Ask the tax assessor what homes he is using to base the value or your assessment on. This way you can scrutinize those home and find comparable that are more like your home if he/she is off-base. You will have to negate the argument of the tax assessor regarding the homes he chose and introduce the homes you have chosen.

If the tax assessor is uncooperative, you can fax a request to the appraisal district for this information. The Freedom of Information Act insures that you can be provided with this information. You will be challenged by the information that the town will be using against you, so you need to know what comparables they have chosen.

Use photos to prove your point. Show how the tax assessors chosen comparable is not similar to yours and how the comparables you choose are comparable. Make any adjustments you need to make for differences in location, sq. ft. size differences, condition, age of the home or similar type adjustments

As you filter through the sold homes you are considering, earmark those that are in your neighborhood. Location if the most important feature since the market value of the same style home is drastically different from say a good neighborhood to a bad one. Buyers pay more for good schools and other positive neighborhood amenities.

Focus on other similar features such as number of bedrooms, baths, quality and style of home, number of garages and make adjustments accordingly. The tax assessor will likely cherry pick the more expensive homes and they may have dissimilar features that you’ll need to address in your analysis.

There will be differences in square footage, number of garages, with or without decks, patios, swimming pools, etc. and you need to make dollar adjustment to equalize features that are not similar to your home. These are simple plus or minus adjustments.

When you have all this information assembled, first speak to your tax assessor and ask for a reduction based on your findings. Likely, they will not go along with your conclusion since they perceive their job as to preserve the aggregate tax base. They are there to make sure that there is money for the town government to spend. If you don’t get satisfaction, appeal to the municipal level.

By winning a property tax appeal, you’ll not only save on this years taxes, but that same reduced assessment will carry on until the next blanket reassessment. A future blanket reassessment of your community may be not forthcoming for another 10 or more years. Unjust property tax valuations need to be appealed.

Get a video walk through on what to do and how to go about the process + presentation format + forms + how to step-by-step and item-by-item eBook + lifetime updates on how to appeal your property taxes. Stake your claim now on to Appeal your Property Taxes!

Property tax management software can let you take control of managing your property taxes easily and quickly. This means that you can save some time and energy for other things instead.

This software is specially developed to keep track of all the important parts involved in managing property taxes, as doing so without this type of program is quite difficult. With the software, you simply enter some data into the program concerning your taxes, properties, and other factors, then sit back while the computer does all the work. All in all it is a no-stress process.

Property tax management software can be found from a variety of resources. Looking on the internet will reveal hundreds of software programs that were developed just for property tax management, and each one has its own features and interface for you to work with. The cost can be either cheap or expensive, depending on what options you need and whether you want software for personal use or business use.

Software for a commercial apartment building may cost more than software needed for just a couple of properties. It is in your best interest to test out a few difference options before you invest a bundle in any software title. This will let you get familiar with the interfaces and different options available with this type of software, so you understand what you want in the software you purchase.

Property tax management software can be a great help for anyone who does not have the time or training to do property tax management the hard way. If you simply don’t have the time, as most of us are these days, this software can help you use your time more effectively by being able to go from one task to the other easily.

This software installs very easily, so that in minutes you can get it all started and then get it all done. All in all, you get great advantages and benefits without any disadvantages. If you own property and take care of the taxes associated with it, these types of programs can be a huge help.

There are many aspects that you need to keep track of to when renting out real estate. Taxes may seem like an occasional aspect, but they are really one of the larger aspects of renting out any property or buildings. Find the right commercial tax software for your needs to make it a less cumbersome necessity.

Blanket assessments are made in a community to re-assess the property tax. Little time is allowed for this approximation of value and inaccuracies often creep in. It’s not unusual that a multiplier factor is used to adjust property values.

Appraisal companies bid for the blanket reappraisal contract for a community. The low bid wins the contract. Ask yourself if the bid allocation was $35 per home, how much time could be spent on that appraisal? Consider the appraiser has to make a profit for his effort further reducing the time allotment to appraise. Often college kids or those with little appraisal experience are employed.

