I reduced my property taxes by $900 per year

and so can you!

Property values are down.  We all know that fact.  So there is no better time to fight your tax assessment than this year.  Many feel 2012 is the year values stabilize and begin to increase. 

I have fought my property tax assessment three times.  Twice resulting in a reduction of value – the third time I was able to freeze the existing value for two years.  The biggest reduction lowered the valuation on my property by nearly $70,000 which translated into almost $900 per year savings. 

I want to share with you how I did it and how I may be able to help my clients and friends.   

Here is the process in summary:

1)      All Georgia counties are required to send an Annual Assessment Notice by July 1 each year.  Some counties will be sending these out in March 2012. 

2)      You have 45 days to mail or hand-deliver a letter stating you intend to appeal.  You can attach supporting documentation and suggest a new value if you like.

3)      The Board of Assessors will either agree or disagree (in my opinion, you’ll never actually get what you want with this step, you have to take it to the next step)

4)      If they agree, they will change your value

5)      If they do not agree, most homeowners get a choice of two avenues of appeal: The Board of Equalization or Binding Arbitration.

Board of Equalization (BOE):

Although it sounds intimidating, it really is not.  The BOE is made up of three citizens, not county officials, that hear supporting data from you and a representative of the property assessor’s office and makes an unbiased decision.

Binding Arbitration:

In this method, the homeowner pays for a certified appraisal and submits to the Board of Tax Assessors (BTA) along with a fee.  If the BTA accepts the value, you win.  If not, then an arbitrator decides.  The “loser” pays the arbitrator’s fee.

I believe the BOE is the best option for most homeowners.  Here are a few reasons why I think a hearing in front of the BOE is the best way to fight your taxes:

1) I found the members of the BOE to be homeowner-friendly.  Here are three citizens getting paid almost nothing to sit and listen to one person after another complain about their property taxes.  I believe most people they hear are thoroughly unprepared.  If you approach the hearing prepared and professional, your chances are good.  Advantage – Homeowner.

2) If you appeal your valuation, your hearing date will most likely not be scheduled until late 2012.  This is a big advantage for you.  The representative from the property assessor’s office will have three “representative” property sales from 2011 to support their case.  The 2012 tax assessment is based on sales between January 2011 and December 2011.  You will be able to look at sales data for 2012 and see if it helps your cause.  I was able to use one property in particular that sold the current year to prove my case.  This is so important because the representative will not be able to discredit your finding because he/she will not have current year data.  Advantage – Homeowner.

3) The BOE members told me they make their decision by the end of each day.  This means there is not a whole bunch of time to research.  If you can make a compelling argument, your chances are good.  Advantage – Homeowner.

The key to reducing your assessment is providing the right supporting documentation.  Here is what you will need:

1. Information on recent sales.  Once again, the 2012 property assessment will be based on sales in 2011.  So, you need a list of all sales that took place from January 2011 to now.  You can get this information from the real estate agent you worked with when buying the home or I will be happy to assist you.
2. Analysis of the sales information.  Get a map of your neighborhood.  Plot the sales data and determine where homes sold and look for trends in prices.  I was able to show that one side of the neighborhood sold for more than the other side (I do not think is really the case in my neighborhood but the sales worked out that way so I used it to my advantage).
3. Make a case for why the homes with higher sales prices have features your home does not and why the homes with lower sales prices are comparable to yours.  This is where your creativity comes into play.  I took pictures of two lower priced homes and was able to show the members of the BOE that they were very similar.
4. For sales in 2012, do a quick look to see if any of the properties were over-assessed.  I found one that was assessed for $10,000 more than the actual sales price.  I think this was the best evidence I had.  Property valuation data can be obtained on the county’s website.

It may seem like a bunch of work, but I think I spent about three hours to prepare my analysis.  If you win, the county can’t raise the taxes again for a certain number of years (varies by county). 

Here are the some of the county websites:

Fulton

Dekalb

Cobb

Gwinnett

Cherokee

Clayton

Forsyth

Walton

Henry

Rockdale

Dawson

In summary, if you think your property assessment is too high, go after it.  If you need assistance obtaining sales data, I can help you.  Please share your experiences.  I will pass along pertinent information to others.

Best of Luck,

Bob Bregitzer

Southeast Mortgage

678-478-5472