I received a call last week from a client who wanted to inquire regarding the legitimacy of a company promising to drastically lower his property taxes for a $495 fee. I have posted about this before - so folks please be very aware that there are many "Property Tax Reassessment Service" scams. If it sounds too good to be true, it probably is!
If you receive something in the mail that looks official regarding a fee-based service that promises to lower your Sacramento County property tax assessment - please be aware that this is NOT legit! Do not provide any credit card numbers or private information, or if you have mailed one of these companies a check - cancel it asap!!
Sacramento County released a couple months ago its list of reassessed parcels...they have since taken that list off their site, however you can look up your current tax assessment on the Sacramento County Tax Assessor's website here. If your property was not reassessed, and you think it should be, we are currently right in the middle of the appeal application submission time period. You can download the Sacramento County "Decline-In-Value Request for Assessor Review" application and submit it yourself. You MUST file this form by November 30, 2009. The application will ask you to provide 2 comparable sales from the time period from November 2008 - March 31, 2009. Your tax basis for tax year 2009-2010 is based on your property's value in January 2009. If you need sale data from that time period for your application, feel free to email me at erin@erinattardi.com, and I am happy to provide it to you.
Now - having said all that, there is ONE legitimate fee-based re-assessment service that I know of. It is a service by a CA licensed appraiser, and his fees are not excessive. If you are interested in having someone prepare the application for you, email me and I can give you his information.
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If you bought your home within the last three to four years, it is likely that your current assessed property value -- the basis for your property taxes -- is higher than the current market value of your home. And in many areas, the annual reassessment is an assumed, automatic increase in value, rather than an actual reevaluation of fair market value based on the factual market dynamics.
5. Keep in mind that you are trying to make the case that your property value is significantly lower now than when you bought it, so list legitimate comparable sales which support that argument or you are wasting your time! And keep in mind that if you bought your home 10 or 20 years
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