Property tax assessments derived from blanket assessment abound with errors. These estimations of value are even derived by multipliers of the previous year?s assessment. If the original assessment was wrong, multiplying that assessment adds nothing to clarify the value.

An inexpensive fix for the town could come about if building inspectors and the tax department communicated closely by working together. If the building inspector passed on information to the assessor, there would be no need for blanket re-assessments. New homes sold need only be equalized with the previous blanket assessment. If an addition or home improvement took place, the added value could be passed on to the tax assessor. If the building department and tax department worked efficiently, there would be no need for blanket reassessments.

Tax assessors are time pressed and rarely appraise homes. Usually, they are not property appraisers and are politically appointed. Often they use an entirely different method to derive value for a home by using a cost of materials approach. The universally accepted approach is the market value, what an informed buyer would pay for a home.

Selling prices of homes are constantly changing. When appealing your property taxes, only market value holds weight. Your home must equal the current selling price of other comparable home in your area.

A huge amount of money is spent on blanket municipal appraisals. Sure they may catch the occasional patio or shed built without a permit, but that does not warrant the extra appraisal cost.

This spells out gigantic loopholes for homeowners. Doing a simple real estate tax appeal analysis of your home’s market value and seeing how it lines up with the appraised value can save thousands of dollars wasted on taxes.

By you using the right comparables and adjustment figures, you target the real areas for real estate tax appeal that maximize your property tax abatement potential. Click http://www.propertytaxax.com for more information.

Lots of us have had to make a big decision in our lives. Many of us have had to make this decision a few times. Should we rent or buy a home? It may seem like the answer should be obvous, but it really is not. If you are thinking about your options, consider some of the real costs of home ownership.

You will probably need a large down payment. Most of those 0 money down schemes are gone. These days, a twenty percent down payment is back in fashion. Do you have this money? And after you put down this large amount, will you have any savings left? I think we have all learned that it does not do to be house poor in this day and age.

Think about the length of time you plan to live in the house you want to buy. Home owners, who stay put for years and decades, tend to be more satisfied with their purchases. If there is some chance you will have a job change or transfer in the next few years, you should weight that in your decision. It is so much easier to get out of a lease than a home purchase! It should be obvoius that you will not be able to get any guarantees that your home will sell for a good price when you need it to.

When you consider buying a home do you only compare rent payments to mortgage payments? There are many other costs associated with owning a home than with renting. Most renters pay rent. They may also pay renters insurance which usually does not cost very much. But home owners must pay home owners insurance premiums, property taxes, home repair bills, and also pay for upkeep. Do you have the money to cover all of these costs?

How many times have you called the rental office when your dishwasher did not work or the heat would not come on? They call a repair man for you. Now it will be your duty to get things fixed. It will also be your duty to pay the bills. Another budget item will be setting aside some cash for emergency repairs.

Also consider homeowners association fees. In some neighborhoods, these are moderate, but in some neighborhoods they can cost hundreds or thousands of dollars every year. And things can get reallly ugly when these are not paid.

Almost all homeowners must also carry homeowners insurance policies. The cost depends upon many factors, but it is usually a few thousand dollars a year. Renters buy renters insurance, but that is usually very cheap since it only covers contents.

Now many realtors will cite the tax benefits of property taxes and mortgage interest. But you can only take advantage of this if yours are higher than the standard deduction that everybody gets to take.

I understand the advantages of home ownership. But I also understand that the decision to buy your own house should not be made lightly. Make sure you really figure out how much it will cost you to own before you buy.

Should you own or rent homes?

Ask the tax assessor what homes he is using to base the value or your assessment on. This way you can scrutinize those home and find comparable that are more like your home if he/she is off-base. You will have to negate the argument of the tax assessor regarding the homes he chose and introduce the homes you have chosen.

