IMPORTANT INFORMATION UPDATE THAT COULD SAVE YOU MONEY ON PROPERTY TAXES

As a mortgage advisor, I am always looking for ways to save clients  money, and this may be one for you.  This is something you can do for yourself, so please do not fall for a company saying they will do it for you for a fee or sometimes for a percentage of your tax savings!

As I am sure you are aware overall property values are either stabilizing or in many cases going down.  This trend will continue for a couple years.  The primary reason for this is the forecasted amount of foreclosures due to the sub prime lending crisis.  I know that is not great news, but the Good news is you can possibly save some money on your property taxes!

Proposition 8 Tax Relief for California property owners.

Prop 8  provides that your current years taxes is limited to the lesser of the current proposition 13 base value OR the current fair market value as of January 1^st.   In times of declining real estate values, you may be able to reduce your tax bill.  I will show you an example of what I am talking about;

            Your current Prop13 value/ Assessed value......................... $550,000

            Your value on January 1^st 2007......................................$500,000

              Difference in Value...................................................$50,000

             Approximate Annual Tax savings.................................. $500.00

            (1% of the difference in value)

This is only a temporary tax reduction, based on current value.  When values go back up, you will more than likely be reassessed at the higher value again. 

The deadline of March 15^th has already passed for this year, but rest assured I will be sending out a reminder letter later this year so that you are able to take advantage of any savings you might be entitled to.