Have you received your property tax assessment in the mail this year? If you are like so many others out there, you might have looked at the amount that you owe and then stuffed it into a drawer somewhere to pay later. You might not have taken the time to think about how much it says you owe to get a sense of whether the DeKalb County tax assessor might have made a mistake or not. If you did not take this time, you could find that you are making a huge mistake of your own. After all, even though they might strive to be accurate, there is still a chance that they could have made a mistake.
Is It Possible for the Assessments to Be Inaccurate?
There are many who blindly believe what they are told, and they do not realize that the government can certainly make mistakes when it comes to the taxes they need to pay. You should never simply assume that the valuation of the property is correct. Never assume that the reason you are paying more in taxes this year is because of a change in the market. It could be due to actual errors, or that have always been there and were simply never caught.
Because the DeKalb County tax assessors have so many homes that will need to be assessed, they are unable to visit each of these residences individually. They will instead utilize mass appraisals, and they will use information that is already on the record about the properties that are being appraised. They make the assumption that the information in those records is correct, but that is not always the case. If there is an error in the amount of square footage on the property, this will reflect in their assessment.
Let’s look at an example of how this might occur. If you have a property that is 1.0 acres, but the documentation has the decimal point moved to make it appear that you have 10 acres, your property taxes will be substantially higher. There could be other types of clerical errors that make their way into the paperwork, as well. For example, they might believe that you have more bathrooms than you have, or that you have a garage when you don’t.
Because of the potential for errors like this to occur, it is important for everyone who has a property to look at their tax information each year. Even if you don’t believe that there is a problem, just look at the information. If anything seems out of place, you will want to make sure that you look a bit closer. You should check the worksheet or property card that was used to get the information used in your assessment. Look for errors and when you find issues, be sure to file an appeal.
You will have a finite amount of time in which you can file the appeal, so the sooner the better. Once you receive your tax information, look at the date of mailing and the limitations that should be mentioned in the letter letting you know how long you have to file an appeal. If you do not meet this deadline for filing an appeal, you will have to wait until the following year.
In addition, once you file for an appeal, you will be provided a date for your hearing. It is very important that you remember this date and that you make it to the hearing with your evidence.
Why Bother Appealing?
What if you believe that the DeKalb County tax assessor only made a small mistake? You might see that you are only paying a relatively small amount of additional taxes, and you may be wondering if it will really be worth the hassle of filing an appeal or not. Even if it does not seem like a lot of money right now, think about how much it will be over they years if the mistake is not corrected. You could end up wasting many thousand of dollars that could have been better used somewhere else.
Even though it might cost some time and effort on your part to go through an appeal, you will find that it will be worth it. Saving money and making sure that your taxes are correct is the best course of action. However, it does not mean it is always easy, and you may find that you want to get some help with it.
Choosing the Right Professionals for Help
As you can see, you have quite a few things to consider when you are filing your appeal. You need to understand how to determine whether the assessment from the DeKalb County tax assessor was correct or not, and you need to learn how and where to locate the evidence you need for your appeal. Working with a professional in this field will help to make it all much easier for you. However, you do need to be sure you are working with someone who is worth your time and money.
When you are choosing help, one of the first things that you should consider is how long they have been in business and the type of experience that they are bringing to the table. Do they have experience with providing real estate valuation? Do they have experience with appeals and with helping people to reduce their property taxes?
Those who need to appeal the findings of the DeKalb County tax assessor will want to act as soon as possible. Get the professionals in and helping you with filing the appeal and gathering evidence quickly, so you can get it all squared away. Those who are in DeKalb County can get into contact with Fair Assessments, LLC for help. The company has a wealth of experience in this field and is ready to help those who are in need of getting fair assessment for their property.
