The Wall Street Journal recently reported that all over the country, officials are trying to close budget gaps by raising property taxes, despite declining real estate values. An example they gave was Memphis, Tennessee, where property tax rates were raised 17%. But here in California, thanks to Proposition 13, taxes can only be increased by 2% a year, and then only if the housing market supports that increase. As Larry Stone, Santa Clara Property Assessor, explained to our Realtors group a few weeks ago, the counties which have been hardest hit, like Sacramento County, are reviewing values and automatically lowering property valuations, rather than waiting for homeowners to file appeals. Assessors will mail notices of revised property values this spring. If you think that your assessed value is too high, you can file a formal appeal...no need to hire one of the services that offers to do this for you...It's a simple process.
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