp sold in February of 1998 for $528,000 and was ….

Comp #3

This comparable sold in September of 1996 at a Trustees Sale and is listed solely for….

ADJUSTMENTS

ADJUSTMENT                       COMP#1         COMP#2         COMP#3

Site                                          -25%               -25%               -25%

Size                                                                  -20%               -25%

Total Adjustments      -25%               -45%               -50%

INCOME

The subject had ‘97 income of $21,000 and ‘98 was 27,034.  Using even the higher income and actual expenses of $7139 yields capitalized income of only $19,895…..

RECONCILIATION

As shown above values in the subject area after adjustment range from $59 to $65 per square foot.  We have chosen $60 per square foot as fair market value as of the 1/98 lien date.

11,720 Square feet          X       $60    =       $703,200

Market Approach $735,000

Income Approach $675,000

1/98 Fair Market Value = $700,000