Manteca Homeowners: Do You Have Any Say Over Your Property Tax Assessment?
One of the extra expenses that many Manteca homebuyers forget about is their need to pay property taxes. Every year the new assessments arrive in the mail and Manteca homeowners have to cross your fingers and wait to see if your taxes are going up or not.
Manteca homeowners most likely don’t want to pay more than you have to. So do Manteca homeowners have any control over your property taxes?
Understanding the assessment
Your local government will have tax assessors that will work to determine what the value of the properties within your Manteca area are valued at. The assessment could change every year or up to every three years. Here are a few things you need to understand about your assessed value.
When your assessed value goes up, it is technically a good thing. While Manteca homeowners don’t want to pay extra on your taxes, the higher assessed value means that the market value of your property has increased.
This higher value could mean that you have more equity in your Manteca house. It could also possibly even mean that you could have your private mortgage insurance removed if the increase helps you have twenty percent equity in your loan-to-value ratio.
Can I appeal my assessment?
You can appeal your property tax assessment. Included in the letter that you get should be the details on how to appeal the value if you are interested in doing so. It typically involves showing up at a meeting and will only give you until a certain date in order to do so. If you wait too long then you miss your chance.
If you do not have the instructions on how to appeal the decision then you can contact the assessment board to ask about the process. You can start by talking to your county office and they should be able to direct you to the correct person.
The appeal process
In order to overturn the higher assessment of your Manteca property, you are going to need something to prove that the assessment is incorrect. Simply stating that your taxes are higher than you would like to pay is not going to cut it with the assessment board.
Instead, you need cold hard facts. If you have a recent appraisal from a third party you could submit that. Manteca homeowners could also have a local real estate pro pull comps for the homes that have recently sold in your Manteca area. If the comps show that houses are selling for below what your assessed value is, you will have a case for yourself.
If you were unable to win your appeal then you will be required to pay the higher tax payment. If you are unable to make your new payment, or worried that you will not be able to afford it, you can try talking to your local tax office. They may have tax relief programs available that you can take advantage of.
Whatever you do, don’t just not make your payments. Always see what options exist for you.