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San Diego Property Tax Relief for lost value

Submitted by Peter Toner on Wednesday, 28 November 200716 Comments

The rumor is true! The San Diego County Tax Assessor’s office is allowing homeowner’s who feel that the recorded assessed value of their home is no longer accurate to appeal for tax relief!

This is how it works - if you believe the value of your home has decreased from the value the Assessor has on file, you are able to petition to the assessor’s office for a recalculation of taxes owed on your home.

It is not an automatic approval by the assessor, and it does require some groundwork by the homeowner - even if you think you will win the appeal PAY your taxes on time and the amount requested unless you hear otherwise from the Assessor’s office - they still expect you to pay what they have requested on time!

seal San Diego Property Tax Relief for lost valueThe Assessor’s website doesn’t make it easy to find out how to do it but we’ll give you the steps to get there here:

• Go to the County Tax Assessor’s website

• On the left side of the page click on the “Forms” link and choose the “Reappraisals” option

• You will then select from the center of the page the link for Application for Changed Assessment Instructions and Form (Assessment Appeals)

• A new page will open called Assessment Appeals Board where you can find all relative information and forms that you will need to make your appeal.

• Remember to still pay your taxes on time even if making an appeal.

Written by Shawn McDonald

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16 Comments »

  • J. Jesus Ruiz said:

    Wow. this is excellent thanks for posting this. I’m going to get right on this. nice blog.

    - 14 December 2007 at 12:08 pm
  • John said:

    Theres a company I am going to have do my property tax appeal. http://www.cataxrefunds.com

    Seemed pretty reasonable, there are local in San Diego & they have appraisers that work the case for you.

    Has anyone ever used a service before?

    - 15 January 2008 at 6:50 pm
  • Shawn McDonald said:

    John ~ Thank you for the information about the property tax appeal company. Our team has not used them. Be sure to let us know how your appeal goes, we’d love an update.

    - 17 January 2008 at 10:56 am
  • michael said:

    Actually, I decided to use a service to do this for me, and I’m pleased. There is an effort required, and might as well deal with knowledgeable folks. Here is the link I found, and I enjoy your blog!
    http://sandiegohomerescue.wordpress.com/2008/01/24/property-tax-relief/

    - 24 January 2008 at 2:52 pm
  • Shawn McDonald said:

    Michael ~ Thanks for sharing with us the company that you will be working with! If you have time, please follow up with us and let us know how your property tax appeal went…. I am happy to hear that you enjoy our blog, thanks for the kudos!

    - 6 February 2008 at 5:47 pm
  • Scott said:

    I used the guys at California Tax Refunds as well. They got my assesed value down about $138K. Expecting a check back for $1725 or so & even a bigger reduction for the future, since they refile a review for the next tax year.

    I knew I could do it on my own but didn’t know how or really have the time. Best money I have ever spent.

    - 25 February 2008 at 5:47 pm
  • Sabrina Gooden said:

    I am a Mortgage Expert for Lanoiger Lending. California Tax Refunds are the only ones I refer my clients to. Not only do they provide exceptional service for the tax refunds but if you ever need an appraiser to get the job done , Jason Scheiner comes highly recommended. The customer service they provide is excellent and you won’t be disappointed.

    - 25 February 2008 at 6:17 pm
  • marlene allen said:

    Shot in the dark, but does anyone do the property tax reassessment free??

    - 28 March 2008 at 11:05 am
  • Shawn McDonald said:

    Hi Marlene! Gosh wouldn’t that be nice? Not that we know of, but perhaps one of our readers may know of something. Be sure to let us know should you find anything out. Best Wishes!

    - 28 March 2008 at 11:57 am
  • Jason said:

    Some of my clients told me they posted and some people had some questions on this blog site so I thought I would give some info.

    Marlene, unfortunately anyone that does the paperwork for you is going to ask for a fee. And depending on the fee may depend on how much work they will do for you.

    The same way you have an accountant or CPA do your taxes. You can do them on your own but you hire a professional to make sure they maximize the refund your entitled to.

    You can do appeals on your own, but most likely a company like ours will be much more successful since this is “what we do” all the time.

    Also please be careful if you pick a company. This business is not regulated so you have many non-qualified people doing this. At California Tax Refunds, all applications are review by licensed California appraisers. We already have a proven track record of successful refunds for clients, and we are BBB accredited.

    I would be more than happy to answer any other questions anyone may have.

    - 28 March 2008 at 3:09 pm
  • Jason said:

    Here is some more info that was published in the San Diego Business Journal yesterday.

    http://www.sdbj.com/article.asp?aID=123787&link=perm

    - 8 April 2008 at 1:56 pm
  • Jeff Berkson said:

    Feel free to use my company’s site, http://www.easytaxfix.com, to check for FREE whether you are overpaying property taxes. We can automatically fill out the paperwork for a low fee of $39.99.

    As reported in this 11/7/2008 Union Tribune (http://www.signonsandiego.com/uniontrib/20081107/news_1b7appeals.html) article, we have determined that 1 in 4 San Diego property owners stand to save an average of >$1,000 a year.

    Remember, the 2008 appeal deadline is November 30th.

    Any real estate agents can sign up as affiliates for a commission or price reduction: http://www.easytaxfix.com/affiliate/signup.aspx.

    - 14 November 2008 at 1:02 pm
  • Peter Toner said:

    Hi Jeff~Thanks for the information regarding your services. If any of our readers end up using his company’s program, please let us know how it went for you! We have not used the company’s services, so we are not able to endorse it please do so at your own discretion.

    - 14 November 2008 at 3:00 pm
  • Stephanie said:

    I found this blog (great information) and called California Tax Refunds. Thurs out they have lowered their prices by over 50% and even offer a contingency. For $129 I signed up for their 100% guaranteed service. I like the fact that someone represents me and will follow through for the entire tax year.

    They were a wealth of information and their customer service was great.

    - 19 March 2009 at 7:21 am
  • Harry Thompson said:

    I have been using california tax refunds. Got a refund check for my 2007 property taxes for just over 2,300. They were able to lower my property taxes for 2008 buy another $1,100 per year. And they got it done before I got the bill so I didn’t have to lay out the higher amount. I have them working on my 2009 taxes right now.

    Everyone at the office is professional and they always take the time to answer any questions and really make sure I understand what they were doing for me.

    If your thinking of hiring a company to help you with your property taxes call callifornia tax refunds. You will be glad you did, I sure was.

    - 28 March 2009 at 7:49 am
  • Bo Smith said:

    I just saw a NEWS8 piece on a new LA based company that is pandering this service via an official looking marketing piece. Coincidentally I just tossed that mailer this afternoon!

    NEWS8 reminded me the deadline is May 30th. I used California Tax Refunds for the 2008 tax year and it saved me $1575 in taxes. I’ll have Jason submit again for this year. They took care of everything last time with no issues and it went exactly as they thought it would.

    Pay less taxes and Fire Congress.

    - 22 April 2009 at 6:48 pm

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