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difference between legala boundaries and assessor's map

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elenajfr

Junior Member
What is the name of your state? california

Hello,

Maybe someone can help me with that matter
Is there a difference between the legal, original map of a property (lot with official boudaries and description ) and the map recorded at the county assessor( Los Angeles in my case ) used to pay tax ?
If there is a difference, how could it be explained ?

For example, how can you pay tax on a guest house that was built without permit, therefore is illigal, but is recorded with the assessor ?

I have in my possesion 2 surveys done by previous owners of the house that contradict what's on the assessor's map ( my property is smaller on the assessor's map than on the surveys ). When you know the price of real estate in Los Angeles , it would make a big difference in value.

Thanks for your help.
 


rsimplicio

Junior Member
Maybe I'm not understanding, but if your property is smaller on the assessor's map, doesn't that mean you pay less in taxes?

I understand you probably want this reconciled, but it sounds like what you're really worried about is property value, not that you're missing out on paying taxes on the property that is not on the assessor's map. Please correct me if I'm wrong!

Usually, people are concerned about what's on the plat of survey when they're purchasing a property, not what's recorded in the assessor's office. However, you should make sure that somewhere in the county/city, the correct plats are recorded. I would assume that your latest survey is based on prior recorded surveys, but you need to check and make sure there wasn't a mistake made somewhere along the way.

If you're concerned about not having paid taxes on the amount of property in question, I would take your current plat of survey to the assessor's office and ask that they review what they already have for your property to see if there's a discrepancy in their records and indeed you should be paying tax for the extra property. I'm not sure if they would charge you back taxes on the property or not, but it's something you need to consider.

That also raises the question of: If you haven't been paying the taxes on that property, who has? Adverse possession questions start to come up if someone else has been using that property and also paying taxes on it.

You could also ask for an appeal from the county assessor, and tell them that you feel your property is undervalued. I have a feeling they don't get that complaint often! Most people appeal to have the base value of their property reduced, not raised.
 
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elenajfr

Junior Member
Thank you very much for for response.

Yes you are right, I am not concerned about not paying enough tax! but I am concerned about losing part of my property to my neighbor because of adverse possession.Again, in Los Angeles, the price of real estate is crazy...

What happened when we bought the house if that we had a description and the assessor's map but not a survey.
They told me 2 surveys had beeen done in the past but they didn't have the documents (plat) in their possession. Anyway to make it short, I finally got my hands on the surveys and I found out about the discrepancy.

My concern now is to get back the part of property that my neighbor took a few years ago, and the problem is there is now a fence and I don't think they will just give it back to me just like that. I don't know where to start!
 

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