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Current Environment
No one can deny that property values throughout our state have suffered dramatic declines from their peak levels of just a few years ago.
Still most property owners fail to understand the complexities and the implications of the many factors behind this Boom and Bust era.
One of which is property taxes, an expense that every property owner should address. Unfortunately, most people are being short-changed into believing the order of the day is a simple form-filling process to a tax appeal.
It is important to note that the number one source of income for local government is property tax revenue. And you can be certain that they will do their best to maintain their incomes to support those ever expanding budgets. In fact, despite some of the sharpest declines in property values in decades, every California County has been able to escape dramatic cuts in their tax roles. This alone should serve as fair warning that one is entering into dangerous waters when expecting any taxing authority to part with your money with ease. Here are some of the tactics we have come across:
Some counties have flat out denied the existence of declines in ‘their’ neighbourhoods and have even continued imposing the maximum allowable 2% increase. It seems some property owners are willing to accept this misrepresentation as good tidings to support their denial of plummeting values everywhere.
As most people know, your original purchase price is typically assumed to be a Market Value transaction and is thus established by the Assessor’s office as the Base Value by which your taxes are initially determined for the first year of ownership. Every year thereafter on January 1, the property is re-assessed to determine if it qualifies for the maximum 2% increase for inflation. By law, there must be evidence of appreciation, but in practice this becomes automatic in most counties even in the face of apparent declines. Usually, not until the second or third year of very strong media attention to crashing values do the counties begin to consider different tactics.
Some admit there is some cause for readjustments but minimize the realities and discourage any action from property owners.
Once there was no denying that property values had declined, counties began to do their best to stay off any efforts to force them into making proper assessment reductions. Appeals were discouraged and any professional services were characterized as fraud at worst or unnecessary at best. Taxpayers are typically instructed to do nothing but wait and are given the assurance that the Assessor’s office had everything under control.
Although assessments are essentially completed by computer models and mass ad valorem methods in a matter of days, value cards that were supposed to reflect proper equalization came late and fell far short of the mark. This in turn left a minority of residential owners with minimal reductions and the major tax burden in the hands of high-end residential and commercial properties with assessments left mostly unchanged.
These are only some of the everyday ploys counties engage in to keep your rightful returns. They are experts in this engagement and you deserve nothing less in your defence. There is a complicated array of property taxes issues from exemptions, supplemental bills, credits and procedural nuances that can leave the novice regrettably short-changed.
Our Process
Once you have decided to engage us, we ask that you log in with minimal contact information that is always kept confidential.
A representative will be assigned to complete the required Service Agreement and Agents’ Authorization form for you or assist you in doing so online.
Once those simple two forms are completed, make a copy for your records and be sure to send us the originals signed in “BLUE” ink.
Once your form is received, a preliminary review is made in order to place your case within the processes best suited at hand. For instance, we might be in negotiations with a particular assessor over industrial properties in a specifi county. If those efforts are moving favourably and your property fits the same profile, it would be immediately entered into the same forum. The point is that no one property, county or situation is the same. Tactics, timelines, and more, may vary considerably with each case.
In general, every property undergoes a comprehensive investigation into its profile and history to determine the best possible action to take.
We look for the best long term solution with the maximum gain towards the financial health of your property. |
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