Do you feel like your property taxes are too high? That sounds like it could be a bad thing – but maybe it isn’t! Maybe, your property taxes really are too high. Many people who have purchased (condos especially) in the last couple of years may really be paying too much in property taxes. If your property has dropped significantly in value, why not ask the Santa Cruz County Assessor’s office to re-appraise your house? They even have a handy form for it available on-line:
http://sccounty01.co.santa-cruz.ca.us/asr/forms/taxform10.pdf
Let’s say you paid $500,000 for a condo 18 months ago. If the value of that condo has dropped by 8%, that would mean it’s today worth just $460,000. Depending on the special assessments in the area where your property is located, this drop in price means that you are over-paying by between $400 and $500 per year. That’s not so much money that it’ll make-or-break you, but it could add up to thousands of dollars in savings over the years.
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