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© Copyright 2010 NATIONAL ASSOCIATION OF REALTORS® |
Sunday, June 27, 2010
Good tips for staging your home
One of my friends is getting ready to sell his home and he and his wife were wondering what they could do to make it most appealing to potential buyers. Some of my neighbors in Santaluz and Del Sur have asked about this in the past as well, so I thought this article I found would be helpful for everyone.
Wednesday, April 14, 2010
Property reassessment could save you $$$
With market values down, it's a good idea for anyone who purchased a home within the past 3-5 years to check into the possibility of having their property reassessed to see if property taxes could be lowered.
If you haven't already looked into to it — DO IT! And do it now. The deadline for filing an appeal with the Assessor's office is MAY 14 for the 2010-2011 tax year.
Here is the Web site for the County of San Diego Assessor/Recorder/County Clerk, which has all of the contact information for learning about and filing an appeal.
In fact, here is the link for the Application for Review of Assessment, which can be filled out online.
Here is a link on the Assessor's site that can help you find a property's sale information and parcel number that are needed to fill out the form. If you enter the address, then it will give you the parcel number and other sales information.
Be prepared to fill in the parcel number of your property, the value on the current assessment roll, come up with an opinion of value and support that opinion with some recent comparables. That takes a little bit of work, but filing is FREE and it could save hundreds (if not thousands) of dollars in property taxes.
There are Assessor offices throughout the county — downtown, Chula Vista, El Cajon, San Marcos and Kearny Mesa — where forms are available, questions can be answered and comparable information can be obtained. The number for the assessor's office is 858.505.6262.
Feel free to e-mail me at kirkkenney@coldwellbanker.com or call me at 619.920.2195 and I will do what I can to help.
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One of my reasons for pointing this out to homeowners is that last year I received something in the mail from a company called California Tax Reassessment that concerned me.
California Tax Reassessment offered to file an assessment appeal for me for a processing fee of $253 ($186 if I acted by April 27). I don't take issue with the company charging for this service, although, as stated above, a homeowner can do it for free. I do take issue with their approach, misleading information and business practices.
Let me provide some details:
The information mailed to me by California Tax Reassessment said that my current assessed value is $822,896, but they had a proposed assessed value of $576,027, a reduction that would save me $3,086 annually in property taxes.
Imagine my excitement at the savings.
There's just one problem with all this — it isn't accurate. Values may be down from their peak, but they have not dropped below what I paid in February of 2003. No home in my neighborhood has sold for less than $800,000. There's no way my value could be $576,027.
So I made a phone call to California Tax Reassessment. I spoke with Andrea. One of the first questions I asked her was what their address was so I could come down there to speak to someone in person. She said they were in Mission Valley, but she would not give out the address. RED FLAG goes here.
I proceeded to tell her that I couldn't see how my value could be $576,027 when no homes in my neighborhood had dropped anywhere near that. She said their estimate was based on my zip code — 92127 — and an average was provided for the value. She took my information and they ran another check. They found one home in my neighborhood that had sold for $1 million and two or three others a few miles away that sold for $500,000-$600,000. She said they would use the lower-priced homes in my evaluation rather than the $1 million comparable.
If the Assessor's office did any kind of check on the comparables, they would realize what I did — the other homes were not comparable to mine at all. And there would be no property tax reduction. I'm sure California Tax Reassessment would still have cashed my check, though. They make no promises that the homeowner will get tax relief — only that they will file my application for review.
Beware out there.
Contact Kirk Kenney: 619.920.2195 or kirkkenney@coldwellbanker.com
If you haven't already looked into to it — DO IT! And do it now. The deadline for filing an appeal with the Assessor's office is MAY 14 for the 2010-2011 tax year.
Here is the Web site for the County of San Diego Assessor/Recorder/County Clerk, which has all of the contact information for learning about and filing an appeal.
In fact, here is the link for the Application for Review of Assessment, which can be filled out online.
Here is a link on the Assessor's site that can help you find a property's sale information and parcel number that are needed to fill out the form. If you enter the address, then it will give you the parcel number and other sales information.
Be prepared to fill in the parcel number of your property, the value on the current assessment roll, come up with an opinion of value and support that opinion with some recent comparables. That takes a little bit of work, but filing is FREE and it could save hundreds (if not thousands) of dollars in property taxes.
There are Assessor offices throughout the county — downtown, Chula Vista, El Cajon, San Marcos and Kearny Mesa — where forms are available, questions can be answered and comparable information can be obtained. The number for the assessor's office is 858.505.6262.
