Yesterday I found in my mailbox an official looking letter from "Property Tax Assessment Adjusters, LLC". In addition to a lot of legalese type verbage, it said:
IMPORTANT : Upon a preliminary check your assessed value appears to be higher than your current market value. You may obtain property tax relief, even if you have received a reduction for a previous tax year.
For a fee of only $93, they will "advocate as my agent for the purposes of filing an application, answering all questions pertinent to the inquiry, attending a hearing, and accepting a modified assessment through the Assessor or the Assessment Appeals Board."
Our former Governor, and current Attorney General, Jerry Brown, warned today that many of these companies are complete scams and will only take your money and disappear while you patiently wait for your tax adjustment.
This is something that most homeowners can do for themselves, by contacting their county's assessor's office and asking about it. There are a few forms to fill out, and it helps if your local real estate agent can provide a list of the current comps (call me if you are in Orange County!), but the proceedure is very simple and shouldn't cost you more than the price of a stamp!
The Orange County Tax Assessor's website has a good explanation of the process, and forms available to download.
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