The County Assessor recently sent you a postcard with the January l, 2009 assessed value of your home. This value will be used to calculate your property tax due in December, 2009 and April, 2010.
Please look carefully at this assessed value and ask yourself if you could have sold your home last January for this amount. Because of the provisions of Proposition 13, most people will think they could have sold their home for more than the current assessed value. If you are among this majority, you need to take no further action.
If you think you would have had to accept less than the assessed value to sell your home last January, you should request an Assessor’s valuation review by August 15. You may request a review online at www.sccassessor.org/prop8.
You must have support for your valuation adjustment request. The usual support is a list of the sales prices of comparable properties during the three months before and after January l. An appraisal by a realtor familiar with your area can also be helpful. Carla Griffin does these appraisals for residents in The Villages.
Please remember that fair market value is always a range and there is no single correct valuation. Also, remember that the tax rate is a little over one percent (1%) of the valuation. Consequently, a $10,000 change in assessment will only reduce your taxes by a little over $100 for the year.
Would you like a property valuation? If you live in The Villages and would like an appraisal, please call 408.274.8766 before August 1 for your FREE property valuation.