Feel free to e-mail me at kirkkenney@coldwellbanker.com or call me at 619.920.2195 and I will do what I can to help.
-------------
One of my reasons for pointing this out to homeowners is that last year I received something in the mail from a company called California Tax Reassessment that concerned me.
California Tax Reassessment offered to file an assessment appeal for me for a processing fee of $253 ($186 if I acted by April 27). I don't take issue with the company charging for this service, although, as stated above, a homeowner can do it for free. I do take issue with their approach, misleading information and business practices.
Let me provide some details:
The information mailed to me by California Tax Reassessment said that my current assessed value is $822,896, but they had a proposed assessed value of $576,027, a reduction that would save me $3,086 annually in property taxes.
Imagine my excitement at the savings.
There's just one problem with all this — it isn't accurate. Values may be down from their peak, but they have not dropped below what I paid in February of 2003. No home in my neighborhood has sold for less than $800,000. There's no way my value could be $576,027.
So I made a phone call to California Tax Reassessment. I spoke with Andrea. One of the first questions I asked her was what their address was so I could come down there to speak to someone in person. She said they were in Mission Valley, but she would not give out the address. RED FLAG goes here.
I proceeded to tell her that I couldn't see how my value could be $576,027 when no homes in my neighborhood had dropped anywhere near that. She said their estimate was based on my zip code — 92127 — and an average was provided for the value. She took my information and they ran another check. They found one home in my neighborhood that had sold for $1 million and two or three others a few miles away that sold for $500,000-$600,000. She said they would use the lower-priced homes in my evaluation rather than the $1 million comparable.
If the Assessor's office did any kind of check on the comparables, they would realize what I did — the other homes were not comparable to mine at all. And there would be no property tax reduction. I'm sure California Tax Reassessment would still have cashed my check, though. They make no promises that the homeowner will get tax relief — only that they will file my application for review.
Beware out there.
Contact Kirk Kenney: 619.920.2195 or kirkkenney@coldwellbanker.com
Sunday, February 21, 2010
It's a Great Time for First-Time Buyers
Don't let the sun set on this opportunity.Three or four years ago skyrocketing housing prices had turned the American Dream into a fantasy for first-time home buyers.
People saved and saved and just when they thought they had enough money for a down payment, they would look up and see that prices had jumped again. Home ownership seemed out of their grasp.
The real estate slide has changed all that. Prices are down — way down — throughout the county and the country. In addition, interest rates have tumbled to record lows.
First-time buyers should be jumping up with the chance to realize their dream.
Among the advantages to buying over renting:
— Opportunity for appreciation: When housing prices rise, you get to go along for the ride.
— Tax deductions for mortgage interest: Renters don't get this write-off.
— An $8,000 tax credit: Anyone who is under contract by April 30 and closes by June 30, receives this credit.
— Hedge against inflation: A fixed-rated mortgage keeps monthly payments the same as opposed to rent payments that typically rise over time.
— Pride of ownership: How much more enjoyable is it to sit on the porch when it's YOUR porch, or host a barbeque in YOUR backyard.
Are you ready, willing and able to buy a home.
Now's the time to find out.
Contact Kirk Kenney: 619.920.2195 or kirkkenney@coldwellbanker.com
Tuesday, May 19, 2009
Median Home Price Rises in San Diego County
The median home price in San Diego County rose to $290,000 last month, according to information from MDA DataQuick.
According to a San Diego Union-Tribune story right here, it was the third straight month that the median has either increased or stayed the same, which has some observers thinking the market has bottomed out.
The median home price in the county peaked at $517,500 in late 2005. That seems incomprehensible now.
We'll have to watch the unemployment rate, the number of short sales and foreclosures in the pipeline and the availability of loans over the next few months to get an idea of whether this upward trend continues.
A couple of other interesting notes in the Union-Tribune story:
— Inventory has decreased. Active listings were at 13,354 yesterday, which is down nearly 500 from last month.
— The number of foreclosure sales was down to 47 percent (it was at 55 percent in January) among all resales. This bears watching over the next couple of months because there is some concern of a backlog of foreclosures coming to the market.
— There is a proposal to increase the fund for the $10,000 state tax credit for buying a new home. The fund is $100 million and they're hoping to increase it to $300 million to keep the program going. It may be tough to find the money, however, if voters reject today's ballot propositions (which appears likely). I haven't seen how much money is left in the fund, but it isn't expected to last past this year.
