Neither can be avoided, but it may be possible that your property taxes can be reduced this year. As the Mercury mentioned this morning, the County Assessor's office will be reviewing nearly half the properties in Santa Clara County. Most of these are homes purchased after 2000, because these had their assessed value readjusted upon transfer. When prices fell, the assessed valuation may have ended up lower than the current value. Homes purchased prior to 2000, are probably still benefiting from their low Prop. 13 assessments.
A Warning:
I received an official-looking letter, generated from Southern California, implying that my taxes should be reassessed, and promising to handle this for me. I realized that this had to be a scam, because my valuation was currently much lower than local sales prices, thanks to Prop 13, and the fact that I have owned the place for twenty years. I also noticed that there was a high fee for this service, and I was aware that county residents are able to request a reevaluation for free, once the cards arrive from the county in late June. I showed the letter to Larry Stone yesterday, and he agreed that these "Bucket Shops" are scams.
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