Many people simply pay their tax bill each year, grumbling about it, but never really considering whether the assessment of their property’s value was fair or not. Sometimes, the assessment might simply be too high for one reason or another, which means you are wasting your money. In some cases, it will be possible to appeal your DeKalb County property tax assessment, so you can trim away some of what you owe in taxes. For example, you may be able to show that your home is worth less than what the original tax assessor says it is worth.
What Does the Assessment Letter Say?
You will receive a letter from the local government that provides you with the assessment of your home’s value. This letter will typically include information on the size of the lot and the legal description of the property, as well as their assessment of the land and home value.
If you believe that the assessment of the property is higher than the real worth of the home, your best option is to file an appeal as quickly as possible. If you can reduce your property taxes, it could help you to save a substantial amount of money.
However, you want to make sure that it is truly in your best interest to go through with the appeal. It can be a lengthy process, so you will want to make sure you have a professional, experienced assessor for your new DeKalb County property tax assessment. They can help to guide you through the process and make it as simple as possible for you to understand.
Is the Information Correct?
One of the first things you will want to do when you are checking your assessment letter is to make sure that the information regarding your home is correct. The assessors from the government, while they tend to do a respectable job, can still make mistakes from time to time. You do not want one of these errors to end up costing you. Make sure that the number of rooms in the home is correct, along with the size of the lot. If you notice that there are any facts about your home that are incorrect, it tends to be quite easy to challenge the assessment.
Other Homes in the Vicinity
Another thing to do when you are checking to verify the accuracy of the assessment is look at comparable homes in the area, often simply called comps, that have sold recently. You can check real estate sites to find the values of homes that have similarities to yours when it comes to the location, the style and size, along with the condition of the property. While this can take some time and it can be hit or miss if you do it all on your own, you can simply hire an appraiser who can check into these for you.
When you have information on several comparable properties in your area, you will then want to look at the assessments of the properties. If you find that the assessment on those properties is lower than yours, it becomes easier to assert that your property taxes are too high and need to be reviewed. Keep in mind that even if the assessments are similar, if the other owner has made improvements to the property, such as putting on an addition or a garage, while you were repairing your home, there could be an equity-based relief for your home. Again, you will want to make sure you are working with a property tax professional who can help you with this process.
Dealing With the Local Assessor
In most cases, it will be possible to deal with the local assessor on your own, and they are willing to listen to your request. However, in some cases, you may need to request a formal review, and you need to abide by the guidelines and timelines set forth by the DeKalb County property tax assessor’s office. In most cases, a review is going to take between one and three months to complete, but this can vary based on a range of factors. They will generally provide you with a written decision through the mail.
Hopefully, the review will prove that you were correct and that you should be paying less for your property taxes. That is not always the case. If the review is not a success, it does not mean that it is the end of the road for you. It is still possible to appeal the decision.
One of the other elements that you need to keep in mind when you are appealing your assessment is the small chance that your assessment could be raised if they discover that the mistake was appraising the property for too low of a value. This rarely happens, but you will want to be certain of the correct assessment of your home before you proceed with an appeal, just in case.
Also, if you are going to be selling the property soon, you should realize that a reduction in the assessment of the property could hurt your sale price. If the assessment is low, the new potential owners are not going to want to pay more than what the home is truly worth, naturally.
Hire a Professional to Help
You need and deserve a fair assessment, and the process of an appeal can be truly daunting to most people. Before you decide to go through with the appeal, you should consider hiring professionals for your property tax appeal. Those who have experience in the field working with residential properties such as yours are going to be a huge benefit. They can let you know whether you should be filing an appeal and your chance of getting a reduced assessment to help lower your taxes. Don’t try this alone; take the time to find someone who is ready to help with your tax needs today.
