Feb 11 2009
San Mateo County Property Tax: Scam Alert!
“Don’t pay for something that you can get for free…”
That’s essentially the message that’s conveyed in this press release from County Assessor Warren Slocum’s Office. San Mateo County homeowners have been receiving official looking letters from private companies that are soliciting fees to file a Request for Property Tax Reduction on your behalf. The details of the scam along with examples of the solicitation letters, are nicely outlined on the San Mateo County Assessor’s website. I highly recommend that you take a minute to read this link.
No scam would be complete without an ominous “call to action,” and this one has that as well in the form of an artificial deadline — you must act by a certain date or you will lose the opportunity….. you get the idea.
The Truth
As I outlined in this blog post about applying for a property tax reduction, there are 3 truths to applying for a reduction in your property taxes.
- It’s FREE.
- You deal directly with the County Assessor’s office (no intermediary required.)
- You can apply for the reduction online or via mail. It’s really very easy.
Now, this doesn‘t mean that you’re automatically going to get a reduction in your property taxes. What it does mean is that the process to apply for this reduction is free.
In other words, don’t pay someone to do something that you can yourself for free!
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