Search for ALL Homes in the Irvine & Surrounding Areas of Orange County Today!

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Posted on Irvine Orange County Real Estate Market News

Don’t get surprised with a supplemental property tax bill – Irvine Real Estate – Irvine Homes for Sale is a post from:

Application for Assessment appeal – http://www.ocgov.com/vgnfiles/ocgov/ClerkOfTheBoard/doc/Appeal_Form.pdf

Search for ALL Homes in the Irvine & Surrounding Areas of Orange County Today!

Like my Facebook Page and keep up with real estate trends, market activity, and up to date statistics in Irvine and the surrounding areas!

Connect with me personally on Facebook ,  Twitter , or YouTube!

Posted on Irvine Orange County Real Estate Market News

Stop paying too much for your property taxes – Irvine Real Estate – Irvine Homes for Sale is a post from:

First, start by going to the Treasurer Tax Collector main website for Irvine and all other areas of Orange County.

 This is the official website whether you want to pay your taxes online, or simply review them if you are a buyer or even an owner.  It makes it convenient for owners to pay their taxes online, and even more importantly it helps buyers determine the yearly tax rate and special assessments and Mello-Roos.  Most areas of Irvine have Mello-Roos taxes and some areas are higher than others.  The newer areas such as Woodbury and Portola Springs have the Mello-Roos rates where other, not so new areas are much lower.  When buyers are counting every penny to make sure that they can afford their new home, it is always important for them to double check these extra fees to make sure they can comfortably afford their new home and really know what they are getting into!

When you first go the website you will see the heading “Pay/Review Property Taxes”.  Just below this you will see 2 empty fields where you can begin your search.  If you know the Parcel number of the home, you can simply enter it and click “find”.  If you don’t know the parcel number and you want to search by address, that is okay too!  Once you type in the address and click “find”, it will give you the parcel number that you need to click on.

Once you click on the parcel number, it will take you to a field that will give you status on whether the taxes are paid or not.  At this field, click on the parcel number again.  The next page will go into more detail about the taxes being paid or not.  Finally, scroll down to the bottom and just above the “total due and payable (in red)” you will see the link “Click here for details”.  Once you click on this link you are there!  You have access to see the yearly tax rate on top and the second portion of this goes over the special assessments and Mello-Roos!

What is the exact Mello-Roos for my Irvine home? is a post from:

For an investor in Irvine properties there is no such thing as bad times. Fluctuating times, yes, but not bad times. An established investor harvests his or her crop during sellers’ market period and sows the seeds during buyers’ market time. The only drawback may be the ability to forecast Irvine real estate market situation. Educated guesses based on history may be a good practice but not fool-proof, same with current trends. We don’t know when this trend may change direction and to what degree. Every five or six years the real estate market takes half an oscillating turn—for better or for worse. In most cases Irvine property owners are generally winners for obvious reasons. Exceptions may be: medical reasons, divorce, moving, disagreement between partners and in rare cases, natural disasters not covered or only partially covered by insurance.

I don’t encourage folks to commit themselves if, for any reason, they cannot meet the subsequent responsibilities of property ownership. It has its headaches: property management costs, incessant tenant complaints and repairs, association fees where applies, possible vandalism after the tenant vacates, Orange County property taxes, and the monster of them all: delinquent tenants. It takes a down-to-earth like character to deal with such ordeals. If you don’t have it, I’d suggest you keep your 9-5 position with your employer. On the other hand, if you have it you will eventually reap the results and smile all the way to the bank. Oops! Did I say bank? Yuk! I hate that word; I mean reinvest in bricks, mortar and iron and plenty of two by fours.
Views, comments, responses and constructive criticisms are welcome.
Make it a great day.

The Mack Team
Robert & Tania Mack
 Century21 Professionals 
Irvine, Orange County

http://www.irvinerealestatelink.com

Irvine Real Estate Link, CA – When to buy property is a post from:

As we are all aware of the slow real estate pace not only in Irvine, Orange County, but across the board, many brokers and real estate professionals believe in changing course in order to put bread on their tables. Some may not be as hasty as to quit the trade altogether yet others simply give in and change direction. In fact the business of selling/buying real property maybe best realized in hard times such as what we are having today, if you are willing to put your heart into it. Yes, it is a huge buyers’ market, yes; the real property values are not only stagnant but in many cases have dropped; yes, the budget deficit is now approaching half a trillion dollars; yes, the financial institutions and banks are foreclosing on homeowners who cannot meet their periodic responsibilities, and yes, the gasoline prices have over doubled in the past eight months or so. But is this a reason to feel panicky? Not necessarily. To overcome such adverse economic state of affairs you, as an Irvine real estate professional, must change accordingly to possibly offset such adversities. Buyers think twice, many times, during the course of their search for an ideal home before they are committed. Even a simple grocery shopping is calculated nowadays.

