How Can We Fight Back with a Prop 8 Appeal?

As a California homeowner, you must have been having fun as the value of your property skyrocketed in the past couple of years. However, markets are cyclical, and when the market is declining, a new type of shock ensues: as you see the market value of your house crash, your property tax bill is just not going down.

California law is, fortunately, equipped with a safety net. Whereas Proposition 13 puts a limit on how much you can have in terms of bucks in your annual taxes, its little-known counterpart, Proposition 8, offers you a window in which to request a temporary decrease in your value when the market goes down.

This is not a solution once in a lifetime, but it is a yearly affair that must be monitored. I can divide the ways you can utilize its power. In case you need help, look for an experienced tax professional (like an IRS audit attorney in Los Angeles)who can guide you in the right direction.

Understand the Core Concept Regarding Property Value

Consider your property value as being possible in the form of two values:

Proposition 13 Value

Your base-year value, which belongs to you and is subject to annual increases (not to exceed 2%). This is an evaluation of a stagnant or a growing market.

Proposition 8 Value

The value of your home on January 1st of every year. When this amount falls below your Prop 13 amount, the county assessor must temporarily reduce your taxable value to reflect the market level.

This will be the value on which the property tax bill will be based in that fiscal year (July 1 – June 30). The point is that it is not a permanent change. Our assessor will annually reassess the market value against your initial Prop 13 value, and your assessment will increase by the market until the market returns and reclaims your original base.

Check out the Annual Appeal Process

The chance to seek this cut is with the Annual Assessment Notice you get in the office of your county assessor, usually in the summer. This is a formal request to consider the assessed value. Now is the time to move in, case you think that it is more than what your home would have fetched on January 1st.

The official deadline for submitting an appeal (an “Application for Changed Assessment”) is normally July 2nd to the 15th of September, although again, due dates may be altered by the county, so consult your local assessment appeals board.

How to Increase the Chances of Winning?

An appeal is not a complaint; it is a factual argument. The only way you can be successful is to show that the market value was less. It is up to the homeowner to prove something.

Prepare the Following Items

Comparable Sales

This is your most effective evidence. Get the data on 3-5 homes that were just like yours in size, age, condition, and location that were sold just around January 1st. Pay attention to the sales of the previous fall and early winter.

Proof of the Detrimental Conditions

List any major problems that would reduce the value of your home, like cracks in the foundation, incessant plumbing repairs, or other major nuisances in your neighborhood that would also be taken into consideration by a new buyer in his/her bid. Hire a tax professional (like an EDD audit attorney in Los Angeles)and you don’t need to worry anymore.

Appraisal

A professional appraisal is the priciest evidence, but it is the best evidence to present and is extremely hard to disprove by the person who did it; it is a formal appraisal performed by a licensed professional who was active at the time of the appraisal.

A slumping market does not necessarily translate to a taxation bill that is not justifiably high. By learning and taking advantage of the Prop 8 appeal procedure, you will be in a position to get the money back into your pocket by making sure that the property taxes that you are charged reflect the actual value of your home when you need it the most.