Richter Associates

What makes us different?

From the desk of William Richter

founder of W.J. Richter & Associates – www. Tax to Equity Recovery .com

My brother and I essentially picked up on the trail of this advocacy for the taxpayers of Orange County back in the 1990s in Newport Beach, California.
Sometime back in 1992/93, while actively appraising high-end homes for banking clients, the discrepancy between declining owner values of eight figures and their inflated assessments became all too apparent. It was a mild afternoon in late spring when I walked into the Orange County Assessor’s office. Without a soul in sight, I pointed out the ‘apparent to me’ aberration only to be told: “there was nothing you can do and no forms to be filled out”. Right there the adversarial relationship was clearly established. And thus ever since then, we have been seasonally fighting for the proper equalization of property taxes for owners and expanding our reach to every California county possible.

Little did I know that only a year or so later would I be at the helm of pioneering one of the largest property tax advocates to activist movements in recent history. Even more shocking was to be the center of attention as a ‘target of concern’ fueled by the compelling ramifications of the one of the largest municipal bankruptcies in American history to date (Orange County). Oddly enough, nearly every county in California is on the brick of similar disaster today.

But here I would like to point out probably the most critical distinctions to our service. My evolution in this entire endeavor has been from APPRAISER to ASSESSOR to ADVOCATE to ACTIVIST. In terms of our day to day activities we essentially act from the later two modes on behalf of taxpayers. Because of the importance of this seemingly small discretion of utmost importance; I thought it imperative to clarify this matter.

Main Entry: 1ad·vo·cate
Pronunciation: \ad-v-kt, -kāt\
Function: noun

1 : one that pleads the cause of another; specifically : one that pleads the cause of another before a tribunal or judicial court
2 : one that defends or maintains a cause or proposal
3 : one that supports or promotes the interests of another

Main Entry: ac·tiv·ism
Pronunciation: \ak-ti-vi-zm\
Function: noun
Date: 1915

: a doctrine or practice that emphasizes direct vigorous action especially in support of or opposition to one side of a controversial issue.
The point here is that any REALTOR, APPRAISER, ASSESSOR, ACCOUNTANT, etc. has a certain set of rules as separate professions with distinct roles when acting alone. For instance, an Appraiser licensed under the typical federal requirements for lending purposes cannot act as your advocate in a tax appeal hearing without violation of those laws. His or her presence would instead be as one obligated to Uniform Standards of Professional Practice and certain valuation criteria limiting the rules of engagement as it were in the appeal process. As a fully integrated professional group, W. J. Richter & Associates can utilize the very same skills and education of each field but in the manner such as that of an Advocate or Activist with only one obligation – Your financial best interest and/or the lowest possible assessment.

Therefore, we think the CPA and assessor/appraiser backgrounds and expertise make our team the best fit. We have had a stable presence in Southern California for over 20 years and at the end of the first decade of this millennium we have an expanded version for this season’s effort in Northern California.

I personally have located to the Northern California Bay Area to better serve that area, but keep close ties to my Southern California roots and associates. We are quickly gaining ground in our new location as we intend not only to dedicate ourselves to a long term real property tax monitoring program, but are building a case for solutions to the large amounts of equity property owners lost by artificially inflated prices.
I cannot express enough how important it is that essentially every property transferred since 2003 to date be filed under a Prop 8 application and annually monitored by our firm every year after while these declining market continue. It is your way to a hassle free, no upfront fee, and no risk manner to the lowest possible tax liability or refund for the years to come.