How to Appeal Placer County Tax Assessment Value for 2017-2018

31 Aug How to Appeal Placer County Tax Assessment Value for 2017-2018

It happens every summer.  A homeowner receives the enviable letter from placer county regarding their upcoming property tax bill. Some can rejoice depending on when an owner purchased their home, their property tax bill may be substantially lower than current market value.  Others may be dreading the increase due to rising home values over the past year(s).

If you received your 2017-2018 assessed market value and feel the estimated market value is too high, you can appeal the value. In the Foothill market area, there are many variables that contribute to home values that a county assessment may not consider.

I’ve actually gone through the appeal  process with my own home and successfully had my tax bill lowered a few years ago, so know from direct experience. If your assessed market value is indeed above market value, you can get it reduced. An owner just has to understand the process and take some imitative. Hopefully, you’ll find the information below helpful.

General Information and Steps to Challenge for 2017-2018-

1) The estimated market value for your property is as of January 1, 2017 and not the date of the letter.

2) Fill out the “value review form” which can be found at placer county website, see link

This form must be postmarked no later than 12/31/2017. This is where you need to do some research and find some closed sales that support  your appeal.  Either a real estate agent can provide some sales or a private retrospective appraisal can be completed. Again, these sales have to be prior to 1/1/2017. If you provide any sales past this date, it will be thrown out.

3) This next step is somewhat confusing. In the event that the  “value review form” is rejected by the assessment office, an owner can then file a formal appeal to the Assessment Appeals Board.  The catch is this filing period for this formal appeal is from 7/2/2017 thru 9/15/2017 (right around the corner) with a non-refundable processing fee of $40.

I view step #3 as almost like paying an insurance deposit as it gives an owner one last opportunity to present their case before the Assessment Appeals Board if step #2 (value review form) is rejected. Many owners can easily overlook that step #3’s file period ends (9/15/2017) before step #2 ends (12/31/2017).

For more information on how to file a formal appeal and common appeals, see link.

Conclusion-

I hope you find the above steps helpful for understanding the Placer County assessment and tax appeal process. I highly encourage any owner to contact Placer County to verify the steps above and ask further questions. In the event of a private appraisal needed, contact me direct and I can go over the  details further.

Disclaimer: All information deemed reliable but not guaranteed. The information is meant entirely for educational purposes and casual reading only and is NOT intended for any other use.  This information is NOT intended to support an opinion of value for your appraisal needs or any sort of value conclusion for a loan, litigation, tax appeal or other potential real estate or non real estate purpose. This appraiser is NOT a qualified home inspector and any tips are for informative purposes only. If you’d like to obtain and order an appraisal for your specific needs, please contact Bryan at 530-878-1688 for more information.