The Tax Collector Owes You Money- Follow These Simple Steps to Cash in Your Property Taxes and Start Saving Now Mireya Rendon was disappointed when she received her tax bill this year. Despite recent decline in real estate value, Rendon’s property was assessed at $418,000 with tugging taxes pegged at more than $4,500 per year. After reading a letter from a local company offering to help Rendon reduce her property taxes, she knew it was time to appeal.

Rendon is one of dozens of Californian homeowners who are fighting their tax burden with the help of an affordable assessment appeal agency. Here’s what you can do to start saving up to thousands of dollars this year.

1. Don’t Let the County Assessor Nickle and Dime You

Despite that some County Assessors have sent thousands of homeowners tax reduction notices this month, homeowners are actually eligible for higher savings than what has been granted. A typical automatic reduction granted by the Assessor is roughly $700, whereas property owners can save up to thousands of dollars more if they choose to file an appeal. Don’t settle for minimal tax reductions when you can save more. Remember, as much as 60% of homeowners are over-assessed and eligible for tax cuts, according to the National Taxpayers Union. This means that you can maximize your tax reduction by challenging your tax bill.

2. Find Out How Much You Can Save

Typical tax savings by way of appeals range from $200-$5,000. Depending on how much your property is assessed for, you can be in for pretty hefty tax cut. For example, if you purchased your home for $600,000 but it is now worth only $400,000 (it’s Prop.8 value), then you can save as much as $2,000 if you can prove that your property experienced a decline in value.

Some appeal agencies can conduct a FREE market analysis of your property and notify you of your estimated tax savings before you file the appeal or pay them to do it for you. Do not pay for a company to reduce your taxes without finding out much you can save first.

3. Do It Yourself or Pay Someone Else?

Because the Assessment Appeals Board does not charge a fee for filing appeal applications, homeowners can file their appeal applications without hiring appraisal experts. But the No. 1 reason why applications are denied by the Assessment Appeals Board is because homeowners make mistakes, provide inaccurate market information and offer incomparable home sales as evidence to reduce their taxes.

Caveat– once your application has been denied, the decision is final! You will have to wait an entire year to file another appeal or take it up with the Supreme Court to get a tax reduction. Don’t make this mistake. Save yourself the headache and hire market experts and appraisers to complete your application for you.

It’s also good to shop around to see what company offers to complete your application for the most affordable price. Some companies charge as little as $300 to do this and don’t offer a money back guarantee.

4. Put Up a Good Fight

When filing an appeal, the homeowner needs to know a great deal about the current market conditions, the value of his or her property and extensive knowledge of comparable properties. This information serves as evidence that you are being over-taxed. This process can be nerve-wrenching for homeowners

because the information is not easily accessible. Consider hiring an appeal agency to file your application, which will provide the Assessment Appeal Board with a detailed comparable analysis worksheet with the most accurate market information for your home.

5. Don’t Wait Until the Last Minute!

Depending on the county in which your property is located, you won’t have much time to file an appeal. For example, the deadline to file appeals in Orange County, CA is Sept. 15. But generally you have 60 days or less from the time your annual tax assessment was mailed to file an appeal and start saving money. Even if you decide to hire someone else to do this for you, the application process still takes time.

Don’t wait to start saving money– file an appeal today.

I recommend www.cuthometaxes.com which charges a low one time fee starting at $99 for tax reductions. They also provide a FREE market analysis to determine if you qualify for a tax reduction.

Happy savings!

Toni Shepherd is a graduate of Chapman University, where she received her bachelor’s degree in English/ journalism.