We talked to representatives of the Tax Assessors office in all 9 Bay Area counties. All but San Francisco says it will be automatically reassessing the property values of a sizable number of homes. San Francisco County Tax Assessor Phil Teng told 7 On Your Side that no final decision has been made in San Francisco.
The following is a county-by-county break down of what Bay Area homeowners can expect.
ALAMEDA COUNTY
Alameda County says it will automatically be reassessing the values of 125,000 properties. Any homes sold after January 1, 2002 will be reappraised. The county predicts that as many as 100,000 property owners will see a deduction in their property tax for the new tax year. The county says properties purchased in early 2002 appreciated over a few years until mid-2006 and have declined in value since that time.
Others are advised to wait until they receive their tax bill. If they believe their assessment should be adjusted, they should file a decline in value form and their assessment will be reviewed.
CONTRA COSTA COUNTY
The Contra Costa County Tax Assessors office says it will review the assessments of at least 150,000 residential properties. That's more than half of the 279,000 single-family units in the county. Most properties purchased since 2002 will be reviewed, but it's also possible other homes will be reviewed as well.
The county suggests waiting at least to the first week in July before appealing your property tax assessment. Those who disagree with their assessment can file for an informal review. A link to that form is provided below.
MARIN COUNTY
The Marin County Tax Assessors office says it will be doing an automatic review of some sort, but no decision has been made yet about how many homes will be reviewed. Tax bills for the 2009-2010 tax year will go out in the fall. People who disagree with their assessment can ask for an informal review.
NAPA COUNTY
Napa County expects to review the values of 10,000 homes. In some parts of the county, any homes purchased since 2003 will be reviewed. In other parts, homes purchases as far back as 1999 will be reviewed.
Those who disagree with your assessment can fill out the form below to request an informal review.
>> LINK (The form for the 2009-2010 tax year is not yet available)
SAN FRANCISCO COUNTY
As mentioned earlier, San Francisco has not yet decided if it will automatically reassess the value of any homes. In 2008, the county reviewed property rolls in the entire city and found there was no reason to an across the board cut in property tax. Assessor Phil Teng says the value of properties in San Francisco have held up better than other parts of the Bay Area.
In 2008, property taxes were reduced for 850 homeowners after they requested an informal review.
>> LINK (The form for the 2009-2010 tax year is not yet available)
SAN MATEO COUNTY
The County of San Mateo is currently reviewing the values of 45,000 properties that were purchased after January 1, 2002. If you bought a property during this period, the assessed value of your property will be automatically reviewed and, if eligible, the assessed value will be reduced.
Anyone else can file a decline in value form to request an informal review.
SANTA CLARA COUNTY
Santa Clara County is reviewing 200,000 homes and will be sending out assessment notifications in June. That's one out of every two homes. They are looking at properties that have had transactions or turned over during the last 9 years. The county believes the closer you are to that transaction date, the more likely you are to get a reduction. In June, every property owner will get a notice card telling them their value of their home. If you disagree, you can go to their web site and file for a reduction.
SOLANO COUNTY
Solano County will be reassessing the values of 30,000 homes. It will probably go back to any home purchased since 2002.
Those disagreeing with their assessment should file for an informal appeal.
SONOMA COUNTY
Sonoma County will automatically reassess the values of 40,000 homes. In most areas, they will be looking at any home purchased since 2000. In some areas, they may look at the entire assessment roles.
Chief Deputy Tax Assessor Bill Rosseau suggests anyone who still disagrees with their assessment after a review should ask to speak to him or a supervisor before filing a formal appeal and requesting a full hearing.
FORMAL APPEALS
Formal appeals can be requested if a homeowner is still dissatisfied after an informal review. Formal appeals require a full hearing before an appeals board. Each county has a deadline of when these appeals can be requested. Check with your county assessors office for that deadline.
All 9 County Tax Assessment office agree that you would be wasting your money to hire an outside company to handle the appeal for you. Filing an appeal with any of the counties is free. The forms are simple. You just need to arm yourself with comps to back your case for a property tax assessment.
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