Make a written request via a fax to the appraisal district. Get that information in advance so you are prepared. Show how those homes do not compare to yours. This is an adversarial confrontation and you need to be armed with the evidence that the opposition is using. The Freedom of Information Act allows you to get this information.

Use photos to prove your point. Show how the tax assessors chosen comparable is not similar to yours and how the comparables you choose are comparable. Make any adjustments you need to make for differences in location, sq. ft. size differences, condition, age of the home or similar type adjustments

As you filter through the sold homes you are considering, earmark those that are in your neighborhood. Location if the most important feature since the market value of the same style home is drastically different from say a good neighborhood to a bad one. Buyers pay more for good schools and other positive neighborhood amenities.

Look for similar features to your home such as living space square footage, similar number of baths, bedrooms, age of home, condition and style of home, swimming pool, decks and so forth. You’ll be cherry picking ones that sold reflecting a lower market value while the tax assessor will likely cherry pick those with higher values. You’ll need to defeat his argument and get your side of the story to look like the natural choice.

There will be differences in square footage, number of garages, with or without decks, patios, swimming pools, etc. and you need to make dollar adjustment to equalize features that are not similar to your home. These are simple plus or minus adjustments.

After you’ve put together your information it will be time to make an appointment with the tax assessor. Likely, the will not budge from his position and you’ll have the take it to the next level of appeal.

When you win a property tax appeal it is not only for this year, but your base is established until the next community blanket reassessment. That blanket reassessment may not happen for 8 or more years in the future.

Before I get into this topic let me define PUD: PUD stands for Planned Unit Development. A PUD is essentially a single family residence and the legal ownership of the home is legally defined that way. The biggest difference is that a PUD is part of a neighborhood, part of a larger development similar to a condo complex. You will own your residence and still pay an association fee per month to maintain community areas such as parks, pools and sometimes recreation rooms. The association regulates neighborhood improvements so if you want to make major changes to your home or want to paint your house you will need the homeowners’ association’s approval. Since a PUD is basically a single family home that is also part of a larger community you are liable for your own repairs and maintaining your own homeowners insurance since you own the land and the structure.

A townhouse and condominium (condo) are for legal purposes the same thing in terms of ownership, there is no difference in ownership. The distinction between these two words refer to the building style. Usually, a condo is more of an apartment style structure as opposed to a townhouse that usually looks like an independent home that may or may not have attached walls to the rest of the townhouses in the same community. When you acquire a condo or townhouse what you are acquiring is cubic airspace of a specific unit with an interest in the common elements of the property. The common elements including the lobby, swimming pool, recreation area, land, etc. Legally you own airspace, you dont own land or a building.

Every condo and townhouse community has a homeowners’ association and that association is responsible for maintaining the grounds, structures and systems of the complex. That is the reason the association fees are pretty high. You wont need homeowners insurance though because this is part of what is covered by your association. Unlike owning a house where you may have a huge repair to do every five years, you pay monthly and the money accumulates with the association and then is used when needed to maintain the community and all of the structures. If you are looking into purchasing a condo or townhouse it is important to find out about the association. If the association is bankrupt you will have problems in the future with the value of your condo and with any repairs that the community may need.

Co-Op is short for Cooperative and is called an Own-Your-Own also. Structurally similar to a condo, like an apartment you own. A co-op is when the building itself is a corporation that holds title to real estate. As an owner, you own stock in that corporation and you are granted the right to occupy as a shareholder in that corporation. Co-ops like condos have a homeowners’ association that handles the community structure and land. The association has a monthly association fee to maintain the complex. As a shareholder (owner) of a co-op you wont need homeowners’ insurances since the association covers it. Cooperatives are common on the east coast and sometimes getting a loan for this type of real estate can be challenging in an area like Los Angeles where cooperatives are rare.

