Having purchased our home near the peak of the housing market bubble in 2005, it made sense to look into a decline in value assessment early in 2009. I did some research online and didn’t find many articles on the topic, but the explanation on the San Mateo County website is pretty easy to follow. I downloaded the application and filled it in with an explanation and evidence supporting my claim.
How do you support a decline in value claim?
In my case, I used data provided by www.zillow.com, such as this Excel spreadsheet showing Q4 2008 changes in sales price by neighborhood for the greater San Francisco Bay Area, and this spreadsheet showing the drop in average price per square foot for recent home sales in my neighborhood.
As per this earlier post, we intended to save about 20k last year, and met this target by making a number of budget changes, including a $1,400 reduction in property taxes via the decline in value assessment.
By year end, business and investments had recovered somewhat, and we decided to spend a little. A day in Berkeley with a good friend of ours proved serendipitous–we wandered into Fenton McLaren furniture store on College Avenue, listened to the owner explain that they were discontinuing their previous business model of refinishing 1930s vintage furniture to its former glory, and focusing more on newly manufactured furniture built to look like the old style–it’s what younger people want now. Just a few of the earlier pieces were left at the back of the store, marked down to clearance prices. So we made a bee line for the back of the store and saw our dream dining room table, a circa 1930s Duncan Phyfe.
That purchase led to finally painting the dining room, results pictured below. (Martin created the photograph above using a painting effect in Photoshop.)
We bought our home with the idea that it is primarily a place to live, not a growth investment, and we hope to live here the rest of our lives. The decline in value was not wanted, but has the welcome upside of lowering taxes, at least for the time being, giving us a little wiggle room to give more back to the house.
{ 2 comments… read them below or add one }
I love all the trim in your dining room. But I can imagine that it made painting a little more difficult!
I also agree with you, that if you look at a home as a place to live for a long time, you won’t stress as much about its declining or increasing value. It has value to you, and that’s the most important thing. Happy Valentine’s Day!
Thanks Little House. You’re right the trim was difficult to paint, but we love it too.