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Find Out How to Outsmart the Assessor and Lower Your Property Taxes!
Numerous taxpayers know they’re paying too much in property taxes and the Office of the Assessor doesnt seem to care! The injustice comes from the fact that most property owners know their assessed values are higher than their current market values and subsequently are overpaying property taxes. When dealing with the Office of the Assessor and looking for help it seems like none is given especially with the nature of this issue. Every homeowner needs to understand that the help the Assessor can give is limited. The Assessor is overwhelmed in this real estate market since all they hear from are frustrated taxpayers. In the midst of this real estate market and recession the entire country has gotten slammed with terrible news and most people are tightening up and unfortunately lashing out.
Proposition 13 and Property Tax Increases Explained
All property tax values in California trend from 0-2% every year, this percentage trend is from on the Consumer Price Index that gauges inflation. Normally, California taxpayers pay about 1.25% of their assessed value in actual property taxes per year. For example, if you acquired your residence for $100,000, your base value would be $100,000. Since you pay about 1.25% of the assessed value, your property tax bill the first year would be approximately $1,250. The property tax bill for the first year will be pro-rated for the part of the year you owned the residence and/or you would get credit in escrow for the amount the previous owner owed.
Paying Too Much Property Tax This May Be The Reason Why
In addition to your basic property taxes, if your property tax bill seems unusually high especially during this housing crisis you may have a Special and/or Direct Assessment on your house. This will vary based on the area your home is located, there may be costs necessary to pay off any voter-approved general obligation bonds or other indebtedness, special assessments, or direct levies. Such as, a Direct Assessment may be applied to your property if voters decide to establish a sewage system in a neighborhood that is older where most of the houses use septic tanks. The direct assessment is used to cover the cost of this improvement to the community.
Lower Mellow-Roos Property Tax
The Howard Jarvis Administration was the driving force in implementing Proposition 13 which put a cap on propety taxes in the state of California. As a result, of Proposition 13 California Homeowners were forced to find different methods to pay for government community improvements in their communities like roads, schools, parks, etc. The Mello-Roos Community Facilities Act of 1982 was enacted by the State legislature, the Act enabled Community Facilities Districts (CFDs) to be established as a means of obtaining this crucial neighborhood financing.
Prop 13 Assessment Triggers
In the state of California, there are primarily two triggers for re-assessment: transfer in ownership and new construction. A change in ownership occurs when a deed or deeds are filed at the county Recorder, the Recorder’s Office will forward the deeds to the Assessorss Office for assessment reasons. The Office of the Assessor will then evaluate the change in ownership to determine if it is assessable. If it isn’tre-assessable then the process stops there, however if it is an assessable transfer it is forwarded to the appropriate personnel to give or review a market value and adjust the base value appropriately. A change in ownership that would not be assessable would need to fall within one of the various exemptions allowed by State law such as a transfer into a revocable trust or an inter-spousal transfer which are all articulated in our Inherited Property and Exemptions Guide which is part of the California Little Black Book.
Tax Collector, Assessor and Auditor Controller Compose the Property Tax Branch of the County.
These three offices handle different facets of your property taxes. Some counties join these organizations since they are smaller and dont have a need for three separate organizations. All of the work begins with the Assessors Office, first in deciding what is assessable and then handling the valuation of that re-assessment and all of these decisions are made by your state law.
Why Should I Be Nice When Dealing With The Office of the Assessor
This is a very easy question to answerbecause they are handling your property taxes!
What Led Me to Create the Little Black Book
In early 2003 I applied with the Los Angeles County Assessor’s Office as one of 900 applicants for 25 positions to be a Real Estate Appraiser Trainee. As a trainee I went through an 18 month probation period and a 12 month training with them which included classroom education, numerous exams, field training in all parts of real estate appraisal, property tax law and the systems in place within the Assessor’s Office. Had I failed any one of my series of exams or gotten a bad review by my field trainer they would have booted me out.
What’s the Difference Between a House, Condo, PUD, Townhouse and a Co-Op?
Before I get into this topic let me define PUD: PUD stands for Planned Unit Development. A PUD is basically a single family residence and the legal ownership of the home is legally defined that way. The biggest difference is that a PUD is part of a neighborhood, part of a larger development similar to a condo complex. You will own your residence and still pay an association fee per month to maintain community areas such as parks, pools and sometimes recreation rooms. The association regulates neighborhood improvements so if you want to make major changes to your house or want to paint your house you will need the homeowners’ association’s approval. Since a PUD is basically a single family home that is also part of a larger neighborhood you are liable for your own repairs and maintaining your own homeowners insurance since you own the land and the structure.
What Do I Need to Know About Prop 13?
Prop 13 applies today to all property owners in the state of California. Current California Property Tax Law was implemented in 1978 by taxpayers to control the amount of property taxes paid by homeowners. Before Prop 13 there was no limit to help homeowners on property taxes. The assessed value was based on the changing home values every year and because the market values increased significantly over time in California, the amount of property taxes increased substantially. As the values of the real estate went up over time, older folks on fixed incomes were being driven out of their homes unable to pay the property tax increases.
