May 4, 2007 will be a day I will always remember, because it is the day Zuma's Batcomputer sent an alert that risky subprime lending practices were about to cause a housing bubble burst, that would cause property values to plummet; triggering a recession in late '07/early '08.
Damn was Jose Aguilar, I mean my Batcomputer, right on the money with that prediction! (Based on a warning from Senator Chuck Shumer he saw on C-Span, last May.)
So how does this relate to Los Angeles' $600-$700 million budget crisis Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa is warning will cause a cut in Citywide services sending us back to Mayberry without Blackberries?
People are calling the county property tax assessor to have their homes re-assessed at newly plummeted property value. This means people will have to pay the City of Los Angeles less money (property taxes) -- meaning the City of Los Angeles will be taking in less money (property taxes).
MUCH LESS MONEY THAN ANYONE EVER COULD HAVE EXPECTED!!! (Unless you read ZumaTimes.com for warnings months in advance.)
And Zuma's Batcomputer has been citing this example as a big, big shoe about to drop that is a big reason behind Villaraigosa's budget panic. (DWP lawsuit that would prevent the City from huge amounts of DWP money is another scary reason. BUT THIS PROPERTY REASSESSMENT THING IS THE REAL PROBLEM!)
From Zuma's Inbox (zumadogg@gmail.com)
Thousands file for property tax cuts
Homes If the real estate slump has left many agents begging for business, perhaps they should try and land a part-time job with the Los Angeles County tax assessor. Workers there are scrambling to process the flood of homeowners who are seeking to have their property value reduced in the wake of the real estate bust. More than 41,000 homes have been reassessed downward, with another 310,000 properties still to be reviewed, county officials told Garrett Therolf, who is working on a complete story.
So far, the average tax savings has added up to $660. That extra cash for homeowners, however, will put more strain on the county's budget.
"This could well end up being a significant revenue hit on the county for awhile until the market recovers, a period of several years," a spokesman for Supervisor Zev Yaroslavsky said.
The county is reviewing the value of all homes and condos purchased between July 1, 2004 and June 30, 2007. But homeowners can still submit a Decline-In-Value application on their own.
-- Jesus Sanchez
RELATED ARTICLE
(This article came out after this LA Daily Blog post...looks like it's about to break!)
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