Ventura County Assessor Dan Goodwin warns residents about solicitations from private companies offering to provide services, for a fee, that the Ventura County Assessor provides free of charge.

The solicitations come under a variety of business names, most claiming to act as a homeowner's agent to guarantee a lower property tax bill. They claim to guarantee an assessment reduction and imply specialized knowledge of required regulations. The companies are not affiliated with any governmental agencies, and homeowners do not need to be represented by them to request a Prop 8 Decline in Value reduction.

According to Goodwin, "You can work directly with the assessor's office, at no charge, and request an assessment review. The assessor's staff is now in the process of reviewing the assessments of more than 43,300 residential properties. This includes all singlefamily dwellings acquired since January 2004. As a result, it is estimated more than 30,000 properties will automatically receive assessment reductions."

Property owners are encouraged to wait until mid-July and see what the assessor does independently.

For more information, please call (805) 654-2181 or visit assessor.countyofventura.org.