A house also called a single family home or single family residence is the simplest type of ownership. Legally called fee simple or fee simple estate. As the owner of a home you own the building and land beneath it and have all legal rights to the property. You are responsible for all repairs since you own it all! You need to have homeowners insurance and pay for repairs the house may need. There is no larger community you are a part of and consequently no homeowners’ association to handle problems or cause problems.

When you are shopping for a home, condo, co-op or PUD know that there are FOUR costs you need to factor into your monthly overhead: mortgage payment, property taxes, homeowners’ insurance and association fee. Your mortgage payment is only the beginning!

When Proposition 13 passed in 1978, it extremely limited the capacity of local governments to use property taxes to construct public improvements and services. As a result, Californians had to find new ways to fund public improvements in their neighborhoods such as roads, schools, parks, etc. The Mello-Roos Community Facilities Act of 1982 was enacted by the State legislature, the Act enabled Community Facilities Districts (CFDs) to be put into place by local government agencies as a means of obtaining this critical neighborhood funding.

The amount of Mellow-Roos Property Taxes is different from one CFD to another. Normally, an approved method that pertains to the size of the house (square footage or parcel size) is utilized to ascertain the amount of specific assessment. In general, the special property tax and assessments do not go above 1% to 1.5% of the market value of new homes. Additionally, the total amount of all annual property taxes usually does not go above 2% to 2.5% of the residence’s taxable property base value. So if you are able to lower your taxable base value or in other words, your propety taxes you will save a significant amount of money if you have Mellow-Roos Taxes on your home since of the higher percentage in property taxes you pay.

In California many homeowners in most major city areas have lost in excess of $200,000 in market value on their houses and at the normal rate of 1.25% in property taxes they will save $2,500 per year for every year they keep their residence! Yet, that same taxpayer at a 2% property tax rate based on of Mellow-Roos taxes will save over $4,000 every year in property taxes! If you are paying Mellow-Roos and have lost $200,000 since you purchased your home and let’s say you intend to stay in your home for the next 10 years, you will save $40,000! Don’t settle for Proposition 8 the temporary decline in property taxes, its only temporary. Learning to PERMANENTLY lower your taxable base value in California is the key to saving thousands over the course of your home ownership which is disclosed in the California Little Black Book.

Generally Mellow-Roos Property Taxes are applicable to recently built communities like sizeable Planned Unit Developments (PUD) where there have been numerous residences built in a short period of time and the taxes are necessary to establish city services. Ive seen Planned Unit Developments that had more than 4,000 houses built! So, the county and city governments need to find funds to build the roads, sewage systems, schools, recreation centers, parks and so much more. Prior to buying a residence with Mellow-Roos property taxes you will be notified in the beginning negotiation stages of buying the house and during escrow that these property taxes apply. You won’t be blind sighted by Mellow-Roos Taxes, it is required that you are informed before purchasing.

About the Author: Valerie Faltas, Property Tax Expert has been involved in all facets of real estate for over ten years including assessments, appraisals, estates and trusts, investing and much more. She is a Certified Property Tax Appraiser, Licensed Residential Appraiser and a member of the International Association of Assessment Officers. As a real estate investor and advisor she is well versed in all aspects of real estate. To contact Valerie Faltas go to her website: www.propertytaxlittleblackbook.com.

These three offices handle various aspects of your property taxes. Some counties merge these departments since they are not as large and dont have a need for three different offices. Everything begins with the Assessors Office, first in determining what is assessable and then processing the appraisal of that re-assessment and all of these decisions are made by your state law.

Assessments go through a procedure within the Office of the Assessor, to determine the value for that assessable event or assessment year. At the end of the fiscal year all of the values for the year are sent to the Auditor-Controller to apply the correct tax rate (percentage) to each parcel which varies in each tax rate area and determines the actual dollar amount you owe. The tax rate is set based on the area you live in and the local taxes applied to your local community in addition to the state levied taxes. The tax rate is usually a percentage of the value determined by the Assessor.

