USPAP On Physical Characteristics

[normando]

Assessors here do look at MLS. I personally had my property taxes raised because of the information provided by the Listing Agent put into the MLS. Stupid Listing Agent.
Supposedly, real estate licensees are allowed access but I learn from hard way that information in MLS provides private information for appraisers to use and also for assessors to use.
MLS boards don't care anymore as long as they get their fees. I see info from MLS also in Zillow and other internet sites. Info from MLS used to be exclusive for agents.

 

[Walter Kirk]

I personally had my property taxes raised because of the information provided by the Listing Agent put into the MLS. Stupid Listing Agent.

As a former assessor I can tell you that I reviewed all recent sales in my town and in many cases I made changes to the tax records. Igenerally looked at the MLS data but more often than not the MLS wasn't accurate

 

[normando]

Why do assessors look at MLS? The data are not meant for your eyes. In court of law, these privy info are not allowable and thus can not be used for your assessments. But the assessors can do what they want.

 

[TRESinc]

Why do assessors look at MLS? The data are not meant for your eyes. In court of law, these privy info are not allowable and thus can not be used for your assessments. But the assessors can do what they want.

try fighting it, you won't have a leg to stand on if you have made improvements without permits and having the subsequent inspections approved.

 

[Ken B]

Two words.

Tax fraud.

 

[Gobears81]

Two words.

Tax fraud.

I actually posted on this forum a few months ago about how there have been a number of PTAX forms in which I have verified the price to be something else (and in most of those cases, the real price made more sense). I called an assessor to get some data on a sale that took was recorded at half of what it actually sold for and he had already researched LoopNet, mortgage amounts, etc as they were trying to appeal the assessment. A lot of people will do just about anything to avoid taxes. There is one type of property in which nearly every person I talk to has to be reassured that I'm not going to turn around and go to the assessor, and they are putting bunk prices on the PTAX forms for those prices in many cases.

 

[normando]

When I do appraisals like many of you, you input the property tax. I can't help but also look at history of the property taxes increase or decrease over the years. I understand mass appraisals are not perfect but I see inconsistencies in how one community gets a "break" and others pay "more".
When assessor raised my taxes by referring to MLS, I decided not to fight with them since the increase was only several hundred dollars. I foresaw bigger battles to fight. On my other properties through the years, I requested reevaluation of the assessed values and usually got what I hoped for or better and saved tens of thousands of dollars in taxes. That's one of the advantage of being an appraiser because we know the sales data out there.

 

[CANative]

It sounds like you have some fundamental misunderstandings of how property taxes work in California normando.

Here's a link to the CA R and TC.

http://www.leginfo.ca.gov/.html/rtc_table_of_contents.html