Applicant contests 2022 purchase price in Ventura County base‑year appeal; board schedules deliberation

Applicant Daryl Malamute and the Ventura County Assessor’s Office presented competing evidence May 21 in a contested base‑year appeal over a Thousand Oaks single‑family residence; after oral testimony and cross‑examination the board took the matter under advisement and said it would deliberate in closed session without issuing an immediate ruling.

The basics: The subject property is a single‑family residence in the North Ranch area. The property’s purchase price and enrollment as the base‑year value is $3,260,000, with a valuation date of Oct. 10, 2022. The proceeding before the Ventura County Assessment Appeals Board was an appeal of that base‑year value under the county appeals process.

What the applicant argued

- Applicant: Daryl (sometimes spelled "Daryl" in the record) Malamute, the buyer/applicant, said he and his wife bought the house on Oct. 10, 2022, because they wanted to return to the area to be closer to aging parents and to enroll their children in school. He said the purchase occurred under time pressure and that the listing broker represented both buyer and seller (dual representation), which the applicant said worked against him in negotiations.

- Condition and repairs: Malamute told the board the house largely retained original 1987 systems and finishes, including original roof, original HVAC, original plumbing and many original interior finishes. He presented two contractor bids and written estimates (included in his exhibit packet) showing repair and renovation costs. He said he and his wife found approximately $175,000 in condition problems during inspections and that the seller ultimately agreed to a $50,000 purchase price reduction during escrow — insufficient to cover the items he identified.

- Fireplaces and other large items: Malamute introduced chimney/fireplace inspection reports and contractor bids that, he said, showed three fireplaces were unsafe and required full replacement; he provided a bid totaling about $69,000 for those replacements and told the board the assessor’s appraisal allowed only $3,000 per fireplace.

- Remodeling and comparables: The applicant presented an annotated grid that started with assessor/appraiser comparables and adjusted individual line items (lot usable area, effective year, square footage, condition, fireplace bids, kitchen and master bath renovation cost ranges, exterior features such as motor courts…