The DeKalb County tax assessment notices are out and dated May 29, 2012. The deadline to appeal your 2012 value is July 13, 2012. The tax amount at the bottom of the notice is an estimate based on the 2011 tax rate and is subject to change. The DeKalb County tax assessment notice, as is the case with all Georgia assessment notices, is not a bill.
Wow. Just like last year, there are some wild and wacky value changes in DeKalb County tax assessments. Values dropped almost 50% on my street. Across the way values declined 17%, and just south 1/2 mile values were increased approximately 20%. A similar situation was seen last year at this time. Check that blog post here. Although the DeKalb County budget is in disaray it would be nice at some point if the DeKalb County tax assessment department gave us the sales information that they are using.
Take a look at the new Fulton and Gwinnett County Assessor's websites. There you can look up your property description and value information and also look at the sales data that the assessors used to establish your value estimate. Although some county employees think that giving the taxpayers more information is just asking for trouble, I don't see it that way.
If you give the taxpayers access they can help the assessors correct misinformation. Initially there may be a rush to appeal and get property description information corrected, but eventually, the more transparent the mass appraisal process is, the fewer appeals will be filed, in my estimate. If you need help getting your DeKalb County tax assessment reduced, contact us!
There is just over a week remaining to appeal your commercial Cobb County property tax assessments. The Cobb County property tax assessors took the first opportunity to increase values in several years to heart and jacked up a lot of commercial values. I have filed appeals on commercial values that have increases as high as 115%!
Most commercial property owners will say that we are still in recession, but not the Cobb County property tax assessors. I have clients that are teetering on the edge of insolvency but everything is looking up at 736 Whitlock Avenue! Maybe they haven't noticed that vacancy rates haven't improved. Maybe they haven't heard that tenants can still demand lower rent payments on the legitimate threat of moving to a lower cost building.
The capitalization rates they are using are insanely low. A mom and pop neighborhood retail center (no national or regional tenants) in Kennesaw, GA is getting a capitalization rate as if it were a Publix anchored center in the middle of Buckhead! Doesn't anyone realize that the capitalization rates they are getting from national publications are geared toward institutional grade investments? Is Kennesaw really the best location in the Atlanta metro area?
Save your money! Appeal your Cobb County property tax assessment.
DeKalb County tax assessments will be mailed on May 29th according to a report by the AJC. This will make the tax assessment appeal deadline July 13th. The DeKalb County Tax Assessment office reports that values (assessments) dropped six percent for the 2012 tax year. There continues to be value weakness throughout the Atlanta metro area.
The DeKalb County Board of Equalization (BOE) continues to struggle under the weight of the 2011 tax assessment appeals that are still unresolved. I was just engaged to do a hearing on June 6 for a homeowner that cannot attend their 2011 hearing. Anyone of right mind would not want to attend one of these hearings as it is first come, first served, and too many hearings are scheduled for each morning or afternoon.
Those who are familiar with the DeKalb County Board of Equalization's new proceedures get to the start of the hearings at least one hour early. Even then there is no guarantee you will be heard early. It depends on whether many of the appellants that show up are there to argue with the same appraiser as you are, as the county appraisers work specific geographic areas. I have gone in there at 12pm for hearings that start at 1pm and didn't get out until 3pm.
The DeKalb County tax assessment office should change the way they operate. They spend way too much time working appeals at the Tax Assessor level before sending them on to the BOE. If the appellant doesn't supply supporting information with their appeal, and I often don't, then the appeal should be sent to the BOE without delay. This is what Cobb County does, and Gwinnett is quick to forward appeals to the BOE as well. Cobb and Gwinnett finished their 2011 appeals a long time ago. DeKalb continues to plod along at a snails pace.
Fulton County Tax Assessors have released the dogs, I mean the 2012 property tax assessment notices. All that I have seen were dated yesterday May 14 and have an appeal deadline of June 28. There isn't a big rush to get these filed as the Fulton Tax Assessor staff is busy working 2011 tax appeal hearings at the Fulton County Board of Equalization.
The Fulton County Board of Equalization (BOE) is always inundated with appeals every year as it can be difficult to get substantial relief from the Tax Assessor's staff. In addition, many people (inluding myself) prefer to have our appeals settled at the Fulton County Board of Equalization due to the property tax law known as 299C. This is a section of the Georgia property tax law that states if your appeal is settled at the BOE or Superior Court, the value should be frozen for three years, unless you change the property or file a return at a different value.
This law is vague however and some counties (Cobb) have used this vagueness to change values the year after BOE decisions. Approximately ten years ago, when I was working for Fulton County, the Chief Appraiser tried to change BOE values as Cobb County has done. However, when the appeals reached the BOE the property owners and their agents cried foul and the BOE changed the values back to the previous year values.
At any rate, I recommend that most people choose the Fulton County Board of Equalization as their second level of appeal because it is free of charge. It may take a long time to get your 2012 appeal settled this way, but there aren't many ways around that. Go ahead and file and prepare your appeal using data from 2011, as the effective date of appraisal in Georgia is January 1.
The Georgia property tax assessment season is now well under way with many metro Atlanta county tax assessment notices already out. First out of the gate was Gwinnett County with an appeal deadline of May 21. Next came Cobb County with an appeal deadline of June 4. Last week Hall County mailed tax assessment notices with a deadline of June 11. Fulton County is expected to mail notices some time this month, as is DeKalb County.
2011 was the last year of a moratorium on assessment increases and from the Georgia property tax assessment notices I have seen, the assessors are not holding back on handing out increases in assessment. Georgia property tax assessment law now requires that all counties in the state give taxpayers 45 days to appeal their tax assessments. Some counties used to give you 30 days to appeal, but no more.
Georgia law still requires that if you bought your property in 2011 the 2012 property tax assessment be no higher than the sale price. This includes properties that were purchased in foreclosure and through short-sales. Essentially all distressed sales must now be considered by the tax assessors and must have an impact on Georgia property tax assessment.
If you would like a free guide to appealing your Georgia property tax assessment click on Georgia property tax appeals. If you would like a Georgia property tax appeal form click on Georgia tax appeals. If you would like a 30% discount on the normal rate we charge to do all of the Georgia property tax assessment appeal work for you click on 30% off tax appeal service.
