Monday I finally had my chance to go before a Hearing Officer of the Los Angeles County Assessment Appeals Board.

Hooray! They reduced the assessed value of my condominium by $64,000 and I'm officially underwater on my mortgage. What a victory!

Monday's hearing (which I applied for last July) was surprising low-key. They had seven hearing officers at different tables in a Community Room in Marina del Rey. A representative of the Assessor's office was also stationed at each table. We were each called to a table one by one. Seemed like most hearing took less than ten minutes -- mine certainly did.

The representative of the Assessor's office presented three comparable sales to defend the assessment level they set. I presented three comparable sales that justified a lower assessment. The hearing officer asked a couple of questions. The Assessor's representative had a couple of questions and then the hearing officer set the new assessment level.

Since I've already paid last year's property taxes I'm now due a refund, which I was told to expect in six months to a year! I didn't ask about interest. They probably would have just said I don't owe any.