The bells were tolling for the Fulton County Taxpayers Foundation in December of 2012 when the AJC reported that the nonprofit was on the verge of collapse. Apparently spending exceeded donations by a large margin and heads needed to roll. I reported in this blog that they had ended property tax appeal work at the Foundation. 

However, I have spoken to two members of the Fulton County Taxpayers Foundation this week and the property tax appeal work has not ended. The problem was the Foundation was short on cash and unable to pay the appraisers that were working the appeals. The Foundation kept asking the Fulton County Board of Equalization to reschedule the appeals so they wouldn't incur the monetary obligation to the appraisers.

It is almost property tax appeal time again in DeKalb County GA. The DeKalb County tax assessor will be sending out 2013 property tax assessment notices soon. One of the DeKalb County appraisers told me a week ago that the envelopes were in but they weren’t quite ready to print the assessment notices yet. DeKalb County tax assessor is implementing a new mass appraisal system this year. This is a computer assisted mass appraisal system, which stores all of the property data and also has several different approaches to value built in so that they can appraise the property. It remains to be seen if they will get the property tax assessment notices out soon, or whether it will be a little later in the month. Last year DeKalb County tax assessor notices went out at the end of May.

The DeKalb County Board of Equalization is still holding hearings on 2012 values. They will probably continue holding hearings on 2012 values even after the 2013 values have been mailed. I think things at the DeKalb County Board of Equalization or moving along nicely, though. Compared to last year, going to the Board of Equalization is a dream. The past two years the hearings have been on a first-come-first-serve basis. Last year when you showed up early for a hearing you found scores of other people already there in a sweltering hot room. This year the Board of Equalization hearings appear to be moving along a little better and they are not scheduling nearly as many people on the same day.

It is property tax appeal time in the great state of Georgia and Atlanta hotels have been through an awful time during the Great Recession. Although much of the commercial real estate sector is now on the upswing and cap rates have been falling, hotels still have some of the highest cap rates of any commercial property class. I know many hotel owners who continue to tell me that the hotel market is still bad. If your gross revenue is down and your operating expense ratio has shrunk, and there appears to be no end to your nonexistent net operating income, then the Great Recession is not over.

Real Estate Research Corporation (RERC) stated in their most recent report that demand for hotels and a lack of new supply makes the hotel sector a good investment opportunity. But they also went on to say that replacement cost is higher than value. As a result, development capital is not readily available. RERC's required pre-tax yield rate for the hotel sector decreased in the fourth quarter, although it retained the highest yield rate among the property sectors. According to Smith Travel Research fourth quarter hotel occupancy declined to 45.4%, a 7.2% year-over-year decrease, the average daily rate fell 1.6%, and revenue per available room declined 8.7% to $68.43. Apparently lack of new supply is not helping out the existing hotels.

You asked for the best and you got it! Property tax appeal options. In our continuing efforts to be the property tax appeal resource center we have established several options for single family residential property tax appeals. We know that some of you don't have the time or resources to develop a property tax appeal case and aren't all motivated by the same cost/benefit profile. As a result of numerous inquires on what we charge, and the desire for other payment options, we now have four different single family residential tax appeal services options.

For those that are averse to contingent fees because you dont know, ultimately, how much you will pay, we now have a Gold Level flat fee option. For a one-time $350 fee Fair Assessments will perform the work it is known for. Regardless of tax savings generated there are no additional fees (unless you want to file your appeal to court).

The Hall County tax assessor sent out year 2013 property tax assessment notices on April 14. The appeal filing deadline for all counties in Georgia is now 45 days, so you have until May 27 to file a Hall County property tax appeal. A client of ours was thoroughly shocked when he got his 58% increase in Hall County, GA property tax assessment for tax year 2013. This was a community retail center, so it will be interesting to see if the Hall County tax assessor hit just certain property types, or whether many properties throughout Hall County, GA, were increased in value.

It is possible that the Hall County tax assessor is sticking it to commercial property owners and giving residential property owners a break. It has yet to be seen. During the recovery from the great recession the commercial real estate sector has been doing quite well, due to the low level of interest rates in the economy and institutional money seeking out higher rates of return with relative safety. Commercial real estate, especially the apartment sector has been especially desirable for institutional money and all commercial real estate capitalization rates have fallen since the height of the recession.

The Cobb County apartment market has been on fire in recent years due to the high number of foreclosures and families losing their homes. Despite attractive interest rates, home buyers remain on the sidelines due to stringent mortgage underwriting. It has really been the perfect storm for apartment communities. Now that the great recession is supposedly behind us and the Georgia tax assessors are able to increase values, you can expect apartments to be in the crosshairs of the Cobb County tax assessor.

In the fourth quarter of 2012 Real Estate Research Corporation shows that apartment properties in the Atlanta Metro area have an average going-in capitalization rate of 6.4%. This is the lowest capitalization rate that they reported for any commercial property class in the Atlanta area. This cap rate is for first tier investment properties, which are defined as new or newer quality construction in prime to good locations.

Gwinnett County Tax Assessor notices did go out on April 5th as evidenced by 28 assessment notices I have been sent. The appeal period in Georgia is 45 days in all counties and that makes the appeal deadline in Gwinnett May 20th. This is the last day that your property tax appeal can be postmarked or hand delivered.

I have value changes on approximately 14% of the notices that I have received. Two values decreased, two increased, and 24 had no change in value. No change in assessment isn't necessarily a blessing, especially if your value has remained unchanged for several years and it has not been appealed. In 2012 we appealed many values in Gwinnett County that hadn't changed since the start of the Great Recession. We were able to get most of these reduced.

The Cobb County tax assessor is gearing up to send out 2013 assessment notices to all property owners in Cobb County, Georgia. Last year the Cobb County tax assessment notices came out two weeks after the Gwinnett County notices and we'll see if that happens again. Gwinnett County was sending out their 2013 notices on Friday, April 5. Last year we filed our Cobb County property tax appeals very early during the 45 day appeal period and our board of equalization hearings were scheduled very early in the process. You can realize tax savings quickly if you do the same.

There's a good chance that the Cobb County tax assessor will be looking at flex/warehouse properties for the 2013 revaluation adjustments. According to Real Estate Research Corporation (RERC), institutional investors see the industrial sector as a good investment and they suggest that as the economy improves the industrial sector has the most potential upside. However, the flex sector was not seen as desirable as the industrial warehouse sector. According to CBRE, industrial vacancy declined to 12.8% during the fourth quarter of 2012, and over the past two years the industrial market has shown a steady decline and availability.

The Gwinnett County tax assessor was first out of the gate in 2012 when their notices were released on April 6, 2012. It remains to be seen whether they will be the first out again in 2013, but my guess is yes! (Update, they were!) It is officially tax time here in the great state of Georgia and everyone in Gwinnett County should be on the lookout for a 2013 property tax assessment notice. I know that last year people in the Gwinnett County tax assessors commercial section were saying that they thought their full service hotel values were too low, so I think you may see those rise.

If you're like many office building owners you pass through many of your expenses to your office tenants. Many of you probably prorate the property tax and send it on to each of your tenants. Although property tax changes based on the millage rate and the assessed value of the property, property taxes are considered a fixed expense. However, if you can get this fixed expense reduced you may be at a competitive advantage compared to your office building competition.

Of the major commercial property types in the Atlanta area office buildings have the highest vacancy rates at over 20%, according to Realty rates.com. This means there are tens of millions of square feet of office space available throughout the Atlanta metropolitan area. Office tenants that are flexible on where they are located have an opportunity to save money by changing their location.