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Mello-Roos
Districts
MELLO-ROOS COMMUNITY FACILITIES DISTRICTS
A Brief Explanation
California law requires a seller of real property to make a
good faith effort to obtain a "Notice of Special Lien" from
each local agency which levies a special tax pursuant to the Mello-Roos
Community Facilities Act which special tax is a lien on the property
and to deliver that notice to the buyer.
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If the "Notice of Special
Lien" is issued by the agency and received by the seller,
the notice must be delivered to the buyer. If the "Notice
of Special Lien" is so delivered to the buyer, then the
seller and seller's agent are not required to provide additional
information concerning the special lien and the district.
The law does not impose a duty to discover a special tax
or district not actually known to the seller's agent. (California
Civil Code, Section 1102.6b).
To enable a seller and seller's agent to comply to these disclosure
requirements, Government Code Section 53340.2 provides that the
legislative body levying the special tax shall designate an office,
department,
or bureau of the local agency which shall be responsible for establishing
procedures to promptly respond to inquiries concerning current
and future estimated tax liability. A "Notice of Special Tax" shall be
furnished to an individual or an owner of property subject to a special
tax levied by the local agency within five (5) working days of receiving
a request for such notice. The local agency may charge a reasonable
fee for this service not to exceed ten dollars ($10.00). The form
of the "Notice of Special Tax" is set forth in the California Government
Code. After a seller receives the "Notice of Special Tax" from
the agency, said Notice must be provided to the buyer.
A Mello-Roos Community Facilities
District(s) ("CFD") is a special taxing authority that may be
formed to finance certain designated public services and capital
facilities by levying special taxes which are continuing liens levied
against the real property within the service area. Facilities which
may be funded by a CFD include:
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Police and Fire Protection Services
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Ambulance and Paramedic Services
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Cultural Facilities
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Elementary and Secondary
Schools
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Libraries
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Museums
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Information regarding
Mello-Roos Districts in the report is derived from the County Real
Property Tax Records. Mello-Roos Assessment Districts which have
been formed but which have not yet levied assessments
may exist and the property may become suject to assessments in the
future. Recipient is advised to review a current preliminary report
or title commitment for the property for possible additional disclosure
of Mello-Roos Assessment District information that has been recorded
in the official records of the County Recorder's Office for the county
where the property is located. If a Mello-Roos District is in the
process of being formed as of the report date, such information will
not appear in the county records.
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