This time of year is when we remember the great programs we offer at the Assessor's Office.
Waiver Program: Widows/Widowers, 100% Disabled, and Newly Disabled Veterans. For information about these popular programs, please visit our office or give us a call. Participation in the program requires specific qualifications. For example, qualifying income cannot exceed $37,297 per household or $44,745 per household with minor children.
The maximum property assessed value is $30,099 (FCV $300,990). Apply now to see if you qualify and potentially get a big tax discount. Don't miss the 2024 application period, which ends on February 29th.
Senior Appraisal Protection: Our Senior Real Estate Appraisal Protection Program (Senior Freeze). This program freezes your value (it doesn't freeze your taxes) so your value will remain the same in the future.
Qualifications include age. At least one of the homeowners must be 65 years old at the time of application, and the property must be the taxpayer's primary residence. The income limit is $45,264 for a single owner and $56,580 for two or more owners.
Address Protection Program (AAPP): We are excited to share the success of our new AAPP program. This new program is designed to reduce potential fraud related to email addresses. Not only is our new program a success here in Mohave County, but because of our success, the Secretary of State's Office has approved our bill with a focus on signature integrity, deed fraud, and notary regulation. I have introduced some of the ideas.
Our new AAPP program was initiated by a number of taxpayers who contacted me seeking additional security in their real estate ownership. We've found that most scams start with a change of address and Quit Claim Deed. The AAPP program allows only property owners to change their mailing address (required for a change of ownership).
You will need to submit a simple notary affidavit to our office (our program has a notary public in our office) and there will be a nominal fee of $50.
The affidavit requests that you are the only authorized agent who can change the mailing address of the property. This program is not a complete “lock”. This is because certain legal processes such as deed transfers, death certificates, judgments, and other legal processes will invalidate the lock.
The AAPP program flags your parcel and forces you to contact the Assessor's Office regarding upcoming changes and deeds. Although this program is not designed to be a secure method of preventing fraud, it should at least provide the taxpayers involved with an additional level of security in maintaining address and ownership records.
For the purpose of securing ownership of real estate through the transfer of deeds and notary requirements;
I've been working hard this Congress with State Representative John Gillette on a number of bills that focus on signature integrity, deed integrity, and notary integrity. There is great hope that all of these activities will become safer if these bills become law. We will discuss these bills in more detail in our next County Corner.
If you would like to apply for the AAPP program, please visit our City of Lake Havasu office, 2001 College Drive, Suite 93, or call 928-453-0702.
Thank you for your support and Happy New Year!
