Have your property taxes reassessed.

Have your property taxes reassessed.

If your home has lost value there may be a silver lining. If you purchased your home between 2003 and 2007 its possible you are paying too much for property taxes and you can have your assessment lowered and even get a refund.

Many homes across the country has suffered value loss due to declining market values. If you purchased your home in the last 5 years it’s important to find out if you are being assessed for more than your home is worth.

Here in Southern California there was a period after the Northridge Earthquake when property values dropped dramatically and the average homeowner was over assessed on their property taxes. With the right information you can get your home reassessed and your property taxes lowered. In this economy who wants to just keep throwing money away.

The tax assessor is a government agency that assesses your property taxes based on your purchase price and some incremental increases allowed by your local regulations. You may also be reassessed every time you add a room, pool or remodel based on your permits. Lets say you live in Los Angeles and you bought a home a couple years ago for $700,000 and the market has dropped to say $500,000, you are still being assessed at the higher purchase price and even higher if you made enlargements or permitted improvements.

The tax assessor has a difficult job and I would imagine they are going to be flooded with applications for reductions in assessed value and minimal lowering of tax bills. I know when I handled my own reduction years ago I filled out an application for reduction and they readily agreed to a small decrease, well being an licensed appraiser I knew I could do much better and requested a hearing with an assessor and came prepared to do battle. I was a little nervous but knew my information was strong and was determined to win. As soon as I sat down to compare info they began to show me what data they had and found they made a huge typo mistake on their information and conceded immediately. I won and did not even have to fight for it. My taxes were probably the lowest in the neighborhood because I was persistent. I felt sorry for my neighbors who didn’t even try.

The process is a little confusing and I am not an expert on these governmental procedures. I am a licensed appraiser with some personal first hand experience on my own property. Technically you do not need an appraisal but a licensed appraiser with experience can be your best advocate by preparing a defensible appraisal for your benefit and help you get the results you are after. I would suggest you find out what you are assessed at and what your home could be valued at with these current value declines.

Appraiser/Author

Clifford Diamond, CREA

As an experienced appraiser in Southern California with over 20 years experience I am available for expert witness, court work an speaker for local attorney and accountant groups. Please look me up in Los Angeles CA.