Let’s say you buy a bank-auctioned piece of property in a slightly remote area with a junker of a house sitting on it, a fixer-upper at best. You put a significant amount of money and personal physical labor into it so as to make it your home, not simply a house. After the County Assessor shows up and completes a re-assessment of the property, your tax bill goes up significantly. You pay it. As time goes by, you pay all your property taxes as they progressively increase based on the limiting provisions of Prop. 13.
Years go by and you lose the home in a terrible fire. Through your long re-building process it becomes apparent the County Assessor failed all that time ago in adequately measuring the square footage of your then-house, thus under-assessing you in property taxes all those years.
A typical bureaucratic mess, resulting in a nightmare for you. Should you have known the professional county appraisers couldn’t handle a tape measure or do simple math? Would you have known such a thing? Your property tax bill doesn’t show your square footage. After all, the county did increase your assessment based on a physical inspection. They are the experts, are they not?
**There is more – click the link**
October 22nd, 2006 at 12:00 am
I say thank goodness he did this. Everyone needs to keep in perspective what a horrible slanted rag the UT is. Their story and now this rebuttal proves that they had an agenda.
And a question that has been bugging me ever since this nonsence began: what are the statistics of homeowners demanding the taxman charge them more? Most of us get the bill, groan, then simply pay it without question.
October 23rd, 2006 at 12:00 am
They thought this was going to be, “Duke Cunningham, Chapter 2”.
Duncan kept his cool, and rebutted the charges with facts and a
sense of humor.
I first met him in 1980, and time and success have not changed
him. He is still a decent, real human being.
October 26th, 2006 at 12:00 am
I’m no Duncan Hunter fan. Far from it. But this U-T attack smells to high heaven.
October 26th, 2006 at 12:00 am
A classic ad from a classy American. I grew up in Duncans district and wish he still represented me in the North County.
He is what American needs more of – couragageous, selfless, and proud individuals willing to serve for the betterment of our country instead of those cowardess, selfish and spiteful indivduals serving for themselves….
October 26th, 2006 at 12:00 am
Don’t you love it when a politician can stick it to the media?
October 26th, 2006 at 12:00 am
Whats important is not what actually happened, but the seriousness of the charges. The Democrats have no agenda to run on but to attack decent people.
October 29th, 2006 at 12:00 am
What always made it a non-issue for me was that the U-T, in their original story, reported that before he bought it, Duncan’s home was listed for sale on the Multiple Listing Service (MLS). This means that the property was adverstised on the open market and that anyone from the general public could’ve made an offer on it before Duncan purchased the property. No insider information. No sweetheart deal. Duncan was just a person who bought a piece of real estate that was offered for sale on the open market; as happens countless times everyday. What is truly amazing is that the U-T could possibly think there was something nefarious about such an ordinary and routine transaction. By the way, I’m so glad that in time of war,Duncan is Chairman of the House Armed Services Committeee. Our troops couldn’t have a better advocate & supporter in Congress.