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163 <br /> Orange County <br /> Summary Report <br /> 2025 Reappraisal Findings and Recommendations <br /> By working through the Vertical Inequity Project these past few months, <br /> there were several items of interest that may need to be revisited when <br /> preparing for the next reappraisal. As with any reappraisal, planning is most <br /> important especially when considering what goals and task will be targeted <br /> and amount of manpower and time needed to accomplish an accurate and <br /> thorough reappraisal. Also, when discussing my recommendations, I realize <br /> there may be differing opinions as to how a reappraisal is conducted and the <br /> methodology used, so take this simply as my recommendation to consider <br /> when preparing for the next reappraisal. <br /> One of the most important tasks in the early stages is to analyze all sales to <br /> make sure the property data and characteristics accurately match the <br /> property at time of sale. For example, properties that may be completely <br /> renovated may still be listed as average condition when compared to the <br /> actual age of the property, or the property could have either more or less <br /> actual square footage of finished area than compared to the property in the <br /> records. Since we analyze the small percentage of sold properties within a <br /> jurisdiction to appropriately assess all the remaining unsold properties, <br /> unless this sales verification process is completed correctly, modeling will be <br /> flawed and correct assessments will not occur. I also caution against the <br /> practice of sales chasing*, this gives a false reading of proper assessments <br /> but will cause many issues going forward, especially in regard to equity. We <br /> will discuss the model later, but for illustration purposes, the important point <br /> being that if your property data matches the sold property and there is a <br /> significant difference between the sales price and the assessed value, then <br /> the model should be re-examined. If this model does not reflect market <br /> value, then all properties would tend to need adjustments rather than just <br /> the sold property. *["Sales chasing" generally refers to changing the subjective <br />