Carol Quan, Special Assistant, Los Angeles Tax Assessor, spoke at our Palos Verdes real estate Remax office meeting and gave us an update on property tax reassessment. Before June, the Tax Assessor’s Office will pro-actively review 400,000 Los Angeles County single family residences, townhomes and condos purchased between July 1, 2003 and June 30, 2008 to ascertain if there has been a decline in value.
These reviews will be done in the office; there will not be any field checks. Notices will be sent out to property owners in June. If you believe you should have your property taxes reduced and do not receive a notice (or receive one but disagree with the results), you may file a “Decline-in-Value Reassessment Application (Prop 8)” which can be downloaded from the Tax Assessors Website under “Forms“. They will accept 2 comparable sales but that comparable property must have closed escrow between January 1, 2009 and March 30, 2009. The form must be filed by December 31, 2009.
The Special Assistant said that a homeowner does not have to pay anyone to file a Proposition 8 Application. She warned there were 13 companies sending out official looking letters requesting a fee to apply. She recommended ignoring them and going directly to the Tax Assessor’s website. If the Assessor approves a reduction in taxes, you will receive a reduction to your next tax bill.