Additionally, if in a particular tax rate area there is a special assessment or other types of property taxes such as direct assessments they get added on by the Auditor-Controller. Then finally that information is sent to the Tax Collector’s Office who sends out the bills, collects the money and deposits it into the County Treasury. These three departments make up the property tax branch of your local county government and each handle their responsibilities independently.

For example, if you found out you had a lien or delinquent taxes on your property, you need to go to the Tax Collector’s Office to pay them and have the lien removed and the records brought up to date. However, if you had an issue with the amount of property taxes or the value in which your property taxes are based on you would contact the Office of the Assessor, because that is what the Office of the Assessor is responsible for. For example, if you had a value issue, you would go to your Assessor, and how to do this is detailed in both the California Little Black Book and also the National Little Black Book.

When the value is corrected by the Assessors Office it is sent to the Auditor-Controller’s Office who would correct the actual dollar amount owed, and then the Tax Collector corrects the bill and then your adjusted bill is generated. Usually, the two offices that handle public service are the Assessors Office and the Tax Collector’s Office, the Auditor-Controller’s Office is the silent partner of the property tax banch. Generally, public service is resolved before it gets to the Auditor-Controller and is requested by the Assessor.

This is an intricate process and at times values are adjusted by the Office of the Assessor and the actual bills sent out by the Tax Collector are not corrected. This occurs when the Auditor-Controller, for whatever reason has not corrected the right bill or there was a procedural mistake. Always keep in mind all of these departments are mass processing organizations and do the best they can and it is your responsibility to make sure that your values are accurate. When this happens a special request needs to be sent by the Assessors Office to have the value corrected and then it is forwarded to the Tax Collector who will issue a new bill. Remember all problems can and will be fixed with a little bit of effort, understanding and patience.

About the Author: Valerie Faltas, Property Tax Expert has been involved in all facets of real estate for over ten years including assessments, appraisals, estates and trusts, investing and much more. She is a Certified Property Tax Appraiser, Licensed Residential Appraiser and a member of the International Association of Assessment Officers. As a real estate investor and advisor she is well versed in all aspects of real estate. To contact Valerie Faltas go to her website: www.propertytaxlittleblackbook.com

Simply, because they are handling your assessment!

Mistakes are often made given there is so much work and so many properties to value! Simply remember the Assessor is a mass appraisal organization and they do not necessarily have the time or the staff to make sure every single value is perfect. If there is a mistake|an error in your building information or a value that is far above than what it should be, it is not intentional nor is it personal.

The Assessor’s Office staff can make your life easy and can also make it more complicated. If you’re a pain to deal with, no one will want to help you, even if the mistake is the Assessors fault. The staff do not like being dealt with like individuals who are out to get you, because they arent. The personnel are not affected by how much you pay in property taxes, or your records and values, so be pleasant. Quite frankly, most of them don’t care because their jobs are secure, so whether they help you or not they’re still getting paid. Be a person they want to assist so that you can get the most of what they know and who they know. Remember, even if the person you are speaking with can’t help you, most likely they know the person who can and have influence with that individual.

As an employee of the Office of the Assessor there were front doors slammed in my face, I was yelled at by homeowners. Sometimes I was treated like I had no knowledge of property tax law or even appraisal and I was not apt to help individuals who dealt with me like that. Part of myresponsibility to assist them, to be a civil servant. Yet, after working for years in an environment where the public resented me and the job I did it was very taxing. Remember, the Assessor himself is a person and the staff are human beings and they have been yelled at enough already. They are yelled at everyday and most of the staff work there for years.

Imagine what its like to be in a working environment for years where most people you deal with detest you! Its not good! Dont be one more they add to that list! The staff you deal with who work for the Assessor, influence your property tax value and records, always remember that! Most of them have worked with thousands of homeowners and can read you like a book, so be kind and patient and understand they are not out to get you. The staff of the Assessor’s Office, are simply doing their jobs. Being angry and patronizing will not get you the result you are looking for. You may be surprised at what being kind and patient will get you.

