As the city Menifee continues to explode in population, families are buying homes at a record pace. One of the biggest concerns when buying a home are the high property tax rates in many of neighborhoods here in Menifee. Property taxes can be upwards of two percent (of the purchase price) or more due to what is commonly known as the Mello Roos Tax or Special Assessments.
A Mello Roos Tax is actually The Community Facilities Act, which is a law enacted by the California State Legislature in 1982. The name Mello-Roos comes from its co-authors, Senator Henry J. Mello (D-Watsonville) and Assemblyman Mike Roos (D-Los Angeles). The Act enabled 'Community Facilities Districts' (CFDs) to be established by local government agencies as a means of obtaining community funding. Counties, cities, special districts, joint powers authority, and schools districts use these financing districts to pay for public works and some public services. This 'special tax' (often a bond measure) can last as long as 30-40 years from when a Menifee community is first established.
What most Menifee home buyers don't know is the Mello Roos tax is not standard for every community throughout Menifee valley. Some communities don’t have Mello Roos Tax while others have some that range from a few hundred dollars a year to a few thousand a year. Typically the tax remains the same for the entire term of the bond.
So let's do an example of a property with Mello Roos and how it can affect your monthly payment. Your typical property tax for a home inMenifee Mello Roos Explained Menifee is 1.2 percent of the assessed value. If your home is valued at $200,000, your regular property tax would be $2,400 a year. In a Menifee community that has a Mello Roos tax of let's say $1,500 a year you would then add the two together which would now make your property tax jump to $3,900 a year, making your property tax 1.95 percent a year! Again not all Menifee homes have a Mello Roos Tax however, a good rule of thumb is most homes built after the year 2000 have a Mello Roos in some form.
The key to buying a home in the City of Menifee is being well educated on what you are buying. The real estate agents at Clear Edge Realty are well-educated and have years of experience buying and selling homes in the Menifee area. For more information on Mello Roos or buying a Menifee home, feel free to us a line at [email protected]
Thanks for listening!
Chris Blasic, Clear Edge Realty
