Challenging Your Property Tax Assessment!

Could there be a better time to review your property assessment tax bill. With so many homes values being impacted by short sales, foreclosures and the local economy- the timing could not be better to review your property tax assessment. 

You will not know until you investigate. National Taxpayers Union a non-profit, non partisan advocacy group notes that 30 to 60 % of homes are over assessed.  One in three tax challenges results in some reduction. 

Do it Yourself. 

• To cut your property taxes you'll need to dispute your home's assessment. You do this by proving to your local taxing authority that your home has been assessed at a value that may be out dated, and this would be based on comparable homes that have recently sold.
• Check with you local tax-assessment office how it goes about assessing home values. They might do it by appraisals, recent sales prices of comparable homes or the cost to rebuild your home. (California assesses homes when they're sold: assessed value can rise just 2% annually until the next sale).
• Get your property card which lists your homes square footage number of bedrooms and bathrooms and features such as a garage or finished basement, swimming pools. ***This card might contain mistakes***
• Verify with your local tax assessor if the data is correct on the number of bedrooms and square footage etc of your home, the appraised values of comparable properties or comps in your area may be out of alignment with your property's current value.
• Having a difficult time getting current info on recent sales, contact your local real estate agent or appraiser --- beware there might be a fee associated with this information request, or it can be for free.
• If you still retain the original appraisal that was done by the appraiser that originally did the appraisal, this is a good starting point. It can be the best way to illustrate that the current value of your home has decreased significantly.
• Many times your financial savings can amount to several thousand of dollars. If you have purchase a home within the last five years it is in your best interest to do your homework, when it comes to reducing your property taxes.
• Tax assessor offices are easy to locate, check your tax bill --- most have this information included.