Unfortunately, real estate values have declined substantially in Orange County, CA. in the past 2 years. Home prices have dropped by as much as 35% in some areas, to market values that existed in 2004’. A small consolation to homeowners who purchased in the years 2005’ and 2006’, is that it may be possible to reduce your Property Taxes. As specified in Proposition 13 (Prop 13), your property taxes are based upon the price you purchased the home for times approximately 1.15%. For example, if you purchased a in 2006 for $700,000, your property taxes are approximately $8,050 per year. If your Orange County home is now worth $500,000 today, then you could possible save about $2,300 per year!
So far this year (2008’), the Orange County tax assessor has estimated that there are 125,000 properties that have a Market Value that is lower then the Prop 13 Tax Value. And the Tax Assessor has already sent thousands of tax reduction notifications to many Orange County homeowners. The problem is that the Tax Assessors automatic property reduction is typically substantially less then what you can accomplish by disputing your tax bill.
So lets begin to estimate if a reduction in your property taxes is possible. First, you can go to the follow Orange County Tax Assessor website: http://tax.ocgov.com/tcweb/search_page.asp and enter in your APN number and obtain a quote of your current Tax Bill. Next, lets get a quick and free rough estimate of he value of your home. Go to www.Zillow.com and type in your address, and this software will give you an estimate of the current value of your home. A word of caution, Zillow can sometimes give inaccurate results, either high or low by Tens of Thousands of dollars. A much more accurate estimate can be obtained by a local experienced Realtor. I only recommend Zillow because it is instantaneous and easy. With this current market value, multiply by 1.15%, and compare this Tax amount to the Tax Bill found on the Assessors website above. If it is lower by about $400 or more, then I suggest you pursue a property tax dispute.
It is possible for you to conduct the dispute with the Tax Assessor yourself. The property tax dispute form is free, and not too terribly complicated. But if you make a mistake and it is rejected by the Orange County Tax Assessor, then you have to wait for one year, before you can attempt another dispute…potentially costing you hundreds if not thousands in savings. According to the Orange County tax assessor, the number one reason for declined property tax disputes are not due to the form being incorrect, but the current market valuation that is required to be submitted with the form. Comparing your home other like kind homes that have recently sold, and making the appraiser like adjustments, up or down, is not as easy as it looks. Therefore, we recommend that you hire the services of a licensed appraiser or a property Tax reduction firm. I could list some here, but you can easily find numerous service providers by searching in Google using “Reduce Orange County CA property taxes”.
If you have any questions regarding your Orange County property taxes, or real estate in general, please feel free to call us at: 949-388-3396, or email us at: Info@SearchOCHomes.com
