Save on Taxes If Value Declines
If you own a home that you believe has fallen below its assessed value, you could be a candidate for reduced property taxes on your next tax bill in November.
Deadlines for applying for “decline-in-value” reassessment, made possible under Proposition 8, are set for Friday for Riverside County, May 15 for Los Angeles County or through June for other counties.
The assessed value of your property can be found in the lower left-hand corner of your annual tax bill, and the market value of your property can be determined by recent sales of similar properties in your neighborhood.
If you have filed a request for reduction in your property value, either by form or letter, and your request is not granted, you may enter an appeal with additional supportive data no later than Sept. 15.
Comparable market data is available on microfiche at all assessors’ offices, where you may seek assistance in locating information not only on your property but also on similar properties to yours, with detailed particulars on dates and purchase price.
A county-by-county look at decline-in-value reassessments in the Southland:
LOS ANGELES COUNTY
Last year, l4,000 properties were reviewed for a decline in value, of which 5,000 qualified for Proposition 8 relief. The average value reduction was $36,000 per parcel, said Gary Gillan, assistant county assessor, adding that it would mean $360 off the property owner’s tax bill.
“Of interest is that 4,800 of the 5,000 properties approved for tax reduction were residential, and only 200 were commercial or industrial,” he said.
Gillan said that of the 14,000 properties submitted for tax reduction, 10,000 were in the Palmdale/Lancaster area. “Residential values, currently averaging $200,000 for single-family homes, have clearly declined in that area, due primarily to the building boom of recent years, followed by the recession,” he said. “We expect submissions for decline-in-value reassessment for the new tax roll period will exceed the previous year, and that about 80% of those claims will be from the Antelope Valley area.”
ORANGE COUNTY
“It’s been a normal procedure since the early 1980s for the assessor’s office in this county to do an annual review of as many properties as possibly to arrive at fair assessment values,” said Howard Whitcomb, manager of quality assurance for the assessor’s office in Orange County. “We do a comparative study of property transactions against existing values, and we do this by using our computer sales array,”
“In a county with 700,000 properties it’s not possible to review them all, but last year, we took the initiative to either reduce the assessed value of about 20,000 properties, or hold the value without factoring the 2% annual increase.
“In addition, we handled several hundred appeals from property owners who felt their property had declined below their assessed value. Where claims were properly substantiated, we made the appropriate adjustments.”
Whitcomb said the Orange County assessor does not require formal application for reassessment. “We’ll be working on our next tax roll to the end of June, and we try to review whatever requests come in before that period. But that doesn’t mean that someone is simply cut off on that date. They have an opportunity to appeal up to Sept. 15.”
RIVERSIDE COUNTY “For several years, Riverside County has logged one of the highest growth rates of any county in Southern California. Therefore, typically, we have had very few property value reviews,” said William J. Imkamp, chief appraiser of real property division.
“The exception has been in our Coachella Valley, basically around Palm Springs and surrounding communities, also in the condominium market which has experienced a flattening out of market value over the last several years. Because of this, we routinely review our condo assessments on a year-to-year basis, and on an average of 20,000 units per year.
“The current economic situation has made us aware of additional losses in property values in the Perris and Corona, Riverside and Temecula areas, where the new construction market has typically softened. We started seeing some decline in the 1991-92 fiscal year, and this is continuing into the new tax year.”
Imkamp anticipates a higher review of claims for the new tax roll. “In 1991-92 we received less that 100 requests. Right now, it looks as if we’ll be getting more than 500 filings by our May 1 deadline,” he said.
SAN BERNARDINO COUNTY “In San Bernardino County, we have had a negligible number of requests from owners of devalued property,” said assistant assessor Adolfo Porras. “The reason is that the real estate market is our county has remained fairly stable in the last 18 to 24 months.
“With a purchase price for single-family residences averaging around $150,000 to $165,000, we fit into a more affordable price range compared to other communities. We find that homes that were bought for $165,000 two years ago still sell for around that that same price.”
Porras said that if a property owner believes that there has been a decline in the value of their property they should contact one of the nine district offices listed in the phone directory. If, after reviewing an application, the assessor does not agree to a reduction in the assessed value, the property owner may file an appeal. In San Bernardino that filing period is between July 2 and Sept. 15.
SAN DIEGO COUNTY
Most properties submitted for a lower tax assessment in San Diego County reflect a substantial decline in the value of commercial rather than residential properties, reported the assessor’s office there.
“Overall, the residential market, with an average price of $226,198 for a single-family residence, has remained stable,” said County Assessor Gregory Smith. “In areas like Sorrento Valley, a heavily industrial warehousing area with a high vacancy rate, numbers of properties have qualified for decline-in-value reassessment and in the majority of cases have been given a 20% to 25% tax reduction.”
The 1990-1991 tax roll carried 5,500 tax reductions. While figures are not in for the current 1991-1992 period, the assessor estimates it will increase to about 8,000 properties, with commercial and industrial properties still accounting for more than half the claims.
SANTA BARBARA COUNTY
“The process followed by owners of devalued properties in Santa Barbara County is quite simple,” said assistant assessor Walter A. Alves. “A letter of request for review of the assessed value is all that’s needed, and may be submitted until June 30. If an adjustment is forthcoming, it will be reflected in the November tax bill. If the request is not granted, the claimant may file an appeal, with additional substantiation.
“The final count on applications for the new tax roll period is not in, but during the 1990-1991 fiscal year, we adjusted the assessed values on about 1,000 properties. Most of these properties were purchased in the early part of 1989, during the peak of the real estate market.”
Alves reported that the assessor’s office is examining certain pockets in Santa Barbara County--Goleta Valley, Lompoc and Santa Maria/Orcutt areas--that have also shown declining property values. “Additionally, there has also been a softening in the condominium market, and we are looking at entire neighborhoods for possible property assessment reductions,” he said.
VENTURA COUNTY
“In Ventura County we automatically reduce the assessed value of all properties when applicable. We do it all by computer and now have it down to a science,” said County Assessor R. J. Sanford. “We do it for everyone, whether they apply for it or not. In this way there are no hard feelings. If you take only applications you’ll miss two-thirds of the property owners who may also be entitled to a reduced assessed value.
“In the last tax year, we reduced the assessed value on 32,000 single-family homes, for a total of about $7.5 million. This represents about a $30,000 dollar value reduction per property and about $300 less on tax bill.”
