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  • Most Californians have heard about proposition 13 and it seems as if there is

  • always controversy around it,

  • but many people don't know how it actually protects them.

  • And let me just say that it protects more than just homeowners.

  • If you are a renter, this does apply to you.

  • So be sure to watch at the end when I talk about prop 13 and renters.

  • So if you are a renter or homeowner,

  • you need to watch this video.

  • [inaudible]

  • who am I? Who am I to be talking about?

  • Prop 13 I'm a homeowner and I pay taxes and boy am I glad that prop 13 passed

  • decades ago.

  • I'm also a real estate agent and I need to be able to advise my clients what

  • people are going to pay as far as taxes when they're looking at houses.

  • If you live in the Hayward area or surrounding communities,

  • please be sure to subscribe to my channel as I love bringing my friends and

  • neighbors information about homeownership and the Hayward area.

  • So let's tackle the history of prop 13 first.

  • Prop 13 was passed in 1978 and it has been protecting your outrageous property

  • taxes ever since then.

  • It was a response to the out of control property taxes that they were having at

  • the time.

  • Homeowners were seeing their homeowner's taxes skyrocket as much as doubling

  • every year.

  • And in so many cases it was unpredictable and they didn't know how much they

  • were going to pay and in some cases also on affordable.

  • So a retired businessman named Howard Jarvis,

  • he got to work on this ballot and he got his fellow homeowners and thankfully

  • they got it to pass in 1978 so why was this so important to us?

  • Well, today our interest rates are hovering around 5% to buy a home.

  • In the late seventies they were anywhere from 10 to 13% add that fact in that

  • your taxes could as much as double every year.

  • Homeownership became unaffordable for some and made some.

  • So when they didn't want to,

  • let's say that the real estate market was doing very well in your neighborhood,

  • values are going up. Yay. Well,

  • so on your property taxes, boom.

  • Just as a market peak could be unpredictable. Taxes were also,

  • so imagine getting a bill for $600 one year for your property taxes and $1,200

  • the next year in the 1970s that could totally break you.

  • So let's make those with today's numbers.

  • You get the bill for $5,000 one year and $10,000 the next,

  • that would be outrageous.

  • So how does prop 13 actually work? Now that we have it,

  • it limits the tax rate on all California property to 1% of value,

  • whether it is residential, commercial, or industrial. For homes,

  • it's usually based upon the purchase price.

  • Prior to prop 13 the tax rate was as high as 4% in some counties with the

  • ability to double or beyond predictable.

  • So once the initial tax year basis set,

  • counting assessors can only increase your taxable value by no more than 2% a

  • year. Let me give you an example with round numbers. Okay.

  • Let's say you purchase a home for $500,000 that's going to be your tax base.

  • So you would owe approximately $5,000 the first year or 1% of the purchase

  • price. Now remember,

  • each county also has special assessments,

  • other taxes and repayment of bonds built in.

  • So 1% is usually your start and then there's a little bit more on top of it.

  • There can also be Mello Roos or other costs passed on by the builders that are

  • tacked on. And you need to know about these things before you buy a home.

  • So in my city of Hayward, California,

  • I usually tell people to budget in between 1.25% to 1.50% going back to our

  • example the next year,

  • the home with me be worth $510,000 and then with that 2% more,

  • the current year taxes would be $5,100 in year two $100 well let me just say

  • only $100 more than the year previous.

  • Not the devil like it could have been before prop 13 so you may think as a

  • renter you are exempt,

  • but not so you are directly affected. Do you pay rent?

  • Yes.

  • And your rent goes toward your landlord's mortgage as well as home insurance and

  • property taxes.

  • If his or her property taxes were to double because we didn't have prop 13 then

  • I'm guessing your rent would also,

  • so be sure to think about that. If prop 13 ever goes to the ballot again,

  • it seems as if every election year somebody brings up the prop 13 issue,

  • usually a politician, and they get it in their mind to take it away,

  • to get more money towards taxes. Be sure to tune into my next video,

  • which is about changing prop 13 if you haven't yet,

  • please be sure to hit that subscribe button and the light button.

  • It means a lot to me. If you liked this video,

  • you might like this video or this video and be sure to subscribe to my channel

  • here. See,

  • ya on the next one.

Most Californians have heard about proposition 13 and it seems as if there is

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