Romneys, caught in housing bust, got tax cut in La Jolla

[tawadi]

Source: Latimes

By Robin Abcarian, Los Angeles Times

August 5, 2012, 9:31 p.m.

Mitt and Ann Romney were easily able to afford a $12-million La Jolla home.

But that didn't insulate them from the winds buffeting the real estate market in the months following their purchase in 2008.

After paying cash for the Mediterranean-style house with 61 feet of beach frontage, they asked San Diego County for dramatic property tax relief.

Read more: http://www.latimes.com/news/nationworld/nation/la-na-romney-property-tax-20120806,0,4926772.story

---

Aww, his ocean front home in La Jolla lost 45% of its value.

[Raven]

1. Let's be clear on where this $ comes from.

If the Romneys got a tax abatement (a reduction in the property value and thus $ back) it came from the pockets of every citizen in La Jolla, every taxpayer. Each year, municipalities establish as "Overlay Account" which is funded by taxpayer $ and used to pay for rebates to property owners who get abatements. So Mitt got $ from folks probably a lot less well of than he is. Also, the next year after the abatement, the municipality would have to raise more tax $ from taxpayers to cover the reduction in value of Mitt's home. This guy is sucking off the public tit.

[tawadi]

2. Absolutely

Someone else who didn't have the money for a high priced atty footed the bill.

[slackmaster]

4. The process of applying for a reduction in property tax is very simple, doesn't require an attorney

http://www.sdcounty.ca.gov/cob/aab/index.html

ETA it's probably more difficult for someone with a high-value parcel because it's difficult to get comparable sales figures. There just aren't any in that area.

The house that was owned for about 50 years by the late actor Cliff Robertson is about five blocks south of the Romney's place. I believe it sold for only $6 million, and it's a whole lot bigger and more historic.

[tawadi]

8. The article says they were denied a reduction until they hired an attorney. eom

[slackmaster]

12. Not surprising. Even Freddie Mac's Home Value Explorer chokes on that parcel.

It has no freaking idea what the place is worth.

Here is the actual output from Freddie Mac:

Freddie Mac's Home Value Explorer

Error

Unable to determine the market value for the submitted address.

That is very unusual except for unique properties. Usually it has an opinion, which includes a confidence score. The more comparable sales it can find, the higher the confidence. That property is way out of the typical price range even for that highly desirable neighborhood.

[catchnrelease]

22. A detail that doesn't change the point of your post

The Robertson house is adjacent to the Romney place. From the street it might be 5 doors away, but in the back there is a common property line. It's a very weird set up. (Google 325 Dunemere La Jolla and see the birds eye view if you're interested)

When Cliff sold it in 2005, he sold it for $14.5 million and it's sold at least once since then. I think last I heard it was sold for $20+million. I got to stay in the house a couple of times with a friend who was a relative of CR. It is a fabulous place. Now it's owned by a Walter(?) Miller who is a buddy of Romneys, and it makes me sick to think of those people living in that house. Is my bias showing??



edit: I see from your later post that you know the area.

[slackmaster]

3. Property taxes for parcels in La Jolla are paid to the San Diego County Assessor and Recorder

About 250,000 parcels in the county have had their property taxes TEMPORARILY cut due to the drop in market values.

As soon as the market recovers, those rates, including the Romneys', will go right back up to where they were before they were cut.

I can't justify an appeal because my home is still worth well over twice what I paid for it in 1994.

[WHEN CRABS ROAR]

9. That's every taxpayer in San Diego and the city is in trouble.

La Jolla has its own postal zip code but it is a municipality of San Diego.

Want to checkout what he has to contend with from the locals on the beach in front of his house?

Click on this. http://macmedadestruction.com/

this is a great site and all this stuff actually happened.

MEEEDA !

[slackmaster]

13. Property taxes are paid to the county, not the city.

Both are in trouble, but the county is in less trouble than the city.

[WHEN CRABS ROAR]

15. You are correct on both counts.

I'm a La Jolla native since 1945, sadly La Jolla changed for the worst in about the middle sixties. I left for Oregon in 2005 and never looked back.
Check the Mac Meda Destruction Company site above.
We used to have huge parties with bands right in front of mitts house, but that was before he owned it.
The house sold for about $65,000 in 1956.

[slackmaster]

16. I lived there from 1962 - 1978

The Red Roost and the Red Rest were rented out to actual surfers when I lived there.

I agree it started going downhill in the 1960s. The city council giving a (building height) variance for the construction of 939 Coast Boulevard was the beginning of a long, slow death for the old community. There isn't much left of it, but when I park in front of La Jolla Presbyterian or the Women's Club or St. James By The Sea I can still feel it.

[thelordofhell]

5. Paid in cash......means no mortgage...............

means not having to disclose any tax returns...................

[tawadi]

10. Mitt Romney is hiding something

But we all know that.

[Drunken Irishman]

6. Jesus. Imagine having enough money to buy a $12 million house in cash?!?

[fantomas]

7. Bah! It was a fixer upper for Romney

Didn't even have a car elevator.

[Ilsa]

11. Just move the fire station further away. :-) nt

[slackmaster]

14. The ocean will reclaim that property eventually. It could happen as early as this winter...

...or the next Pacific tsunami.

When I was an undergraduate at UCSD in the late 1970s, I did a photo essay following a major winter storm that brought some very high surf to the beach. Dozens of homes on the beach in La Jolla Shores and the lower parts of Del Mar were damaged.

325 Dunemere has a sea wall, but there is always the possibility of waves higher than that. I have seen surf over 30 feet hitting Boomer Beach.

If I had $12 million to spend on a house, I doubt that I would buy one right on the beach. It's lovely to be there most of the time, but your stuff deteriorates very quickly in the salt air.

[begin_within]

17. We also live in San Diego County, our house also lost value, so where's our tax cut?

Home prices have dropped dramatically since their peak around 2005. Everyone who owns a home in the county has lost value. Why didn't we all get tax cuts?

[IndyJones]

19. Some cities automatically did property tax adjustments and some you need to fill out a simple form

to request the adjustment. Your county may be one that requires the latter.

[liberal N proud]

18. Greedy asshole is milking for every dollar he can milk from any one.

[Blue Owl]

20. Mitt pays less, You pay more

Keep hammering it home!

[lonestarnot]

21. Begg'n for bailout, Taxivader RMoney Twitmitt.

[aquart]

23. And the other underwater homeowners of California?