high property tax assessed on retail property purchase in California
got a retail location from auction.com it was bought at 500k a few months ago but it came back assessed at 950k. It was previously assessed at 2 Million by previous owners. I was in hopes of it coming assessed at the price i bought it for.
The problem that i see is that a couple comparable locations next door literally closed escrow 2 months after i bought it at 5 times the value when you calculate it price/SQFT. they were sold as investment properties with tenants, i got mine vacant and the building was in bad shape. The tax assessor was speaking to me as if she was doing me a favor by assessing it "so low" She said if the building is still vacant next year to let her know then she will reduce the value, but that doesn't make sense either, i wan't it assessed at the low point from the get go, because any reductions in the future would be just for that 1 year.
Should I dispute? What are my chances.? What would be the best way about doing this. Get an attorney who specializes?
Thank you in advance.