This is the only time of the year you as a homeowner in Santa Cruz County will think that your home should be worth less.

Around this time of the year we get a lot of calls asking our help with property valuation appeals. There are two ways you as a homeowner may be able to get your property valuation changed:

They Have Got Your House All Wrong

If Santa Cruz County has any particulars about your home incorrect you may have a case to have your taxes reduced and could appeal. Take a close look at your valuation notice and make sure that Santa Cruz County has the correct bedrooms, bathrooms, types of bathrooms (half, three quarter, full), square footage, garage spaces, basement finish etc. If any of these are wrong, chances are it will have an impact on your property taxes. For example: You have a 1 car garage and the Santa Cruz County Assessor says you have a 2 car garage.

The Comparable Sales Are Wrong

This one has become a bit trickier. Technology has made it much easier for the county to assess the value of your home. They used to use the three best comps and those were the basis, now they use 100’s of sales to assess value-making this approach much harder to appeal.

But, technology today makes it much easier for you to do your homework as well. If you find comps that lead you to believe that your home has decreased in value you can make a request to have your property reviewed due to a decline in value. You can find the “Request For Decline In Value Review” form on the Santa Cruz County Assessor’s website. Click here to go directly to the online form: Request For Decline In Value Review.

When completing the form make sure that you include at least 3 comps that supports your opinion of the value of your home. Generally, Santa Cruz County does a good job on assessments but it is incumbent upon you to make sure that they have the data correct and are using the most appropriate comps.

Need assistance? The Coastal Bay Team is always happy to help. Providing you service second to none.