To All Spa Homeowners: The Beaufort County Assessment Notice sent to you in September may be incorrect. To make the necessary changes you must complete the Appeal Form. If you do not appeal this, the state capped value will stand and you will pay the extra taxes based on that figure for the next 5 years. I will write a letter to the Beaufort County Assessor's Office on behalf of all Spa owners, but I have no guarantee that they will change the figure because I ask them to. The Appeal is simple: 1.) Get a copy of your 2008 Beaufort County Property Tax Bill. If you did not save a copy of this bill, call The Assessor's Office at (843) 470-2522, E-mail @ www.bcgov.net, or write: Beaufort County Assessor's Office PO Box 1508, Beaufort, SC 29901-1508 2.) In the middle of the page your assessed value is stated as example: (for a 2 bedroom unit it is 67,800) 3.) Multiply this figure by 115% example (67,800 x 115% = 77,970.) This figure is the taxable value. The information sent with your notice states: "2009 taxable values are now limited (capped) to no greater than a 15% increase." 4.) Send copies of your 2008 tax bill and the current assessment notice with the appeal form completed to the above address (#1.) Appeal as soon as possible before the deadline. If you own a 1 bedroom unit, the figures will be lower, but the procedure is the same. If you purchased a unit after 12/31/2007, they figure your capped value based on the price you paid for your unit. You can certainly appeal this higher amount, by looking at the previous tax bills on your unit, or by sending in an appeal based on what your neighbors are paying. I don't know how successful you will be, but it is worth a try. If you have any questions, call me @ (843) 368-1813 or e-mail me @ cynthia_macalister@hotmail.com Good Luck, Cynthia Macalister President, HOA The Spa On Port Royal Sound