# San Diego County -- Appealing assessed value



## Steve (Oct 7, 2012)

Does anyone here have experience appealing the value of your timeshare as assessed by San Diego County?  If so, should the value be based on the actual amount you paid?  Or on the average value if you got a bargain basement price?  Is the process to appeal difficult?

Thanks,

Steve


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## timeos2 (Oct 7, 2012)

Not specific to SD Estates ut rather to assessed value in general. The theory is that the assessed value should represent the fair and obtainable resale value at the time.  What was paid to purchase it doesn't matter. What the Developer is selling new for only matters if it is less than 10 years old in most cases. And even then it is typical that the retail value of a timeshare be reduced by 50% as it typically represents developer overhead not the underlying value of the real estate.

Usually the rules are that the assessed value must represent the resale prices paid by a third party for the same or very similar property in a freely negotiated transaction. That means no Developer retail, Association or foreclosure type sales are counted. Just those that may occur between an independent buyer & seller with no ties to the Developer or Association of any type. If there aren't any that meet the criteria then the Assessor has to guess - and they always tend to guess high.  Challenging can be difficult but does work sometimes. Good luck.


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## Stressy (Oct 7, 2012)

http://www.sdcounty.ca.gov/cob/aab/filingguide.html#9

That's where you start. I also own a timeshare in SD county that I happened to receive for basically transfer and escrow fees. The assessed value is 5,000. I actually think that's more than fair especially since it's at the beach (Carlsbad Inn)


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## Rent_Share (Oct 7, 2012)

Stressy said:


> http://www.sdcounty.ca.gov/cob/aab/filingguide.html#9
> 
> That's where you start. I also own a timeshare in SD county that I happened to receive for basically transfer and escrow fees. The assessed value is 5,000. I actually think that's more than fair especially since it's at the beach (Carlsbad Inn)


 
So your purchase price was zero -  CA property taxes are 1.25 % of the purchase price and only get reassessed on sale.  If we were talking about your residence would you be complacent if your basis was 5000 x what it should be.

I owned in Ventura County and they had a minimum valuation of $1,000


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## Laurie (Oct 8, 2012)

Rent_Share said:


> So your purchase price was zero -  CA property taxes are 1.25 % of the purchase price and only get reassessed on sale.  If we were talking about your residence would you be complacent if your basis was 5000 x what it should be.


Rules are different for timeshares than they are for wholly-owned residences.  Family owns a residence in CA so I'm aware of the rule for that. I own a timeshare at San Luis Bay Inn where studios are assessed at $5000 - mine wasn't free, but I didn't pay that much and they know it, because I purchased at a tax-auction foreclosure from the SLO county tax office. 

One time I inquired about appealing, and was told that the assessment won't be based on only my week and what I paid, but rather on an average of what all owners paid. I don't know whether this varies by county, but I didn't go further with mine, not worth the effort.


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## Stressy (Oct 8, 2012)

Rent_Share said:


> So your purchase price was zero -  CA property taxes are 1.25 % of the purchase price and only get reassessed on sale.  If we were talking about your residence would you be complacent if your basis was 5000 x what it should be.
> 
> I owned in Ventura County and they had a minimum valuation of $1,000



You are basing that on my sales price of zero. It still has VALUE. Property that changes ownership is based on assessed value NOT sales price. The key is change of ownership not necessarily a sale. However, if I bought real property that had a VALUE of 200,000 but I only paid 100,000..I would consider myself lucky BUT my RE taxes would still reflect the actual value. Maybe not immediately  but I'd sure see a supplemental bill soon to help "catch me up" Often sales price is pretty equal to value so I think that is where the confusion comes in.

