Lowering Property Taxes on Upside Down Real Estate
Posted Apr 30, 2008 @ 1:18 am, Viewed by 261 Visitors, Read 287 Times.
HOW TO CUT YOUR PROPERTY TAX BILL
Proposition 8 - allows a temporary tax reduction when a property’s market value on January 1st, is below the prior years assessed value.
Ask your Assessor - if your home is worth less than you paid, chances are you can get a temporary reduction in your property taxes. It’s free and easy to do yourself.
Assessors in some Bay Area counties hit hard by the housing downturn – Contra Costa, Alameda, Santa Clara and Solano – are automatically reviewing homes purchased in the past few years to see if the homeowner qualifies for a cut in assessed value for 2008-09.
Even in these counties, homeowners who think their home’s market value on Jan. 1 was lower than the assessed value on their last property tax bill can ask for a review.
You can call or write your assessor’s office or download a form from their Web site and mail it to the assessor. To provide tax relief the assessor will be looking at recent sales in your area that are comparable to your home. If the homeowner and the assessor cannot agree on a value through this information process, the homeowner can file a formal appeal with the county’s assessment appeals board, which will have the final say on the property’s value.
The formal appeal must be submitted between July 2 and Sept. 15 in counties that send assessment notices to all homeowners by Aug. 1. In the Bay Area, these include Alameda, San Francisco and Santa Clara counties.
The formal appeal must be submitted between July 2 and Sept. 15 in counties that send assessment notices to all homeowners by Aug. 1. In the Bay Area, these include Alameda, San Francisco and Santa Clara counties.
Before filing a claim for an adjustment, be advised that your assessed value could increase once market values go up. Property owners should consult directly with the Assessors Office to inquire on how this would be determined before filing any forms.
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Hamid Grinage is a Realtor with the Grand Lake office of Prudential California Realty in Oakland. He is E-Certified, a graduate of Sonoma State University, and a member of the National, California and Oakland Association of Realtors.
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In states like Arizona, you as a property owner have the right to protest your assessed value. In the late 1980s when price dropped dramatically here for commercial property and land, I knew of several people that became experts at negotiating a lower assessed value which equaled to a lower tax bill. The land owner and the tax protesting company would then split the savings. I am sure we will see a new round of tax protesting companies opening up to help the homeowner and to save him/her money.