I want to make sure I spread this around because it seems that every year, I run across some who is kicking themselves because they didn't apply to get their property re-assessed. With plummeting property values in Sacramento County, chances are your Carmichael or Arden Park Area home are assessed too high!
Now I can't make any promises and wouldn't want to even imply that I could, but I do know this: JUNE IS THE MONTH OF RECKONING! Our County Assessor's Office gives us the month of June to challenge our current property assessment so that we may try to get our property taxes reduced.
While I can't explain all the nuances of the assessed value of a property (and I'm not convinced the County can either...) I do know that in many cases, people are paying more property tax than they should on their Sacramento homes. That said, there are companies out there that will happily help you, but they charge, in my opinion, way to much. I say that because I'm fairly sure you can do it yourself...of course some people may need assistance, but for the most part, if you can operate a computer, I'm thinking you can handle the task.
The first thing to remember is this: YOU MUST DO IT IN JUNE, so START NOW!!!!! It's the start of May in just another week, and you do know how we tend to procrastinate on things like this, so I encourage you to compile your information NOW, and be prepared to challenge your Sacramento property taxes at the START of June, not the end. Why not put it in your calendar so you won't forget? That's exactly what I had to do!
So you'll need to go to Trulia.com (I like that one best for consumers, but you can try Zillow too), and research some comps for your area. Comps are just houses that have sold in the past few months. Remember, houses that SOLD already, not current listings. Compile that figure to come up with a good idea of what your home is worth and then check out your tax bill. If the amounts are dramatically different, you may be able to get that bill reduced!
As I teach my real estate students, taxes are due: No Darn Foolin' Around:
No: November
Darn: December
Foolin: February
Around: April
So the 10th of each of those months marks an important property-tax related date. I think it's really terrible that we have big property tax bills right before Santa Clause comes to town, and in fact, can really affect Old St. Nick's spending capacity 
.
If you visit www.NTU.ORG, you can find out more about how to get your property tax reduced....and ways to appeal it, but I think I've given you a good running start for now....so go put it in your calendar and email me your success stories!
Ta ta for now,
Tamara
PS- Have you picked up a FREE copy of my new co-authored book, "Should I Short Sale My House?" It's free, not strings and can help you avoid the damages of foreclosure: FREE BOOK!
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