Occasionally, when a law is passed not everybody is affected in the way the law intended. This is referred to as The Law of Unintended Consequences. When Proposition 13 passed in California in 1978 several significant and financially beneficial changes to the calculation of property taxes were implemented. However, Read More >
How Closing Credit Accounts Can Undermine Credit Scores
In the last few months I’ve helped several families refinance and consolidate their credit card debt using the equity in their houses. One family was able to save $1,100 per month, another family $1,300 per month, and another family $1,700 per month. That represents a significant amount of any family’s monthly cash Read More >
Are You Affected by Mello-Roos Taxes?
Odds are if you don’t pay them you don’t know what they are and if you do pay them you don’t know why. Mello-Roos is a “Special Tax” paid by homeowners who purchase a home in a “Community Facilities District” and is paid in addition to the County property taxes. When Proposition 13 passed in California in 1978, local Read More >
What is the Difference Between the Property Tax Rate and An Effective Property Tax Rate?
As a California homeowner, you are responsible for paying property taxes on each and every property you own, but only during the time that you own each property. The amount of your property taxes, as set forth in Proposition 13, is based on the assessed value of each property. For homeowners who purchased property Read More >
An Anniversary ALL California Homeowners Should Celebrate
On June 6, 1978, nearly two-thirds of California’s voters voted yes and passed Proposition 13, reducing property tax rates on homes, businesses, and farms by about 57%. That was almost 38 years ago and California homeowners still benefit from it today, but I’ll bet only a handful of homeowners realize it and fewer Read More >
5 Strategies to Lower Your Credit Card Utilization Rate and Improve Your Credit Score
Technology has inspired a great many beneficial inventions and creations. Whether credit scoring is one of them is a debate for another day, but credit scoring is here and it isn’t going away any time soon. That being said, one of the little known 5 key criteria that leads many people to have lower credit scores than Read More >