high property tax assessed on retail property purchase in California

[Martin Z.]

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.

[Joel Owens]

Hi Martin,

With your assessment being so low compared to close by properties you might actually come out worse than you are now with an appeal.

You could do the building on a NNN and pass those taxes onto the tenants instead of affecting your bottom line.

Property Tax Attorneys

You can search for one local to your property. They will usually know the local environment and have gone before the local authority for appeals before. They will usually take a quick look at your situation and tell you whether they think you have something to gain or you should leave it alone.

No legal advice.