Assessor's Office Cuts Property Taxes

County Assessor Rick Auerbach has announced that his office has slashed the assessments of more than 40,000 residential properties.
By: HOWARD FINE: Los Angeles Business Journal Online
As home prices continue to fall throughout L.A., County Assessor Rick Auerbach has announced that his office has slashed the assessments of more than 40,000 residential properties and is reviewing another 230,000 properties.

Auerbach said on Thursday that the assessment reductions so far have saved property owners an average of $660 on their property taxes, which translates into a drop of around $27 million flowing into local government coffers.

Under Proposition 13, a property owner who believes his or her property has declined in value can request an assessment review. The assessor’s office can also order reviews of certain properties if market conditions warrant.

Auerbach ordered a review of all single-family homes and condominiums that were sold between July 1, 2005 and June 30, 2007. To date, he reported his office has reviewed 67,000 properties and reduced the assessments on 41,000 of those by an average of about $66,000. Under Proposition 13, property taxes are capped at 1 percent of assessed value.

Auerbach said that because of the findings for properties in this initial two-year review period, his office is now expanding the review to include properties with purchase dates going back to July 1, 2004.