In Florida, property owners have the right to appeal decisions they feel are unfair. Filing a petition to the county Value Adjustment Board can be done in a number of circumstances including:

• When in disagreement with the property appraiser's assessment of your property's value
• When you have experienced a denial of your application for an exemption including as a homestead, as a veteran, or as a senior citizen.
• When receiving a denial of your application for any property classification such as agricultural or historic.
• When you have been denied your application for tax deferral.

If this happens, you can take one or more of the following steps:

According to Georgia state law all property tax assessment notices were to be in the mail by July 1. That means for some counties the property tax appeal deadline will be mid August. Most of the Metropolitan Atlanta counties had appeal deadlines that have already passed. If you didn't get your Georgia tax appeals filed in a timely manner there's always next year. Also, according to George state law you will be getting an assessment notice every year.

The bottom in the real estate market has been called over and over again since the market peak in 2007. Once again, the so-called experts are out in force, saying that the data doesn't lie, the housing market is in recovery. But with an unemployment rate that is still over 8% and economic shocks, such as European debt crisis and the fiscal cliff, looming at the end of this year I doubt there will be any sort of robust recovery in the housing market.

Your DeKalb County tax assessment appeal deadline for 2012 is July 13, or this coming Friday. You can get the uniform Georgia property tax appeal form by clicking on the link. Your DeKalb County tax assessment appeal only needs to be post-marked by July 13, and I recommend that you send this certified mail. Many people are unaware that you do not have to pay for a return receipt when you send certified mail. If anyone ever denies having received something you sent certified mail you can go to the post office and pay for the (electronic) signature after delivery.

The DeKalb County tax Assessors have caused quite a stir this year in that many taxpayers were dismayed to see their tax assessments rise to heights or sink to depths they thought impossible. It would not surprise me if some taxpayers appeal because they think their values are too low, especially those people that are trying to sell their houses. Real estate appraisal is an inexact science and the mass appraisal process the assessors use is even more questionable. For some reason, however, people look at the tax assessment when they are buying a home. 

In regard to Florida property tax assessment, all real and personal property in Florida and all personal property belonging to residents of Florida is subject to local property taxes, unless the property is specifically exempted. Property is assessed for each calendar year according to its value on January 1. The state is prohibited from imposing a property tax on real estate or tangible personal property. However the state does impose a property tax on intangibles. Real property is defined as land, buildings, fixtures and all other improvements to land.

Florida property tax assessment law requires that property is assessed at its just valuation, which is determined by considering the property's present cash value, highest and best use, location, size, cost, including the present replacement value of any the improvements, condition, and income, as well as the net proceeds of the sale of the property, after deduction of all reasonable fees and costs and allowing for unconventional financing arrangements. A County appraiser is required to physically inspect all property every five years, although the owner or taxpayer may request an earlier inspection.