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Los Angeles County Assessor Report Card
The Los Angeles County assessor’s offices, of which there are many dispersed throughout the county have the responsibility to annually assess each property, both real and personal for the purpose of property tax assessment. How do they do? Let’s see. But first we will make it clear that there are elements of the assessors job that he does very well. Our intent is to simply point out there are many deficiencies in LA County relative to assessment practices.
We present the following from the Los Angeles County Assessment Practices Survey accomplished by the State Board of Equalization dated May, 2008 (the most recent audit): Audit of Los Angeles County Assessor’s Office by the California State Board of Equalization May, 2008
EXECUTIVE SUMMARY (These are the comments from the actual audit by the State Board of Equalization)
…As stated in the Introduction, this report emphasizes problem areas we found in the operations of the assessor’s office…Areas within other programs, however, need improvement…
…However, we found that uncertified staff are processing business property statements; there are no estimates or assessments made for supplies when taxpayers fail to report supplies on their business property statements; and historical aircraft exemptions are being incorrectly granted…
…Moreover, the processing of changes in ownership of certain types of manufactured housing needs improvement, and there are minor problems with the assessment of vessels and animals…
…However, we found that the assessor does not maintain uniformity in document processing… In addition, we found that another district office does not have access to vital records, which are valuable tools for confirming information on deaths, marriages, and births. Instead, the ownership staff contacts the downtown office for such information. This inevitably interferes with production and may lead to incorrect document processing…The assessor should ensure that his staff knows and understands the proper procedure for processing change in ownership documents. The assessor also should provide the proper resources to all district offices so that the staff will be able to operate efficiently and effectively…
We found that the assessor does not determine the fair market value of construction in progress on each lien date as required by section 71. Instead, the assessor’s computer system automatically applies the annual inflation factor to the prior roll value of construction in progress. Upon completion of the construction project, the assessor issues roll corrections for the years in which the construction was still in progress. Section 71 provides that new construction in progress shall be enrolled on each lien date at its full value until the date of completion. Upon completion, the entire portion of the property that was newly constructed shall be reappraised at its full value. Thereafter, the entire assessment shall be subject to the annual inflation factor. It is improper to apply the inflation factor to construction in progress. Taxable government-owned properties misdirected to district offices often are not identified as such…
…Further, appraisers in district offices may not be aware of the special assessment procedures regarding the valuation of taxable government-owned properties. Thus, the misdirection of taxable government-owned properties to district offices often results in assessment errors. For example, many taxable government-owned properties are issued supplemental assessments because they were not identified correctly. By properly directing taxable government-owned properties to the appraiser specialist, improper assessments could be avoided...
We found that the assessor does not issue supplemental assessments for all changes in ownership of taxable possessory interests...
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Again, our intent is not to slander the work of the Los Angeles County Assessor’s Office. Overall, we believe they do a good job for the limited employees they have. But in our 20 years of experience we have discovered many errors and fought many hard fights on behalf of our clients, winning most of them.
If you would like to read the 64 page report from which the excerpts were taken above please click here.
Click Here for Los Angeles County Assessors Office Information
If you own property in Los Angeles County and are considering an assessment appeal, you owe it to yourself to have an experienced knowledgeable company represent you. Don’t get caught up in the rhetoric; the County assessor oftentimes does not represent your best interests. Please call us at (909) 867-5000 directly.
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
