Property Assessment

For the first time in 13 years, the assessed value of all property in Los Angeles County has declined, according to a report released Thursday by the county assessor's office. County property rolls lost about $1 billion in value last fiscal year -- losses driven largely by downward reassessments of homes as the housing market has slumped. Property in the county is now valued at $1.1 trillion, a 0.09% decrease compared with the year before, according to the assessor's annual report.

Steady single-family home sales last year amid the Los Angeles area's limited mid-priced housing supply helped push the county's property tax assessment rolls over the $1-trillion mark for the first time, officials said in a report to be released today. The county's 2006 assessed value grew by 9.3%, or $88 billion, over the previous year, despite widespread anxiety over a real estate slowdown.

There's no monthly membership for a home gym, no lines for exercise machines or commute times to the local fitness center. For some homeowners, it's making a lot of sense to stay home to work out. Real estate developers and builders say homeowners increasingly are choosing to build in-home gyms as a must-have amenity, mainly to get and stay fit, but also to pump up the appeal of their property.

A small church that has served the deaf community in Riverside County for decades will receive more than $4.5 million to settle allegations that Caltrans grossly undervalued the congregation's property when it was condemned to make way for new ramps on Interstate 215. Calvary Deaf Church and Caltrans resolved their dispute Tuesday shortly after Superior Court Judge Gloria Trask tentatively ruled that Caltrans' original appraisal of $1.65 million was flawed and outdated.

The upcoming election here will attract national attention as residents vote on who will lead their reconstruction. But beneath the hullabaloo is an obscure, less riveting issue that advocates of change say could be just as big a step in helping the city reinvent itself. Now is the time, they say, to revamp the city's antiquated system of property assessment, a system that some view as wasting money and encouraging cronyism.

Fueled by rising home prices, Los Angeles County's property assessments jumped by 11% last year, reaching a record $950 billion, according to a preliminary report issued Tuesday by the county assessor. The fast-growing cities of Lancaster and Palmdale led the way, increasing by 29.2% and 21.1% in 2005. They were followed by Azusa (17.7%), Signal Hill (15.2%) and Malibu (14.3%). A full list of property assessments by city can be seen at the assessor's website: www.lacountyassessor.com.

If you're a homeowner, you may have received an official-looking letter recently informing you that your property needs to be reassessed for tax purposes. The cost of the reassessment is $179, but you'll have to pay an additional $30 if you don't mail in your application within the next few weeks. "It's a scam," Los Angeles County Assessor Rick Auerbach told me. "They're trying to make you think the letter comes from my office so you'll pay them to do something you could do yourself for free."

Don Atkins shared his life with Ted Horzella for 37 years. For the last three years of Horzella's life, the men were registered with the state of California as domestic partners. But when Horzella died in 2005 at the age of 76, Atkins was shocked to learn his annual property tax bill would rise from $1,400 to $10,400. He paid an attorney $6,700 to fight his assessment and Los Angeles County an additional $20,000 in taxes.

A planned three-year project by the Orange County assessor's office to inspect nearly half of the county's parcels for unreported property improvements, which could result in higher tax bills, was put on hold Wednesday by county supervisors. The board held off approving the project after Chairman Bill Campbell expressed concern that field investigators might act like the Gestapo in their countywide search for building improvements made without the county's knowledge. County Assessor Webster J.

Orange County officials and tax activists squared off before a state appellate panel Wednesday in a battle over a commonly used method for assessing property values in California -- a case that could lead to an estimated $10 billion in tax refunds statewide. A three-judge panel listened to more than 90 minutes of arguments before taking the matter under submission. The court must issue a ruling within 60 days.