Tax season is coming around again, and many residents in Cobb County have questions. Of course, while the federal and state governments will be collecting their fair share over the coming months, the assessment of property in Cobb County has only just begun for this calendar year. Because of this, you may have some questions about how the value of your property is assessed and what you can do about it if you disagree with that assessment.
How Your Property is Assessed in Cobb County
In order to determine the Cobb County tax that you’ll need to pay, the county first begins with a series of property appraisals. These appraisals are conducted during the beginning of the calendar year and can last for some months. Staff of the Cobb County tax assessor will conduct site visits of properties to assess their value. In these visits, they’re more or less looking for new construction or any kind of improvements that have been made to the property that would raise its value.
That’s only one piece of the pie though. The most important part is in comparing your property to other similar properties in your neighborhood and in the general area. The Cobb County tax assessor will pay particular attention to homes that have been sold recently that are similar to yours. The sale price of these homes will go a long way toward determining the value that the tax assessor places upon your property. In addition to this, other market factors will be considered.
Is Your Property Assessed Correctly?
There’s no ironclad formula for placing a value on a property. Rather, the process of arriving at a value is highly subjective. That’s why you should absolutely examine the Cobb County tax assessor’s appraisal of your property to determine if it’s out of line. The best way you can determine this is by doing what the tax assessor does and examine similar homes in your neighborhood that sold recently. If the value that your home has been assessed and is out of line with what you discover through this research, then it may be worth filing an appeal of your home’s appraised value. Of course, it is only worth appealing if the savings in your Cobb County property tax outweighs the costs associated with filing an appeal.
Save Money on Your Cobb County Tax By Filing An Appeal
If you’ve determined that the appraised value of your home is not in line with similar homes in the area, then you should absolutely file an appeal. Doing so could allow you to save a significant sum of money on your Cobb County property tax. To do this, you will need to notify the Cobb County tax assessor that you’re appealing within 45 days of receiving your assessment notice. You can do this by submitting an appeal form to their office or by mailing them a letter that explains your appeal. Be sure to include relevant information about why you’re appealing and similar properties that you’ve located.
