Persistence Pays Off

14 months ago I received a tax bill for a property we own in Santa Cruz County. The bill had gone up by $300 per year! In my annoyance I called the called the county assessors office and was told that I could submit a request for re-examination of value. I sent the 11 page form with a copy of a recent appraisal, a letter from another appraiser reiterating the lower value of our property, and a myriad of comparable that I pulled from a real estate web site. I spent about two days drafting a letter that explained how the value could not have gone up but should be adjusted down. Four months later I received a letter stating I had to appear before the assessors board with 5 copies of anything I wanted to submit for review, a copy of my original application, and the appointment was in late October. Really? October? So, I gathered my facts, made my copies and put it on my calendar.

On October 1st I received a phone call from the assessors office and they had a few questions for me. I answered them and sent the woman a scan of some documentation she requested. Mid October I received another call, same woman. She said she agreed with my assessment and that they were going to lower our property taxes and she cancelled my appointment with the board, bonus! I was so excited! Two weeks later I received a preliminary letter. Two weeks after that I received the actual reassessment notification. The bill went down by 1/3! Amazing! I was so thrilled at having 'won' my case with them.

At this point I thought I was done. I was happy with the outcome, happy with the process and happy not to have to go before the board. But today my neighbor comes by with a piece of mail. Connor took it because I was cooking dinner. I had him open it. "What is it Connor?", "A check.", "A check?", "Um, yeah.", "What for?", "Property tax refund.", "How much?", "$$$.", "WHAT?". This was a very nice surprise. The thought hadn't even crossed my mind that we would get a refund.

It just goes to show you patience and persistence can pay-off nicely. I'm thankful for parents who taught me the need to be both.