If you bought in '04, '05, or '06, you need to file an appeal with the county assessor. It could save you hundreds of dollars this December, and many times that amount over the years.
If you were foolish enough to buy at or around the peak, like me, chances are you are down 20 to 30 percent. Time to face that reality and salvage some bucks out of your predicament. Here's how to do it.
The County Assessor (C.A.) by Proposition 13 can tax you at only 1% of your property value as of January of each year (actually its now around 1.10 or 1.15% due to voter approved bonded debt, depending on your area).
You can goggle the C.A. and get all the information and forms. Being old-fashioned, I went to the County Courthouse to get the forms, did my research, and turned in the appeal to get their stamp on my copy.
The deadline is in November of each year, but better to do it now because the deadline for them responding is two years from the date of your submission. They are swamped. I submitted my appeal last November and still haven't gotten their response.
Once you file your appeal, they have to contact you with an acceptance or a proposed compromise (or a flat rejection). If you refuse their offer, there is a quasi-judicial hearing where each side presents their evidence before a Board.
I've discovered that they have over 14,000 appeals along with mine, (undoubtedly many more for this year), and their scheduled hearings of maybe a few dozen a month means they are either 1) talking the vast majority into a compromise, or 2) going to run into the 2-year deadline & cave. Either way, you have some heavy duty negotiating firepower here.
Along with the one-page appeal form, I suggest lots of documentation to support your claim. Look for comps only three months before and three months after last January. They've assured me they will ignor anything else, so forget the latest new bottom price in your neighborhood.
Incidentally, I have found county clerks and bureaucrats to be courteous and competent, and have never had a bad experience with them. In contrast, I've never had a good experience with City of San Diego personnel. The County Administration building, that gorgeous old depression-era gem on the waterfront even has free parking. Good luck.
P.S. I gave similar information here on this subject a few months ago under my former handle, BobS
One more reason to file an appeal even though the assessor may not answer you for up to two years: it may prompt a voluntary reduction by the assessor in the following calendar year.
Here's proof. Though my appeal was filed last November for the property value in January of '07, and though I have yet to be contacted about it, the assessor did mail me a reduction for January of '08. So I will pay 23% less this December as a result.
My next door neighbor moved in 4 months after me in '05 and experienced a similar decline in value. She has never filed an appeal and did not receive a voluntary reduction from the assessor. So it appears that filing an appeal triggers a voluntary reduction by the assessor in the following year's taxes even as we wait for action on our original appeal.
Anyone else out there get a voluntary reduction letter from the assessor?
I'm a bit confused but I'll go to the SD County assessor's website for answers. I thought you had to apply for a reassessment by May 30th. We did that and got a letter back agreeing to our request. It was exactly what what we asked for: 20 percent reduction. On the assessment request form, they ask you exactly what you think your house is worth (and comps, as you mentioned). A friend bought a home right at the peak and paid more than $650K. She and her husband also applied for reassesment and said on the form that they thought the house was now worth $400K. I was amazed when she told me the assessor agreed to exactly that amount.
That's 38% off the peak. I'm kind of curious. Which area is it ?
TuVu: your friend's experience, and mine, suggest that the Tax Assessor is so overwhelmed with appeals that they are granting them readily.
Anyone else here get that quick an acceptance on their appeal?
gn--
She's in far west Clairemont. I am thinking along Econ Prof's lines, however...the assessor's office may be so overwhelmed they're just giving the people who apply whatever they are asking for, within reason. I wish we had asked for an even greater reduction :). On the other hand, to be honest, I think our new assessment is pretty darn close to what our house is worth. But we'll see what's happening with prices next spring...I believe you have to reapply every year.