“Hello and thanks for your newsletter :o) I’m trying to keep track of real estate, with an eye to moving from a house to a condo. What’s all this about being able to keep your Prop 13 taxes if you’ve passed your 55th birthday? Are there any catches? Keep up the informative (and entertaining) work!”
***ANSWER:
I’m asked this question a lot. Proposition 60 allows homesellers 55 or older a one-time opportunity to transfer their existing low property tax bill to their next home when they sell their home and buy another.
Some key rules:
1. The replacement home must be bought or newly constructed within 2 years before or after of the sale of the original home.
2. Claims must be filed within 3 years of buying or building the replacement home.
3. The new home must cost 100% or less than the old home. Or you may go up 5% if you buy within 1 year after selling the old one, or 10% if you buy between 1 and 2 years.
4. The replacement home must be in San Diego County or, per Prop 90, one of the following California counties: Alameda, Los Angeles, Orange, Santa Clara, San Mateo, Ventura. (This list is always subject to change.)
NOTE: This does NOT include Riverside County! Several clients have erroneously been told by friends or real estate agents that they can move their low property tax base to Riverside…