About the Author: Valerie Faltas, Property Tax Expert worked in assessments for years, is a Certified Property Tax Appraiser, Licensed Residential Appraiser and a member of the International Association of Assessment Officers. As a real estate investor and advisor she is well versed in all aspects of real estate. To contact Valerie Faltas go to her website: www.propertytaxlittleblackbook.com

Prop 8 Exemption is a supplement or exemption to Prop 13 which still applies today to all property owners in California. Prop 13 was put into place in 1978 to control the amount of property taxes paid by homeowners. Prop 8 is an exemption to Prop 13 which says that your assessed value should not be higher than market value for any given year. So, when the market is declining like it is today and has dipped below your current assessed value, you are entitled to some relief.

This appears to be great news however, it is only a SHORT TERM solution. The Prop 8 Exemption is generally something you have to file for. The way The Prop 8 Exemption works is like this, your valuation date for the current fiscal year is January 1st. So, the comparable sales for your residence for Prop 8 purposes, need to have closed within the first three months of the year; from January 1 to March 31 for that given year based on the language of the law. For example to get a The Prop 8 Exemption reduction for 2009, the comparable sales must have closed between January 1st, 2009 and March 31, 2009 based on the law. Basically in order to get a reduction in value there has to be closed sales of similar properties within the first quarter of the designated year that are lower than your assessed value.

The problem here has several reasons: one of the most significant is that the first three months of the year is the slowest time for comparable sales because those tranactions started during the holiday season which is the slowest time for real estate. Real estate sales take 30-60 days to close, so most of the sales that close within the first quarter of the year opened escrow during the holiday season. The sales to choose from are more sparse than later on. When the market movement really starts to show during the second and third quarters of the year you are out of luck because those sales are outside the perimeters for a Prop 8 reduction.

This is not the best solution because it is only a SHORT TERM reduction in value, so when the market starts to climb back up, and it always does, your old base value gets restored to what it would have been had you never gotten the reduction. Many property tax specialists appear in declining markets claiming to be able to save you on property taxes. They send mailers that look like they are from the Assessor which they are not and sadly, homeowners pay good money to have their taxes “lowered” only to have their tax bills revert to higher rates once the market recovers. Truthfully you never pay the Assessor for any service or review of your value - you pay for that with your property taxes already!

A typical example of a Prop 8 Exemption on an average home in California. So, I purchased a residence in 2005, at the hight of the market, for $500,000, at a 2% trend my current assessed value for 2008 is $530,604. My market value as of the first of 2008 is near $430,000 and as a knowledgeable tax payer I apply for a Prop 8 Exemption to get a reduction. So, for 2008 I have a nice break, Im paying property taxes on a value that is $100,000 below my trended base value and saving around $1,250! The real estate market goes down and based on the Assessors review, the Prop 8 Decline value is still given for 2009. So for 2009 I am paying based on the $430,000 which is even better this year since my trended base in 2009 would have been $541,216 and so I am saving around $1,390! Awesome!

Now, the real estate market starts to turn around, and the market values are going up and for 2010 my market value is upwards of $500,000, so the Assessor alters my Prop 8 Decline value to $500,000 which is lower than my 2010 trended base value of $552,040. Absolutely, not as good as having $430,000 as my value. Yet, I am still saving and this year my Prop 8 Reduction value is $52,000 lower than my trended base value I am now saving $650 a year in property taxes. Its now 2011 the market is going up again and now my market value is somewhere around $600,000 and the assessor restores my value to the trended base, which now is $563,080. So, now I’m paying $7,038 in taxes. I so wish I still had that $430,000 property tax base

In California there is a way to PERMANENTLY lower your property tax base utilizing today’s declining market, based on Current Property Tax Law and essentially side stepping Prop 8 and all of its limitations. Also, find out how to avoid assessment when you inherit property and how to use all exemptions allowed by Current Property Tax Law.