Quote:
Originally Posted by Sooner or later
Assessments will drop to the land value only for homes destroyed by the fires, Prang said.
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In addition, home and building owners will retain their lower Property 13 assessments provided the new structure is “substantially equivalent” to the prior structure, according to the Los Angeles County Treasurer and Tax Collector’s Office. For bigger homes, however, the added square footage will be assessed at current market value, which usually is higher than the Proposition 13 value.
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That first part isn't nearly as helpful as it sounds. The vast majority of a property tax bill comes from the valuation of the land. The physical building is (I'm guessing here, because I don't have my tax bill in front of me) maybe 30% of the overall assessed value. I'm sure that varies based upon location location location, but the rough principle will hold true.
That second part sounds fair-ish. A lot of people (especially the older homes that were built many decades ago and were typically smaller in sq footage) will probably build bigger. But then again, had there never been a fire to destroy their original home, any addition would be assessed like this, anyway.