Property Tax break applications mount in San Francisco
Requesting for a break in Property Tax payment is another way of delaying the inevitable, resorted to by the troubled home owners in the foreclosure environment. Property Tax is levied on the assessed value of the concerned property. Arising out of the down-turn economy and consequent housing bubble, home owners in San Francisco and elsewhere in the country, find that the market value of their homes has gone below the assessed value.
So the home owners are allowed an option to request for re-assessment of their home values and until such time can request for break in Property Tax payment. This is what happening at San Francisco in a never-before measure presently. On a revised assessment, if the property value is found lesser than the current market value, home owners can get a temporary reduction in Property Tax.
According to the city Assessor-Recorder Phil Ting, as many as 6,462 owners of residential properties in San Francisco have applied for temporary tax breaks in the current year.
Just like foreclosure, short sale, walking away from own home etc., this is a new phenomenon for US home owners. The upsurge in tax break applications in the recent past is proof enough for this. The number of requests for informal review and tax break received in 2009 were 4,421 and in 2008 there were only 1,673 applications. Three years back, when the foreclosure fever and reduction in home values did not catch up with the same vigor, a mere 248 applications for Property Tax reviews were received.
As it is, totally 11,700 home owners were granted temporary property tax reductions in the current fiscal year ending 30th June. The revisions have been made at the request of the property owners and also at the initiation of the assessor’s office. In all, the reduced value as assessed so far added up to $1.4 billion.
While the home owners are benefited, the reduction in Property Tax revenue hits hard on the welfare measures of the city and municipal authorities, in carrying out services like – police patrol; health clinics; parks upkeep; street repair and so on.
Phil Ting says “The ongoing trend of increased informal reviews represents the downturn in the real estate market.”
Posted by Amitesh Kumar
on Jun 7 2010. Filed under Foreclosures, Housing, Short Sales.
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