Property Taxes in San Diego?

Question

Since the house values in San Diego have fallen so much, has the city reduced the property taxes as well?

Answer 1

You have until September 30th to apply for a reduction.  Go to the county assessors website and you will see a tab with the application.

http://arcc.co.san-diego.ca.us/  Good luck because all the news channels and the North County Times are reporting that only about 30% of the applications have resulted in a decrease in assessed value and thus tax liability.

Answer 2

The City won't reduce the property taxes unless you file a petition (application) for a reduction based upon the decreased value of your property.  

Bear in mind, however, that if the value rises in the future, the City can return the assessed value of the property back to where it would have been if you hadn't gotten a reduction.  But if your property value is below your purchase price, apply immediately for a reduction.  Your are actually applying for a reduction in assessed property value, and a reduction in property tax is a consequence of that.  It might help you to have some advice from a real estate agent about how to do this properly, or your appraiser may be able to tell you how to put the package together properly.  

The application or petition for reduction must be in by a certain date for them to take effect in the next tax year -- if the deadline for this year has passed, the reduction won't take effect until next year.  

You will need a current appraisal (you will have to pay for that), and it would strengthen your case to include documents showing recent sale prices of comparable properties in your immediate neighborhood.  The appraiser should be able to provide you with those records as a part of his/her report.

Answer 3

Nope...you would have to request a re-assessment.