Appraisers provide tax appealing service. Not all appraiser do, but the ones that do understand the assessment process more so than non-appraisers, and the data provided by an appraiser will have more creditability with the appeals board.

Fri May 9 2008, 08:33

First step is contact the assessors office. It may be you don't need any help. Find out what the process is and submit the neccessary data.
I've given market valuations for homeowners that were used to support the lower value.
Try this before spending money.

Fri May 9 2008, 08:19

Hi Pen,

Depending on where you live you may be able to request your property be reassessed to determine current value for property taxes.

I know that in Alameda County, there is a form that can be filled out and usually with the help of comparable information (recent comparables), the tax assesor will look to see if the property has decreased in value since the last assesment. Typically tax assesor's do a periodic re-assesment of property values, but you may be able to initiate the process.

Property taxes that you pay are assessed at the time your purchased the property. In San Francisco as you may know property values have held up even with other areas declining, so a re-assesment of your property may not prove to be helpful. If you have questions about your property tax bill you may want to contact the county tax assessors office to have someone explain in detail to you your property tax bill.

If you are still in contact with the Realtor who helped you purchase your home should be able to point you in the right direction to help you determine the best place to get started.

Good luck!

Thu May 8 2008, 21:19

If the property is located in the San Francisco Bay Area, I may have someone who can help. He's an attorney with Trump, Alioto, Trump and Prescott and his name is Dan Trump 415-563-7200. If he can't help, he'll be able to direct you

Thu May 8 2008, 18:19