Could Your DeKalb County Property Tax Be Wrong?

Posted by Daniel Jones on May 9, 2018 8:00:00 AM

DeKalb_County_Tax_Assessor1

Let's just jump to the answer posed in the title above and say "yes, the DeKalb County property tax you are billed for could be wrong." Now, let's take a few steps back and understand how that can happen and what can be done about it.

What to Do If You Think Your DeKalb County Property Tax Is Wrong

First things first, do a bit of double checking. For example, if it seems that your bill is suddenly substantially higher than it was in the past, it is probably because there was an inadvertent glitch in the new assessment. As a simple example, human error and typographical mistakes are two major reasons for dramatic changes or flaws in the amount on any assessments, including those in your DeKalb County property tax bill. You might have a plot of land around 1.5 acres, but some fast finger work on the keyboard made it 15 acres instead! That's easily corrected.

So, start the whole process by double checking the DeKalb County property tax bill to see if they made a basic mistake. Remember that such errors are never personal or all that unusual. Like all other tax assessors' offices in the U.S., the DeKalb County property tax assessor's office is very busy, and mistakes are just that - simple mistakes. You should approach anyone you speak with in a calm manner and set aside frustration or anger as no one intentionally errs on such issues.

"Okay," you might think, "but what if there doesn't seem to be human error and the amount on the DeKalb County property tax seems off?"

The good news is that you can always appeal the amount. Whether you feel it is too high or even too low (more on that in a moment), you have a small window of time to appeal the matter. In fact, experts in such issues noted that it is just plain "foolish" for any property owner not to appeal the tax assessment received. Why? Because, so the 2017 article explained, it is your one "free shot" at saving money and it can't hurt to try.

Because it is not done annually but on a periodic basis every few years, it can actually end up saving you a tremendous amount of money to appeal and get the amount reduced. If you are about to put a property on the market, though, and the tax assessment went down (thereby lowering the amount you can ask for the property), the appeal may also help you improve that situation, too.

Appealing Your DeKalb County Property Tax Assessment

So, how do you begin the process of appealing the DeKalb County property tax assessment? It is not at all complicated, but there is a caveat. You have 30 to 45 days to make your appeal. This means you cannot sit around thinking about making it, but actually take steps to let them know you wish for a review. Then, the work begins.

This is because it is up to you to pull together the documents you feel make your case. These are also some of the same documents or factors the DeKalb County property tax assessor's office used to formulate the assessment, and it pays to understand that a bit more. Essentially, your property is always going to be assessed on criteria such as:

  • The amount of land
  • The square footage of the building(s)
  • The total number of buildings
  • The overall conditions of the buildings
  • If it is residential, they look at the number of bathrooms, whether there is a pool, and if the basement is finished, among other issues
  • Similar properties in the same neighborhood, and particularly those sold recently

That last point is known as a "comp" and is a comparison of the price you originally paid for the property versus prices of similar properties in the area.

Thus, you can ask for the appeal based on any of those issues. Again, though, you have to prove that the data that they have or used is not accurate or equal to the amount they assessed. The list of materials you may need to present along with your appeal includes, a survey of the property, maps, architectural plans, insurance documents and anything else that demonstrates some key details that might alter the value the assessor determined. That might mean contractor's reports or estimates to explain how there are costly repairs needed to warrant the assessment value on the bill.

You also need to have comps, and your goal is to find similar properties at lower (or higher if that's your goal) values. This is more difficult than it sounds because it means going through all of the recent sales in the country and identifying at least five residential or commercial properties similar to your own.

Naturally, you might have read all of this and though, "No, it is too much effort for too little money." The point to remember, and as we noted earlier, is that your appeal is free money (if successful). Additionally, even if you get the amount reduced by ten percent or so of the original amount, that translates to tremendous savings between the current assessment and the next one in a few years.

Unfortunately, many property owners do not take action when they get the new assessment and feel it is wrong in some way. They might get annoyed and complain, but unless they act within that short span of time, they lose out on the ability to request the appeal. Of course, many procrastinate because of the amount of work required to submit an appeal on your DeKalb County property tax assessment. The good news is that there are experts who can handle it all.

Fair Assessments, LLC offers those in DeKalb County a team of experts with more than two decades of experience helping commercial and residential property owners appeal their property valuation and tax bills. They are skilled in home and commercial properties and emphasize the Atlanta metro area as well as helping commercial property owners in GA and FL. If you wish to appeal the amount your property was assessed just get in touch and get the process started!

Topics: DeKalb County Tax Assessment

property tax appeals

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