— Southern California is expected to be one of the first regions to recover from the housing downturn because it was the first area to suffer in the downturn.
Contact Kirk Kenney: 619.920.2195 or kirkkenney@coldwellbanker.com
According to a San Diego Union-Tribune story right here, it was the third straight month that the median has either increased or stayed the same, which has some observers thinking the market has bottomed out.
The median home price in the county peaked at $517,500 in late 2005. That seems incomprehensible now.
We'll have to watch the unemployment rate, the number of short sales and foreclosures in the pipeline and the availability of loans over the next few months to get an idea of whether this upward trend continues.
A couple of other interesting notes in the Union-Tribune story:
— Inventory has decreased. Active listings were at 13,354 yesterday, which is down nearly 500 from last month.
— The number of foreclosure sales was down to 47 percent (it was at 55 percent in January) among all resales. This bears watching over the next couple of months because there is some concern of a backlog of foreclosures coming to the market.
— There is a proposal to increase the fund for the $10,000 state tax credit for buying a new home. The fund is $100 million and they're hoping to increase it to $300 million to keep the program going. It may be tough to find the money, however, if voters reject today's ballot propositions (which appears likely). I haven't seen how much money is left in the fund, but it isn't expected to last past this year.
— Southern California is expected to be one of the first regions to recover from the housing downturn because it was the first area to suffer in the downturn.
Contact Kirk Kenney: 619.920.2195 or kirkkenney@coldwellbanker.com
Thursday, April 16, 2009
Homes Sales Way Up, But Median Price Unchanged
A story in today's San Diego Union-Tribune right here reported that while the median price of a home in the county remained unchanged from February to March, home sales rose by 43 percent (to 3,020) over a year ago.
The median price remained at $285,000. According to the story, the median price is down 28 percent in the past year and 45 percent from its highest point.
The Union-Tribune also ran a chart on home sales in the county in March.
Contact Kirk Kenney: 619.920.2195 or kirkkenney@coldwellbanker.com
The median price remained at $285,000. According to the story, the median price is down 28 percent in the past year and 45 percent from its highest point.
The Union-Tribune also ran a chart on home sales in the county in March.
Contact Kirk Kenney: 619.920.2195 or kirkkenney@coldwellbanker.com
Tuesday, March 17, 2009
Median Home Price Rises Slightly
The median price of a home in the county rose by $5,000 — to $285,000 — in February, the first increase in 10 months, according to this story today in the San Diego Union-Tribune.
That's still nearly one-third lower than the median price of a year ago.
Inventory remained substantial, according to the San Diego Association of Realtors, with nearly 15,000 listings. That's more than four times as many listings as there were about five years ago, when the market was heading for its peak.
It's too soon to draw a conclusion from the rise in median price. Obviously, supply is much larger than demand at this point. The economy — and whether it leads to higher unemployment — and availability of financing are two factors in where we're headed.
Contact Kirk Kenney: 619.920.2195 or kirkkenney@coldwellbanker.com
That's still nearly one-third lower than the median price of a year ago.
Inventory remained substantial, according to the San Diego Association of Realtors, with nearly 15,000 listings. That's more than four times as many listings as there were about five years ago, when the market was heading for its peak.
It's too soon to draw a conclusion from the rise in median price. Obviously, supply is much larger than demand at this point. The economy — and whether it leads to higher unemployment — and availability of financing are two factors in where we're headed.
Contact Kirk Kenney: 619.920.2195 or kirkkenney@coldwellbanker.com
Tuesday, February 24, 2009
Help for first-time home buyers
The American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 signed by President Obama last week included language that extends the $8,000 first-time buyers credit to homes purchased to Dec. 1 of this year.
First-time buyers are considered anyone who has not owned a home for the past three years.
The home purchased must be owner-occupied.
Another condition is that the buyer must have an adjusted gross income of $75,000 or less if the buyer is single and $150,000 or less for married buyers. Partial credits may be given for some buyers who exceed these limits.
Contact Kirk Kenney: 619.920.2195 or kirkkenney@coldwellbanker.com
First-time buyers are considered anyone who has not owned a home for the past three years.
The home purchased must be owner-occupied.
Another condition is that the buyer must have an adjusted gross income of $75,000 or less if the buyer is single and $150,000 or less for married buyers. Partial credits may be given for some buyers who exceed these limits.
Contact Kirk Kenney: 619.920.2195 or kirkkenney@coldwellbanker.com
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