Okay, you are not alone.  I’ve tried to tune in, I’ve even tweeted, I just have struggled with why.  Then I read a great article posted on The Real Estate Tomato Blog that helped.  Slowly but surely, it’s starting to make sense. 

I’ve also made a big discovery that I think will make it much more meaningful.  Do you want to Tweet a new blog post but the long URL makes it impossible to effectively Tweet?  Go to www.tinyurl.com for the solution.  Very easy and I’m suddenly seeing the possibilities!

So if you haven’t tried it, check out twitter.  Follow me – and I’ll follow you! 

The ground shook today while I was working from home and I couldn’t help but think, ‘Is this the Big One?’

In April ‘08, the U.S. Geological Survey came out with a report stating that, “California has more than a 99% chance of having a magnitude 6.7 or larger earthquake within the next 30 years….”   So when the quake was felt today, I’m sure many Californians wondered the same thing.

Why do we stay in California with the certainty of such a threat?   But really, what are the options?  Where do you go?  Everywhere has it’s own set of threats – tornadoes, hurricanes, and floods. 

And there are the minor annoyances of living in some of the other parts of the country that we have the luxury of doing without in California.  I just came home from vacation to see family in the Northeast so a couple of those minor annoyances in the front of my mind include humidity, mosquitoes, and bugs in general.  We also aren’t faced with extreme weather of any kind.

I also noticed some of the pictures in NY Times article.   Notice the smiles on the faces of the crowds.  Far from panic. It’s a brief moment, an adrenaline rush, and most of the time it passes and we feel the bravado of having missed another close call. 

So, I guess we will brave the possibilities and enjoy another mildly warm day in sunny Southern California.

I’ve had a few conversations with people about property taxes recently.  With the declining property values, some homeowners have recently applied to have their property values reassessed.

And then… the Property Value Notice came from the Office of the Assessor for Orange County increasing our Assessed Property Value 2% from last year.  Many are asking, what’s up?

Note the text in your letter – ‘The Factored Base Year Value is based on the market value of your property when it was aquired, PLUS any new construction, PLUS an inflation factor of no more than 2%.  The Factored Base Year Value is the maximum taxable value allowed under Proposition 13.’

Market conditions may not be increasing in values, but inflation is a factor. 

Also, for many homeowners, their Total Assessed Value is still less than Market Value.  Keep in mind, as much as it may be a bummer to have a 2% increase annually, it has been very beneficial to homeowners to have only a 2% annual increase in markets that were seeing 20%+ increase in values year over year.  In many areas of the country – that increase would be significantly higher based on the market conditions.

If you feel the Total Assessed Value is higher than Market Value, apply to the County for a Reassessment.  There are stipulations and restrictions (comps for Bank Owned sales and Short Sales are considered Distress Sales and will not be included), but you can have a reduction in your Total Assessed Value if the comparable sales are there.

Property owners that disagree with the taxable values on their June Taxable Value Notice can file an application for assessment appeal with the Clerk of the Board of Supervisors.  They use the perceived value as of January 1st, 2008 for the upcoming tax bill.  You may file your appeal between July 2 and September 15th of this year.  You may go to www.ocgov.com/cob for the necessary forms.

Try not to feel too badly about the 2%, especially if you’re Assessed Value is under Market Value.  Believe me, when you look at some of the other areas in the country, it’s not really not a bad deal.

There is something wonderful about living somewhere that is walking distance to everything.  In Orange County, it’s a not particularly common.  During my brief couple years of living in San Francisco my husband and I would park our car Friday night and not move it until Monday morning.  We walked to restaurants, movies, dry cleaner – everything.  And I enjoyed my high school and college years in Ashland, Oregon where everything was just a short walk.  It definitely gives you a greater sense of community - a neighborhood.

There is a relatively new site that can assist buyers in ‘finding a walkable neighborhood’.  The site is www.walkscore.com.  It will score an address from 1 to 100 on the walkablility to restaurants, grocery stores, entertainment, schools, libraries, etc. 

I recently put in the address of my newest listing, 35 Paseo Simpatico.  The Walk Score was 86 out of 100!  That may be one of the highest I’ve seen yet.  This home is close to the Library, shopping, restaurants, parks, grocery stores, movies…..My house on the other hand, typical suburban home in Las Flores, had a Walk Score of 8 out of 100.  Has me missing Ashland just a bit……somebody will luck out on 35 Paseo Simpatico!

Updated July 17th:  Someone just shared with me http://drivescore.fizber.com/.  This provides a score of accessibility of a property.  35 Paseo Simpatio scored 88……My own home scored 82 out of 100.  Clearly Paseo Simpatico is much closer to everything so I’m not sure the score is as valuable as the Walk Score, but my ego was soothed just a bit.  For what it’s worth…