There are reports that around 60% of the properties in the United States are assessed incorrectly. This means that those homeowners are probably paying more than they should in taxes. It might even mean that you are paying more than you should for your taxes. If you have received your tax information from the Cobb County tax assessor and you believe that your taxes are higher than they should be, you might be right. There is always the chance that the assessor might have been working with incorrect information or that there was an error when determining the value of your property for tax purposes.
Is the Property Tax Assessment Incorrect?
If you have found that the Cobb County tax assessor might have incorrectly valued your property, then it will go in one of two directions. It might mean that you are paying too much for your taxes, or it might mean that you are paying too little.
Now one likes the idea of paying more in taxes than they should be paying. They don’t want to spend money that is essentially being wasted, and that’s just what will happen if your property taxes are higher than they are supposed to be.
While it might seem like a bit of good luck to pay less in taxes if your property was valued too low, this could also become a big problem for you if you choose to sell your home. It means that the perceived value of the home, according to the county, will be lower. People who are looking to buy will find this information, and they will offer you less for your house. It means that you might not be able to sell the property for as much as your home is truly worth, at least not until you take care of the property value with the county.
Whether the value of the property was assessed as being too high or too low, you will need to find out why. You will also need to make sure that you appeal the findings of the Cobb County tax assessor within the timeframe that should be explained in the letter you receive from the assessor’s office.
If you believe that the assessment is not correct, understand that this was not done on purpose. The assessors have a large amount of work to do, as they need to provide values for all of the homes in the county. This means that they are using mass appraisals in most cases, and they are not visiting each home individually. When a mistake is made, it happens because of clerical errors and not because of malice. However, that does not always make it easier to bear or deal with. You still need to make sure you are taking care of these issues properly.
Make Sure the Information Is Truly Incorrect
Just because you believe that you are paying too much in taxes does not mean that’s the case. You will want to look at the property card or worksheet to look at the numbers and data that were used by the Cobb County tax assessor when they were valuing the property for tax purposes. Some of the types of data that they use include the square footage of the buildings, the size of the lot, the conditions of the property, features of the property, such as a garage or a pool, and comparable properties. These comparable properties, or comps, are those that are similar to your own home in terms of size and location, as well as features. The assessor will look to see the sale price of these homes during your assessment, which can help them to provide a better overall value for your property.
However, there is always a chance that there could be an error on any one, or several, of the data points that are being used for the valuation from the Cobb County tax assessor. Imagine how much of a difference there would be in the value of your home if the square footage were off by a decimal point. Imagine if they have information that claims you have three bathrooms and you only have one bathroom. Quite a few things could have caused the error, and the assessor will have no way of knowing unless you take action.
What Can You Do?
Fortunately, it is possible for you to appeal these errors. Typically you will have 45 days from the time of the mailing of your assessment to file the appeal. It is important that you file your appeal in time, or else you will have to wait until the following year to do anything. Never believe that it is just a small issue and that it isn’t a big deal, or that it would be too much of a hassle to take care of the appeal. If you let it go, it could mean that you are overpaying for your property taxes for years to come. This will add up, and there are surely better things you could be doing with that money.
Once you look at the worksheet for the property that was used by the Cobb County tax assessor, you can start to look to see just where the errors were made. If it was an incorrect amount of square footage, as mentioned in the example, this should be easy to determine. However, it can sometimes be more difficult to determine the exact problem. Still, take the time to look at the worksheet to see what mistakes might have been made, and then gather evidence that can back up your findings.
You will also find that the entire process will be far easier when you have some help. Contact those who have experience in this field and who can help to reduce your property taxes. Fair Assessments, LLC is a company with a wealth of experience in the field who can make dealing with the Cobb County tax assessor and getting the evidence you need much easier.
