Do you believe that your house has dropped in value?  If so, it is time to request a reduction in your property taxes.  The Sacramento County Tax Assessor accepts  requests until November 30th each year.

Proposition 8, which passed in 1978, amended Proposition 13 to recognize declines in value for property tax purposes. As a result, the Assessor is required to annually update the assessed value either a property’s Proposition 13 base year value factored for inflation, or its market value as of January 1st, whichever is less.  The Proposition 8 decline in market value assessments are temporary reductions that recognize the fact that the market value has fallen below its current Prop 13 factored value. Here is more info on Prop 8.

After the property value has been decreased and the assessment adjusted by the tax assessor, that property’s value must be reviewed each year as of the January 1st lien date, to determine whether its market value is less than its Prop 13 factored value. Prop 8 values can change from year to year as the market fluctuates. When the market value of the Prop 8 property increases above its Prop 13 factored value, the Assessor will once again update the assessment to the property’s Prop 13 factored value. In no case may a value higher than a property’s Prop 13 factored value be enrolled.

So, what to you need to do?  You need to contact us at www.ElkGroveRealEstate.com and request comps for your home so that you can complete the Assessor’s form.

Remember these important tips:

1.  You will need comparable sales(comps) from the time period of January 1st to March 31st.

2.  You should start the appeal process (information is on the application) if you have not heard back from the Assessor within a week to 10 days after sending in your application.  Don’t wait until the end of the month to send it in.  Do it now.

The process can be fairly simple and there are companies out there who can do it for you buy why would you want to spend a hundred dollars or so to have someone fill out a simple form for you.  You are trying to save money here.

Just email us at Jack.Edwards@cbnorcal.com with your address and contact info and we’ll pull the comps for you for you to complete the process on your own.

Start building your memories,
as you turn your house into a home. 

As you might guess, this document is a compilation of information from our own efforts as REALTORS, as well as input from other REALTORS in our Coldwell Banker office.  I hope it has been of value to you.  Don’t hesitate to email us with any suggestions that will make this document better for you and your fellow home owners!
Be sure to follow us on Facebook at  www.Facebook.com/ElkGroveRealEstate.  For information about properties available for sale and for more information for buyers and sellers, please visit our website at www.ElkGroveRealEstate.com and don’t hesitate to give us a call or drop us an email with your questions.

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