Ventura County appeals board continues Jose G. Reveles ownership dispute to March 17 after evidence request

The Ventura County Assessment Appeals Board No. 2 on Feb. 3, 2025, continued a change-in-ownership appeal by Jose G. Reveles to March 17, 2025, after determining the board had not received the sworn declarations and supporting documentation it said were necessary to decide whether a documented transfer in 2005 should be treated as a change in ownership.

The board said the applicant — who seeks to overturn an assessment tied to a recorded transfer dated April 8, 2005 — must produce clear-and-convincing evidence that he retained equitable ownership of the property. County counsel and assessors cited the deed-presumption rules that place the burden on an applicant seeking to overcome names that appear on recorded deeds.

During the hearing, the assessor’s office, represented by Joe Phillips, said its files lacked a homeowner’s exemption for the parcel at issue and that the assessor could not treat the 2005 recorded transfer as non-transformative without documentary proof the legal title did not reflect the beneficial ownership. Phillips cited Property Tax Rule 462.200…