No, we aren’t one of those companies that sends out mass mailers.

There are a number of ways we are different:

1) We are local and we are extremely familiar with the Greater Sacramento Region since we are actually based in the Sacramento area. We keep a very close eye on the local real estate market.

2) Some of the other companies that send thousands of letters in the mail are at times known to provide home owners with work that is less than quality.

3) We are glad to talk with you about the process, educate you about what to expect, and stand before the Appeals Board on your behalf. We view our work as something that truly assists and informs the property owner.  

4) We are upfront and honest with you. We are not a gimmick and we don’t try to send you something in the mail that looks like a bill from the Assessor but is not (Have you received one of those from a company wishing to “help” you?).  

5) Lastly, certain companies that target home owners through mass mailings can often times have a distaste in the eyes of the Assessor because of the great amount of applications that these companies send in, as well as the less-than-quality level of work they produce. Many times these companies are not located anywhere near the counties they serve.

Let us know if you have any questions. We are here to help you.

The subject property is around 1400 square feet and all blue dots above represent the past 2.5 years of neighborhood sales between 1200-1700 square feet. This range of square-footage is meant to show comparable properties to the subject since a typical buyer would likely look in this range when house hunting. The vertical line represents January 1, 2009, which is the date of assessment.

As you can see, an assessed value at $210,000 looks higher than basically all sales in the neighborhood, and actually more consistent with a home value from previous months or years. It’s true that a property can sometimes sell at the highest level in the neighborhood, but the subject property does not warrant such a circumstance. When observing recent sales above $150,000 in the market, it’s clear that the vast majority of these sales come from superior tracts in the market area or are remodeled throughout (sold above all other sales because of upgrades). 

I am not saying the Assessor’s Office gets it wrong in every case. That’s not true, and I certainly do not wish to vilify the Assessor because that’s not the way I do things. I’m simply saying that in this case, and in others I have worked on lately, assessed value should have been much lower. I typically take on tax appeal situations where the home owner is clearly over-assessed, and so there is an obvious potential economic savings to be had. Most of the properties I did not take on this year were assessed fairly well or off by 5-10% (too high). 

If you have questions, give me a call at 916-595-3735.