Assessment fees not necessary

Los Angeles County Assessor Rick Auerbach and County Consumer Affairs Director Pastor Herrera are warning homeowners to be wary of solicitations from private companies offering to file property assessment reduction forms for a hefty fee when the property value review.

The property value review by the Assessor's Department is free.

The county said it has received calls from property owners who've received deceptive mailers telling them they must pay at least $100 to apply for a review of their assessed value..

"We don't charge a fee for this," Auerbach said, "and anyone whose homes are reviewed will receive a letter in June notifying them of the results."

One firm is under investigation in several counties for charging $179 to file a decline-in-value application, as well as a "late fee" of $30. Auerbach called the solications "legal but sophisticated scams" that take advantage of homeowners. Anyone can file a free online application for property value review at assessor.lacounty.gov.

The assessor's office said it will begin reviewing nearly 500,000 residential properties for their 2009 assessed values.

"At worst, these private solicitations may even violate laws which require very specific language and disclaimers that they are not being sent by a government agency," Auerbach said.

Officials said the 2008 decline-in-value reviews recently completed by the assessor's office resulted in lower valuations on nearly 130,000 homes and condos with an average property tax savings of $750.

Anyone who wants a complaint history on one of the solicitation companies, or wants to file a complaint themselves should call (800) 973-3370, Herrera said.

"If someone has already paid for this unnecessary service, they may be eligible for a refund, particularly those homeowners who thought they were dealing with a government agency," Herrera said.