The San Francisco Peninsula Real Estate Blog

Robbing from Peter to Save Paul

The most recent budget proposal out of Sacramento relies heavily on the State Government borrowing property tax revenue from local cities to close the $26B gap that exists today.   Cities that have already laid off staff and cut expenses to the bone will now their coffers raided (whatever’s left over) to bail out the state of California.

The Daily News published an article that outlines the impact by city:

Prop. 1A estimates borrowing from state (estimated).

• Atherton    $435,469

• Belmont    $431,256

• Brisbane    $366,109

• Burlingame $1,146,343

• Colma     $179,234

• Daly City    $2,083,109

• East Palo Alto    $708,803

• Foster City    $1,206,702

• Half Moon Bay    $220,885

• Hillsborough    $850,335

• Menlo Park    $981,087

• Millbrae        $476,223

• Pacifica        $964,058

• Portola Valley    $93,796

• Redwood City    $2,892,572

• San Bruno    $829,615

• San Carlos     $833,661

• San Mateo    $2,808,517

• South San Francisco    $2,045,007

• Woodside    $178,635

It’s ironic how the most affluent community on the Peninsula will end up paying less than the least affluent…

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The San Mateo County Tax Assessor’s Office recently announced that it will review the assessed value on nearly 40,000 homes in San Mateo County.   That’s a lot of homes…  Considering the condition of the economy and the recent drop in home values on the Peninsula, this may spell good news to many homeowners in the form of a reduction in their property taxes.   So far, the County has reviewed nearly 9,000 cases and over half qualify for some sort of reduction.

While this will be welcome news for homeowners, the loss in property tax revenue will put a pinch on many Peninsula communities that rely heavily on property tax revenue to run their cities.  The impact is only starting to be fully understood, but clearly those communities that rely more heavily on property tax revenue will take the brunt.

The Daily Journal interviewed several City Managers to assess the impact of the property tax reductions on their respective communities.  It’s a good summary of how it impacts Burlingame, San Carlos, and other cities.  Here’s the article for your reference:

County and cities brace for tax reductions

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“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.

1. It’s FREE.
2. You deal directly with the County Assessor’s office (no intermediary required.)
3. 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!