My wife and I like entertainment and eating out, especially after a wearing day. A lot of people do. Instead of going to the movies once a week we go once a month or once a fortnight, same with restaurants. Our shopping trips are calculated so as not to waste energy. Let alone buying a house. I’m talking about middle to upper-middle class Americans, not the millionaires; they have no worries—in most cases. When the time comes to pay our semi-annual Irvine property taxes we get our knickers in the twist, yet we don’t think about it during the year and spend where unnecessary. You may think I am contradicting myself in this last statement but there are such people. People who own property and fall behind their payments. The latter class of people, like the millionaires, is at the other end of the spectrum. In order to survive and hopefully be successful we must learn to compromise.

Today’s Irvine real estate situation is in the form of Buyer’s Market and at the same time, the sellers are not willing to part with a great chunk of their equity. There is an abundance of homes for sale. Unfortunately only a fraction of it will eventually be sold. These days, even buyers are not willing to commit themselves. The situation is somewhat weird but what is it that hinders the market so strongly? If you said that it is the economic circumstances you are only half right. The other half of the reason is simply fear. The fear of uncertainty. “Will my job last?” “God forbid, will I be sick and accumulate hospital bills?” “By the time we settle in our new home, will my job require me to transfer to a different state?” “Perhaps if I wait a little prices and rates may fall further”. These are quite valid concerns. Here is where the agent shows his or her initiative to reason with the potential buyer. To use the training and experience he or she has received in closing the deal. To turn these negatives into possible positives. To convince, with reason, as to why wait any longer and possibly loose a great deal with no guarantees as to what tomorrow may bring. The agent’s initiative is of utmost importance in ascertaining how desperate the buyer/seller is. This is a vital piece information that must be handled with great subtlety and be used as a decision-making factor.

Views, comments, responses and constructive criticisms are welcome.

Make it a great day.

The Mack Team
Robert & Tania Mack

Century21 Professionals

Irvine, Orange County, California.

http://www.irvinerealestatelink.com

Irvine Real Estate Link, CA – Effects of adverse economic situation is a post from:

This is going to be an informative blog for those who are not aware of the relationship between declining Irvine real estate property values and Orange County’s Net Assessed property taxes.

As real estate professionals,

The Mack Team of Century21 – Irvine, is committed to inform, educate and serve its clients (past and present). One of these issues is that why do we have to pay property taxes based on 2006 assessed values in 2008? The answer is: we don’t have to. Orange County—indeed, any other county—WILL NOT voluntarily reduce your property taxes based on declined property values. You, as the owner and resident of Orange County, must request it.

Let us stick to the year 2006 since it was the year when the Irvine real estate market (indeed nationwide) began its horrific descent. And let us assume you’ve purchased a property in that year for $750,000, just prior to the decline. The County levies a 1.2% tax ($9,000). In 2007 the property value remained stagnant or dropped. Next year the County increases the value of your home and land by another 2%, therefore, raising the taxable amount. Now in the eyes of the County your Irvine house is worth $765,000, and 1.2% of that is $9,180. It is fine as long as the real estate market does not deteriorate and your home appreciates more than 2% annually. But the market continues its decline and if you don’t put a step forward the County will increase the value of your property by yet another 2% the year after. Now your home is worth $780,300. Do you see what’s happening here? I’m sure you do, just do the math. But the market has declined so badly that if for any reason you want to sell your house it won’t fetch more than $600,000, if you are lucky.

What you do is to contact Orange County Assessor / Tax Collector and request a form called

REQUEST FOR INFORMAL ASSESSMENT REVIEW. It is important to include recently sold properties in and around your area that may have had similar values to your own home, in other words to tell the County ‘see, these houses are sold between 2007 and 2008 for only $600,000’ or whatever the case may have been at that time. The County will assess your request and, in all fairness and likelihood, it will reduce the assessed value of your home and levy property taxes bases on the lower amount, thereby saving you nearly two thousand dollars a year, based on the hypothetical scenario above.

The link

www.ocgov.com/assessor will take you to Orange County Assessor’s site, or have your parcel number ready and call (714) 834-2727. The representative will inform you as to when you should file this request and what the deadline is. Ask him or her for the appropriate form.

If you need help in finding how many similar homes to your home in and around your Irvine neighborhood have been sold for considerably lower prices (you will need three similar homes),

The Mack Team can help you, or contact your real estate professional.

Views, comments, responses and constructive criticisms are welcome.

Make it a great day.

The Mack Team

Robert & Tania Mack

Century21 Professionals

Irvine, Orange County, California.

http://www.irvinerealestatelink.com

Irvine Real Estate Link, CA – Property taxes and declining property values is a post from: