During this week’s Realtor Roundtable meeting, we met with Attorneys Bob Vale and Roxanne Jen with the firm, McDowall Cotter, to get a legal perspective on California’s new Proposition 19, which will begin to take effect February 4th (further changes rolled out April 1st).  They provided our team with great insight into how to apply these new rules in various different homeownership/transfer scenarios, and what to expect as these changes are implemented.

As a reminder – Prop 19 will make major changes to how your property tax basis can be transferred to family members and carried to new properties.  Starting February 4th, property that is passed down to children from parents will be subject to reassessment.  This change will be particularly impactful here in the Bay Area, where skyrocketing home values have created huge disparities between tax assessments and current market values.

Also, starting April 1st, qualifying homeowners (aged 55 or over, physically disabled, or a natural disaster victim) will be able to transfer their current property tax basis to new property of equal or lesser value anywhere in the state up to THREE times within their lifetime.  They will also be able to transfer the basis to property of greater value, with a partial reassessment for the difference in value.  

If you have questions about how Prop 19 will affect you and your family, and would like to ask a legal expert, we will be hosting a free webinar with the McDowall Cotter Prop 19 Solutions Team on February 4th @ 5:30pm.  Attendees will get an overview of the new rules taking effect, and the opportunity to have any questions answered by a legal expert.  

To register for this free event, go to www.realsmartproperties.com/Prop19

A big thank you to Bob Vale, Roxanne Jen and the McDowall Cotter Team for sharing your time and insights.