That said, I did receive a supplemental bill for the t/s in question. It was 5.00


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## Rent_Share (Oct 8, 2012)

Stressy said:


> You are basing that on my sales price of zero. It still has VALUE. Property that changes ownership is based on assessed value NOT sales price. The key is change of ownership not necessarily a sale. However, if I bought real property that had a VALUE of 200,000 but I only paid 100,000..I would consider myself lucky BUT my RE taxes would still reflect the actual value. Maybe not immediately but I'd sure see a supplemental bill soon to help "catch me up" Often sales price is pretty equal to value so I think that is where the confusion comes in.
> 
> That said, I did receive a supplemental bill for the t/s in question. It was 5.00


 

Google Proposition 13


http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/California_Proposition_13_(1978)


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## Stressy (Oct 8, 2012)

Rent_Share said:


> Google Proposition 13
> 
> 
> http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/California_Proposition_13_(1978)



I am well versed in Prop 13..having lived here all my life . I've purchased, sold and built several pieces of property. What do you think I don't understand?


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## Rent_Share (Oct 8, 2012)

i am stupid

Since the increases were so much lower than historical appreciation, it seemed that they were locked to purchase prices. 

They would only change to current market value on  a sale

By Proposition 13, the annual real estate tax on a parcel of property is limited to 1% of its assessed value. This "assessed value," may be increased only by a maximum of 2% per year, until and unless the property has a change of ownership.[6] At the time of the change in ownership the low assessed value may be reassessed to complete current market value which will produce a new base year value for the property, but future assessments are likewise restricted to the 2% annual maximum increase of the new base year value.
​


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## Stressy (Oct 8, 2012)

Rent_Share said:


> i am stupid
> 
> Since the increases were so much lower than historical appreciation, it seemed that they were locked to purchase prices.
> 
> ...




Purchase price is still a good rule of thumb when computing RE taxes. It's very rare that a sales price is over/under value..but it does happen. (excluding timeshares)

Another misconception is the 2% max. In a normal cycle with rising values your taxes can only be increased by 2% of your basis. IF you had your property reassessed to a value lower than your Prop 13 basis and say 5 years later the RE market booms ..they can also "catch you up" for the years you enjoyed the lower value thus increasing your taxes MORE than just 2% in one year. It would be 2% for every year you were taxed at the lower rate up to your new assessed value (Prop 13 basis plus 2% for 5 years equals 10% "catch up" and new value at original basis plus 2% for each year. New value going forward subject to the 2% max)

All that said. My current home has been reassessed and I am enjoying the lower rate and my t/s has been assessed at 5,000. I am good with that. 

Steve,

Sorry for hijacking your thread with Prop 13. I noticed that you do not reside in California..so I guess you would have to balance whether it's worth it to attend a hearing. It looked like that was required in SD county. In my county-you fill out a form and wait for an answer. If you don't like the answer then you can request a hearing.


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## GregGH (Oct 10, 2012)

Hi Steve

posted a update on the Aviara thread ... read this then saw our tax bills coming in ... anyways ALL our 7 units are now similar ... and out of curiosity ... punched in some roll  numbers in our range and they ALSO look like they have been 're-set' to the $5,500 valuation ... must be a floor limit ?? for property ?  anyways good news for the few we bought on re-sale that were original owners and HI taxes ...  so I am assuming SDC Tax guys re-set all to this level ?

Greg


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## Luanne (Oct 10, 2012)

Curious what your taxes are and why you want to appeal.

We own a timeshare in San Diego (SDCE) and I think the yearly property tax is around $70.00.  Not an amount I'm going to get too concerned about.


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## Steve (Oct 11, 2012)

Thank you for all of the comments on this topic.  They have been interesting and helpful.  I have learned from this discussion, and the county website, that San Diego County does indeed require attendance in person at a hearing.  That makes it totally impractical for me to appeal and not worth the effort as I live a couple of states away.

The reason I was interested in appealing was that my new timeshare week was assessed at $10,500 and I paid less than half that amount.  The taxes are $132 for next year.  That's not too horrible, but I thought California property taxes had to reset based on the purchase price paid.  

From this discussion, I have learned that they don't reset based on purchase price but rather based on fair market value at the time of purchase.  In this case, the week I purchased is a platinum Four Seasons Aviara week and the going price is about $10,000.  So, my taxes are probably accurate.  So, this fact also makes an appeal not worth it.

Thanks again for all of your help.

Steve


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