News Release

Over the next few weeks, the Riverside County Assessor’s Office will again be re-evaluating property values under the provisions of Proposition 8. Prop.8 was passed by voters in 1978, allowing a temporary reduction in taxable property value according to current market value . . . subject to certain conditions, outlined below.

The County of Riverside has been proactive in applying Prop. 8 provisions County-wide. Where sales of comparable properties show a drop in value has exceeded the house’s Proposition 13 value, a reduction will be made automatically.

When a buyer purchases a house, the market value of the home is established as its Prop. 13 value or base year value. Prop 13, a constitutional amendment passed by the voters in California also in 1978, sets the assessed value at 1 percent. It allows for no more than a 2% increase in tax rate annually, based on the home’s base year value on January 1 of each year.

This means that if a buyer purchased a home, say, in February 2007, and the market in that area had shown a decline, the assessed value would have been reduced to the market value of the home on January 1, 2008. However, if that property had been purchased in 2003, the market value may not have declined significantly enough to drop the assessed value below its current Prop 13 rate.

Example:

If a home’s market value was less than its Prop 13 value as of January 1, 2009, the property owner should automatically receive a notice of Decline in Value this summer. At this time, the County Assessor estimates that the median home value in Riverside County has declined to values equivalent to March 2002.   

The Assessor has begun reviewing more than 350,000 properties purchased between January 1, 2001, and January 1, 2009. The review applies to the assessed value as of January 1, 2009, for Fiscal Year 2009-10 that will be billed December 10, 2009, and April 10, 2010. The results of this review will be mailed during the month of July 2009. 

 

 

 

Decline in Value

The County Assessor has received more than 30,000 applications for a Prop 8 Decline in Value. Many of these are premature – if the home’s value declined over the course of a year, it will be reflected in the following year’s tax bill, because the date of determination of market value is set on January 1, per California Revenue and Taxation Code.

For more information and some descriptive charts, please see:

http://riverside.asrclkrec.com/ACR/INProp8.asp

If a homeowner believes there is a decline in value and does not receive a notice, a Decline-In-Value application can be filed with the Assessor’s office. The deadline is September 1. The forms are available on the website listed above. This is different than an Assessment Appeal.

Application for Changed Assessment (Assessment Appeal)

If a property owner does not agree with the value stated on the value notice letter received, two options are available.  One is the previously described Decline-in-Value application, which is an informal process.  A property owner may also choose to file an Application for Changed Assessment.  The Application for Changed Assessment (Assessment Appeal Application) is filed with the Clerk of the Board and is a more formal application process.  The filing period is July 2 through November 30.

A Base Year Value assessment appeal is proper when a homeowner believes the assessor may have miscalculated the value of the home after a reassessment is triggered (due to change of ownership or new construction).  For example, if a homeowner adds a room, or remodels a kitchen, the new construction value will be added to the base year value.

For more information, please see:

http://riverside.asrclkrec.com/ACR/INProp8.asp

Scroll down to “Assessment Appeals.”

Alert: No charge for filing appeals

Application for above mentioned options – both the Decline-in-Value and the Application for Changed Assessment – is free of charge. Various private companies are sending mailings to property owners offering their services, for a fee, to pursue a property tax reduction. These companies may charge hundreds of dollars to file for a reduction in value on behalf of the property owner. Some companies are even imposing late fees if the application is received after an arbitrary deadline. Be aware that solicitations from private companies offering to pursue a reduction in property taxes must clearly indicate that they are NOT a government agency and that their services are NOT approved or endorsed by any government agency.

Any solicitations or mailings from private companies that seek to charge a taxpayer to pursue a property tax reduction for a fee are NOT from any County of Riverside department, County Assessor-County Clerk-Recorder or the County of Riverside Assessment Appeals Board.
Property owners should be aware that their property may be included in a review the Assessor’s Office will be conducting in 2009.

See related news stories below:

Most times the appeal process can be handled by a phone call, with no need of a hearing. If the issue can not be resolved please contact the Clerk of the Board to schedule a hearing. 

Additionally, with declining values and changing tax bills, a problem has arisen with mortgage holders, title and escrow companies incorrectly calculating property tax payments for those who hold impound accounts. Additionally, it has been common that upon purchase, the supplemental taxes due have not been included in the buyer’s monthly payment, leading to an increase in the monthly mortgage payment to the impound account.

County struggles with declining property tax revenue

(Insert dollar bill graphic here)

 

Loss of revenue resulting from property tax declines is expected to have a $50 million impact in 2009-2010. County governmental services sustained by tax dollars include:

General Government

Assessor, Auditor-Controller, Treasurer- Tax Collector, Economic Development Agency, Date Festival, Housing Authority, Human Resources, Registrar of Voters, Redevelopment Agency, Public Safety Enterprise Communication, Facilities Management, Board of Supervisors, Executive Office, County Counsel and Purchasing.

Public Protection

Sheriff, Coroner, Public Administrator, District Attorney, Public Defender, Probation, Fire, Agricultural Commissioner, Animal Control, County Clerk-Recorder, Flood Control, Planning, Building and Safety, Department of Child Support Services, Juvenile Hall and Code Enforcement.

Public Ways and Facilities

Transportation and Land Management Agency, Surveyor, Transportation, County Airports and County Service Areas.

Health and Sanitation

Public Health, Environmental Health, Detention Health Services, California Children’s Services, Mental Health, Regional Medical Center and Waste Management.

Public Assistance

Department of Public Social Services, Community Action Partnership, Office on Aging, Veteran’s Services and Housing Authority.

Education Cooperative Extension and County Library.

Recreation and Culture Regional Parks and Edward Dean Museum. 

 

And what the County did with its 12 cents on the dollar: