Here’s another one to file in the Services That Used to Be Free category.  The Alameda County Assessor is going to start charging for assessment appeals.  You can hardly blame them.  In the old days of the real estate bubble, the county received between 2,000 and 3,000 appeals in a typical year.  With property values dropping, the appeals board handled more than 11,500 appeals in each of the last two years.  Unless this a “W-shaped” recession, it looks as if home values in 94611 bottomed out about 13 months ago with an average selling price of $738,000. In April, the average price was $766,000.  The price of an appeal application will be a very reasonable $50, but the County Assessor suggests that you wait until “Notifications of Assessed Value” are mailed at the end of July.  You can file online between July 2 and September 15.