This post was contributed by a community member. The views expressed here are the author's own.

Politics & Government

Property Reassessment Firms Charging for Service County Does for Free

Homeowners who think their property has declined in value and did not receive notice of a review can file an appeal with an easy one-page form.

With the deadline for filing an assessment appeal for this year's property tax bill looming, and you think the value of your property has declined since last year, you may think you should seek outside help.

But that's not necessary, office says. The assessor's Decline-in-Value form is easy and can be submitted for free, and the office is warning against aggressive companies that are sending letters asking you to pay them to file what is only a one-page form. 

Letters being received by property owners in Encino offer homeowners help, but for a fee. The Los Angeles County Office of the Assessor wants to inform county property owners that letters from private companies offering to file for you to dispute the current assessed value of properties on a contingent fee basis should be disregarded because this is a service that is provided free by the county. The final date to file an appeal is Nov. 30. 

Find out what's happening in Encino-Tarzanawith free, real-time updates from Patch.

When the first letters started arriving in mailboxes locally about two years ago, it was not clearly stated as required by law that it was not from a governmental agency. The letters said the companies would charge $170 to fill out the form and send it in for you. The county called those letters a scam; charges were filed, which resulted in fines and ultimately changes in the letters.

Now these firms are not collecting any money unless they do, in fact, get the county to lower your property tax rate. Nevertheless, the county says you shouldn't need any help to appeal your property tax rates since it has a simple one-page form to be filled out and that can even be done online at no charge.

Find out what's happening in Encino-Tarzanawith free, real-time updates from Patch.

"If you received a letter from a company offering to file an assessment appeal for you, don't be fooled," Supervisor Gloria Molina said in a video announcement.

Rick Auerbach, who has since retired as County Assessor (the newly elected Assessor is John Noguez), adds: "You never have to pay for a review of the assessed value of your property. The assessor's office will do it for free."

The Los Angeles County District Attorney's office began early this year to ferret out those who were sending the official-looking notices offering a fee. One firm, Property Tax Reassessment, run by Sean McConville, was charged with misleading consumers by using mail solicitations that appeared official.

Deputy District Attorney Carolyn Nakaki of the Consumer Protection Division said McConville, 29, pleaded guilty to a dozen misdemeanor counts of disclosure violation in connection with the unsolicited mailings. The county sent out a "Scam Alert" to warn property owners that "various private companies may be sending mailing to property owners offering their services to pursue a reduction in their property taxes. These companies may charge hundreds of dollars to file for a reduction in value on behalf of the property owner….Be aware that solicitations from private companies offering to pursue a reduction in property taxes must clearly indicate that they are NOT a government agency." 

It became illegal for companies or tax agents to collect fees in advance to file for a reduction in value on Jan. 1. Under this new regulation, fees may only be collected after an application has been filed either with the Assessor or the Assessment Appeals Board. The Assessor's office makes no charge for a review of the value of your property. 

Some properties have been subject to an automatic review, and many property owners in the area received a notice of a realigned value in late June or early July.  People who did not receive a notice and believe they are entitled to a review of their property tax rate may apply using a simple document available online at the Assessor's website, www.assessor.lacounty.gov.

The Assessor's office automatically reviews property during times of increasing values and, as is currently the case, during declines. This year, the Assessor's office reported that decline-in-value reviews resulted in $24.3 billion in decreases in the gross tax toll. After deducting tax-exempt properties, the net roll for Los Angeles County declined 1.87 percent from last year. 

The assessed value for the incorporated areas of Los Angeles for 2010, including Encino, is $986 billion. That's a decrease of 1.8 percent over the previous year, based on the valuation of 1,613,754 single family residences, 224,121 residential-income properties and 186,225 businesses.

We’ve removed the ability to reply as we work to make improvements. Learn more here

The views expressed in this post are the author's own. Want to post on Patch?

More from Encino-Tarzana