Santa Clara County Assessor Larry Stone continues to ask Realtors to remind their clients to be mindful of deadlines, if they intend to seek a review of or appeal their property tax assessment.
"If the deadlines aren't met, there's nothing I can do about your situation," Stone told Realtors at a local Silicon Valley Association of Realtors tour meeting last month.
Stone said this year assessment notification cards will be sent out to 465,000 property owners on June 23. Stone's office is among 10 in the state that sends the notification cards to homeowners early in the year.
Last year, after receiving thousands of requests for informal reviews and reductions, the county assessor's department reduced the value of 98,000 properties, which took a total of $19.3 billion off the county's assessment roll. Stone believes most reductions will carry over this year, and an additional 30,000 to 40,000 properties will be placed on Proposition 8 temporary assessment relief status, as well. He also predicts a flood of assessment reductions on the commercial sector for the next two years. As long-term leases expire, he anticipates companies will be forced to move, downsize or reduce rent.
Stone is requesting that homeowners wait until they receive their notification card before asking for an informal review or appeal. In the meantime, homeowners can gather information regarding the value of their home based on values at the beginning of the year. Remember, in accordance with Proposition 8, the market value of a property has to drop below the assessed value before a homeowner can seek a property assessment reduction. The time to take note of comps begins on the lien or valuation date, which is January 1 of the current year.
Once homeowners receive their assessment notification cards, they have until August 15 to seek an informal review. Homeowners can request a review online by going to www.sccassessor.org/state. They have between July 2 and September 15 to file a formal appeal. Requests for appeals cannot be considered past the deadline.
Stone said he sees some improvement in the housing market, but inventory is still way down. New building permits dropped 72 percent in one year. He indicated in 2004, there were 177,000 new building permits; in 2009, there were only 36,000.
The county assessor stressed corporate profits need to increase; job growth needs to take place; credit liquidity, "the juice for any capitalist society," needs to be available; and, most of all, public confidence needs to return.
"If these things don't happen, we can expect drastic cuts in government services," Stone warned.
Stone also stressed he is not a tax collector; nor is his position political. "My role is to produce an annual assessment roll of all assessable property in accordance with legal mandates in a timely, accurate, and efficient manner," Stone said.
Each year the county's assessment roll growth has declined. In 2006, the roll grew 9.6 percent; 2007, 8.3 percent; 2008, 7 percent. Last year, the roll grew by just 0.18 percent. Stone expects the roll to be negative this year.
"There's no more bone left in Santa Clara County," Stone remarked.
On the positive side, Stone said Santa Clara County's situation is actually a "cakewalk" compared to other counties in the state, which are already experiencing cuts and assessment roll reductions of enormous proportions.
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Variations of this article have appeared in local area newspapers.
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