GRF will provide assessed property values starting Aug. 1

GRF FINANCE DEPT

The Orange County Tax Collector collects property tax based on the assessed value of your unit. Property values are reviewed and assessed by the Assessor’s Office every year, as of Jan. 1. The property taxes you will be paying in 2021 are based on the assessed value as of Jan. 1,2020, as required by state law.

For Mutual 1-16, the assessed values are made available to GRF by the end of July.

If you are a shareholder in Mutual 1-16, and you would like to know the assessed value of your unit for 2021, you may email Kim Ngo at kimn@lwsb.com starting Aug. 1. Kim will respond to your emails in the order in which they are received.

The Golden Rain Foundation Finance Department anticipates many requests so patience is requested; she will reply to all inquiries as quickly as possible. Donot submit more than one request, as this will only delay the response to other shareholders.

If you disagree with the assessed value,

VALUE, page 2 you have the option of filing an appeal with the Orange County Assessor’s office.

More information on how to file an appeal of your assessed value is available online at www.ocgov.com/cob.

Questions regarding the appeal process should be directed to the county’s website or to the Orange County Assessor’s Office at (714) 834-2727. The Finance Department can only provide the assessed value and your parcel number. It is unable to help you with filing your appeal.

To challenge the assessed value, you must submit a complete Assessment Appeal Application with the County by Nov. 30. You can file the Assessment Appeal Application by mailing it to: OC Assessment Appeals Board PO Box 22023 Santa Ana, CA, 92702-2023 Or you can submit it in person to:

The Clerk of the Board of Supervisors 333 W. Santa Ana Blvd, Ste 100 Santa Ana, CA, 92701 Do not submit supporting documentation with your appeal. However, be prepared to provide documents showing comparable sales that closed escrow as close to Jan. 1 as possible, but before April 1, 2020. The sales data should show that the property’s Market Value was lower than the Assessor’s assessed taxable value for Jan. 1, 2020.

Filing an appeal does not relieve your obligation to pay the taxes as billed by the Assessor’s office. The appeals board has two years from the date an application is filed to hear and render a decision. Based on the evidence submitted at the hearing, the appeals board may increase, decrease or not change an assessment. If the appeals board grants a reduction, a proportionate refund of taxes paid will be processed. Additional information and answers to frequently asked questions can be obtained from the Orange County Assessor’s website.

Notes:

• Market Value is what the property would sell for (the unconditional sales price).

• Prop. 13 Value is established when the property changes ownership. The Assessor makes a CPI inflation adjustment of up to 2 percent per year, as required by California laws.

• Prop. 8 Value reductions are temporary and are based on the Market Value of property each Jan. 1 (lien date).

• Taxable Value for a specific year is the Market Value or the Prop. 13 Value, whichever is lower. Following a value reduction (Prop. 8), if the Market Value increases, the Taxable Value may be adjusted upward by more than 2 percent but may not exceed the Prop.13 Value you established at the time your property was acquired, plus any new construction, plus an annual inflation rate of no more than 2 percent per year.

—GRF Finance Manager Barbara Shuler