Aug 26, 2008 11:17 pm US/Pacific
Call Kurtis: Tax Troubles
SACRAMENTO (CBS13) ―
Home values have dropped everywhere, and nobody wants to pay taxes on more than their house is worth. One woman should know how much her house is worth: She's a real estate broker.
Dianne Harrington bought her El Dorado Hills home right at the market's peak in September 2005 for $515,000. Then housing values started to fall.
"I guess I was kind of in denial the first year because this is my business and I didn't think it would ever really ever happen," she said.
In October of 2007 Dianne asked El Dorado County to reassess her property and reduce her property tax.
"I got a little letter in March and a piddly refund of $137 and a corrected tax bill," she said. "They assessed my property down to $499,000."
As a licensed real estate broker, Dianne felt her home value dropped more than that. She contacted the county appraiser.
"He called me back at the first of July and apologized… he said he'd further reduce it," she said.
By law, under Proposition 8, the county looks at housing values for the first three months of each year. If that value drops, you pay less in property tax.
The county admitted her home should not have been assessed at $499,000 last year, and lowered it to $438,000. She should have received a refund of $632.
It's been almost two months, and she hasn't received her refund.
"I said, 'You know I think I'll alert the media. I think I'll call Kurtis," Dianne said.
We spoke with El Dorado County home assessor Tim Holcomb, who says they have identified roughly 20,000 properties in the county that were potential reductions. He said some logistical hangups slowed down the refund.
Once Dianna signed some paperwork, she should receive the $632.
"[I'm] relieved, you know, I shouldn't have to go through this," she said."
The county appraiser uses other homes that have sold in your area to figure out what your house was worth in the first three months. If you don't think your home was assessed correctly, you can use websites like Zillow.com to see what other homes sold for in your area.
(© MMIX, CBS Broadcasting Inc. All Rights Reserved.)
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