For more than a decade, California Senate hopeful Rep. Adam Schiff has claimed his primary residence is a 3,420 square foot home he owns in Maryland, according to a review of mortgage records.
At the same time, Schiff has for years taken a homeowner’s tax exemption on a much smaller 650 square foot condo he owns in Burbank, California, also claiming that home as his primary residence for a $7,000 reduction off the 1% property tax, amounting to a roughly $70 in annual savings. He did not take an exemption on his home in Maryland.
While Schiff has signed documents asserting both the Maryland property and the significantly smaller Burbank condo as his primary residences, tax records indicate that he paid his California property taxes in 2017 with a check featuring his Maryland address – the only year he paid with a personal check. And a review of past comments, pictures shared on his public social media, and records indicate Schiff makes his full-time home in Maryland.
Schiff is in a competitive primary in California for the Senate seat against Democratic Reps. Katie Porter and Barbara Lee, and his dual residency claims could present a political problem for the congressman. Schiff announced his run in January 2023.
Deed records show Schiff, who was elected to Congress in 2000, designated the Maryland home as his primary residence in 2003. In 2009, 2010, 2011, and 2012 Schiff refinanced his mortgage and again indicated it was his primary residence.
Los Angeles County deed records for Schiff’s Burbank condo, purchased in 2009, were notarized in Maryland. On one page of the deed, the state: California and the county: Los Angeles are crossed out and Maryland and Montgomery County are written in. The records also list Schiff’s Maryland home as an address the records are being returned to.
Marisol Samayoa, a spokesperson for Schiff’s campaign, asserted his primary residence was in California and said he had been open about it citing several news mentions and a mention in his book.
“Adam’s primary residence is Burbank, California, and will remain so when he wins the Senate seat,” she told CNN in an email. “As Adam has discussed openly many times over the years, including in his recent New York Times best-selling book, he and Eve made the difficult decision to move their family to the D.C. area to spend more time with his children while doing his job.”
His spokesperson also told CNN the properties were both claimed as primary residences for loan purposes.
“Adam’s California and Maryland addresses have been listed as primary residences for loan purposes because they are both occupied throughout the year and to distinguish them from a vacation property,” she added.
Despite purchasing the home in Maryland two years into his tenure in Congress, a biography on his campaign website from 2010 to 2014 suggested Schiff was raising his family at his home in Burbank.
“Settled in Burbank, CA, Adam and his wife Eve are the proud parents of daughter Alexa, age 13, and son Elijah, age 10,” read the biography, which made no mention of his Maryland home.
In 2020, Schiff refinanced his mortgage indicating the Maryland house was his second home, but a social media post from 2021 suggested the congressman was still living at the home with his wife. A school publication and athletic records also show his son was attending a local high school at the time.
A family photo on his website in 2021 also matches the exterior of his Potomac home.
Various photos on social media within the last year, some of which were publicly posted by the congressman, have also indicated Schiff is still living in Maryland.