Can you explain how the Fulton County Tax Assessor reached the assessment value on your commercial or residential property? Not a lot of owners are completely clear on the whole process. That is why they also think they cannot question or request an appeal on the amount the assessor determined. The good news is that you can ask for a revaluation from the Fulton County Tax Assessor, the bad news is that you can't do it just any time, and it takes some legwork to get it done.
Let's first understand when you can ask the office of the Fulton County Tax Assessor for that revaluation and then learn how it is accomplished. You already know that your assessments are done every single year. They occur every few years, and you get a notice when a new valuation amount is determined.
When you receive that notice, you have from 30 to 45 days to appeal it, and if you fail to make the request on time, the Fulton County Tax Assessor will be unable to do a second look for another few years. That is why it is of the utmost importance to always act very quickly on the new assessment. Whether it is too high, causing you to pay what you feel is an undo amount in taxes or it is too law, forcing you to sell a property below the rate you needed, the appeal has to be quick.
How the Fulton County Tax Assessor Reaches Valuations
Before we go into the details of just what to do next, it is helpful to understand how the Fulton County Tax Assessor determines the value on a commercial or residential property. It is actually due to an array of factors that can include (but is not limited to):
- The square footage of the building(s) on the property
- The size of the lot on which the building(s) stand
- Whether there are outbuildings such as garages and features like pools
- If the property is a residence, the number of baths, whether there is a finished basement and other factors go into the valuation
It is also common for comparison properties to be used to help with assessments. The values of neighboring properties are often considered in relation to your property and what you may have paid for it. In fact, just like so many other assessor's offices around the country, the office of the Fulton County Tax Assessor may be so busy that they do not visit every property. They may do your valuation using only printed data and comparison information.
Should their calculations be off, it is not something you should take personally. It is altogether too easy to make mistakes or for the Fulton County Tax Assessor to be unaware of changes to the property that might cause the valuation to go up or down. For example, you might own a commercial property that sustained great damage during a storm, and which has not yet been fixed due to any number of financial problems. This would, naturally drive down the value. Yet, if there was no visit inside or to the premises, the Fulton County Tax Assessor would not know about it.
So, rule number one is to never fly off the handle and go into the office in a fit of temper. Instead, understand that it is not unusual for assessors to use available data rather than individual inspections and visits to create valuations. Rule number two is to simply notify them that you intend to appeal within the deadline.
Assembling an Appeal
When you appeal, you also need to do a lot of data gathering and legwork of your own to ensure that you can prove to the assessor just why their valuation is so off the mark. That means it is up to you to build up that file of documentation, and it could include:
- A professional appraisal (this is actually a must)
- Maps or land surveys to prove acreage
- Architectural drawings to show things like number of baths, and so on
- Contractor's reports to show the amount and costs of any undone repair work
- Photos of anything that is causing the valuation to run high, but which might be a problem (such as a defunct pool)
As you can see, you must act fast because should you appeal, the appraisal won't be done with a single call. You will have to book an appointment and then get it done within the time available. You'll also have to do all of that data gathering, and find your own "comps". Just as the assessor might use comparisons, you can too. Find at least five properties similar to your own, and assessed at the level you feel your property should be, and submit that information, too.
Is it worth it? Surprisingly enough, some statistics show that the average amount by which valuations were reduced when the property owners appealed was a stunning 13%. So, if you do some quick math, you see that a tax bill of $4,000 reduced by 13% is $3,480. Over the course of only three years, though, that keeps more than $1,500 in your pocket!
If the cost of an appraisal is less than $500, you cannot go wrong having it done! In fact, you cannot afford to skip the opportunity to request a reassessment.
If you think some inadvertent errors occurred in the assessment you received from the Fulton County Tax Assessor, contact the team at Fair Assessments, LLC . They have more than two decades of experience in property valuation and tax reduction efforts. With commercial and residential clients, they have all of the knowledge you need to make and succeed in your appeal. They can save you all of the time and headaches that the whole appeal and submission processes can cause, and ensure that everything is done on time.
