Santa Barbara County Clerk, Recorder, and Assessor Joseph Holland recently sent out a warning to county taxpayers.
“Our office reviews property values for free; it’s part of our job,” he said in a news release. “We proactively seek out and review thousands of properties.”
His announcement came after mailers came to county residents, offering a fee-based service that requests reductions on assessed property values. The offer isn’t illegal—just unnecessary, Holland said.
The assessor reported that his office is reviewing more than 23,000 properties to see which ones qualify for a reduction. To get technical: If a property’s market value as of Jan. 1 was less than a Proposition 13-factored base value, the property will be temporarily taxed at the lower numbers, until they bounce back.
Last year, Holland said, his office reduced the value on about 15,000 properties. He expects to reduce more this year.
Taxpayers can call the office, drop by in person, or visit sbcassessor.com to complete a form requesting a review for free.
Holland reported that he’s also seen forms offering assessment appeals for a fee. Again: not necessary. Property owners who disagree with their assessed value can contact the assessor’s office, discuss the assessment, and then file a free assessment appeal application.
This article appears in Feb 19-26, 2009.