The Mills Act difference: Tax savings in historic* Mar Vista
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How much can you save in taxes if you buy a home in a historic overlay zone? Quite a bit, judging by the marketing of this restored midcentury home designed by architect Gregory Ain.
The Mar Vista house is listed at $1.1 million, but, according to marketing materials, ‘The house is protected under the Mills Act, which provides property tax
assessed value of $189,000.’
Details, for those curious about the house: Three bedrooms, one bath, single-story at 3500 Beethoven St., one of 52 houses in a historic overlay zone. The overlay zone consists of tract homes Ain designed in 1948 on Beethoven, Moore and Meier streets between Palms and Marco in Mar Vista (see map).
Personally, I’ve always liked this neighborhood -- the single-story homes sit back nicely from Beethoven Street, and it’s a quiet, tree-shaded block. But $1.1 million is a lot for homes in the 1,100-square foot range that were originally designed ‘to promote home ownership among modest-income families,’ according to the city’s Office of Historic Resources.
*Yes, ‘Historic Mar Vista’ is a joke.
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Photo: 3500 Beethoven Street.Credit: L.A. Land