When I was contacted by my client some months back to help her with her property re-assessment application, I had no idea what I was really in for.

Her property's value had dropped since purchasing it and she was being taxed much higher than if she had bought her house recently. I helped her out with some comparable sales to send in with her re-assessment applications and a few months later she called me back. 

She had received a letter stating that she had a hearing set for her appeal. We got right to work pulling new comparable sales (from the specified time frame) and doing our research.  She attended a workshop on the process and even found an appraisal dated in the time frame of the comparables. 

We spent hours getting ready and my client is good! She had made copies and tagged all her exhibits, she went to a hearing beforehand to watch the process and get more information. She did lots of homework and was organized. We were feeling pretty good about how prepared we were!

The big day came and we watch a few people go before us. All of them accepted a previously negotiated assessment that was a bit lower than the bill they had been sent.  When my client was called, she said that she did not agree with their newly negotiated value (it was MUCH higher than it should have been).  We were called up and sworn in.  The Assessor said his bit and gave us the comps he used.  Unfortunately, none of his were COMPORABLE!  One was not even in the time frame that they gave us to use!

We were prepared, had great comparables, an appraisal, you name it, we had it. We started going through our comparables and then he hit me with it...."Your comparables are bank owned and short sales".  "Yes, your honor" I said. I went on to explain that those were the ONLY comparables available in the entire area.

Then the judge hit us with it...."Your comparables must NOT be bank owned or short sales".  And with that, he ruled that her value stood.

We were dumfounded and totally speechless.  Both us were sitting there looking in total surprise. He thanked us for our wonderful presentation and sent us on our way.

As we left, quite a few others came out and started asking questions and for our help. I was the only Realtor® there and though we lost, we obviously knew what we were talking about. So many people were there just hoping for a little help.  I felt horrible for them but couldn't get them any comparables because I did not have my computer with me. 

My client emailed me later and let me know that NO WHERE in the work shop information or any of the instructions did it mention that the comparables had to be regular sales!

If you are working on your property re-assessment, MAKE sure the comparables you use are NOT Bank owned or Short Sales.  If you need help in finding these for your North Orange County home, I am happy to help. Trust me, now I know!  Don't learn the hard way like we did!

I originally imagined writing this story with a picture of us on the steps high fiving eachother for a great job at taking on "The Man"...NEXT TIME!! ___________________________________________________________________________

Cristal Drake - Fullerton Realtor (R)...At Your Service for all your Fullerton area real estate needs! Prudential California Realty - 714-423-7525. DRE#: 01272061. All information in my blogs is believed to be accurate but is not guaranteed. Copyright 2009 all rights reserved.

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