Is Your Property Tax Bill Too High?

You May be Eligible for an Assessment Review

Joseph Holland, Clerk, Recorder and Assessor of Santa Barbara County, addressed a group of real estate professionals last week to discuss the operation and affect that Proposition 8 is having on the property tax bills of some homeowners in our county.

Under California property tax law, your property taxes are based on the lesser of the market value of your property as of January 1st of each year or its Prop 13 factored base year value at the time you purchased the property.  Proposition 8 was passed in 1979 and allows the Assessor to review the market value as of January 1st and enroll for the following tax year the lesser of the Prop 13 value or the current market value. Comparable sales that can be used for market value analysis must have sold no later than March 31st - 90 days after January 1st. 

So far in 2008, approximately 3,000 homes on the South Coast and 14,000 homes countywide have been reassessed under Proposition 8.  While this may sound like a staggering number, Mr. Holland pointed out that over 20,000 homes were reassessed during the real estate correction of the early 1990’s.  Mr. Holland also noted that, generally speaking, properties worth more than $1.5 million have not seen Prop 8 reassessments this year since the upper end of the market has been less affected by the current correction than the lower segment of the market. 

Nevertheless, Mr. Holland encouraged property owners who feel that their assessed property value is higher than the current market value to contact his office and request a free Proposition 8 review.  A "Request For Informal Assessment Review" form is available online at www.sbcvote.com (Assessor; Property Tax Programs) or you can pick up a form at the County Assessor’s Office on 105 E. Anapamu Street in Santa Barbara. 

Reduction in assessed values under Proposition 8 are temporary and are reviewed annually.  Visit www.prop8.org for more information.