Escondido Real Estate

There is possible tax relief this year for those Escondido San Diego home owners who bought their homes at the high end of the current housing market, however the process to do so must be started quickly. If the value of your property has fallen below its assessed value (assessed value is located at the upper right corner of your current tax bill), homeowners must follow a process to temporarily lower their tax bill. Under State law, your property will then be assessed yearly, and as the value rises, so will your tax bill.

However, it will not rise beyond its original assessed value.

Services are available to have this done, but you can also do it for free, by filing for an Application of Review of Assessment as soon as possible. The deadline for applications is May 30.

Property owners must first gather information on current listed properties and comps in the neighborhood (October 2008 through March, 2009), or have an official appraisal figure of the property as of January 1, 2009.

An example of tax savings on property in San Diego County assessed at $1,000,000 with a new market value as of January 1, 2009 of $800,000 would provide a yearly tax savings of $2000. (Difference in values x 1.0% tax rate)

You can download tax reassessment instructions at:

www.co.san-diego.ca.us/cob/aab or call the Assessor's office at (858) 505-6262

Filing an application does not mean you don't have to pay taxes on the subject property by the due date. If a reduction is allowed, you will be refunded the difference.