I got a great e-mail from a client, Tim Smith, from Russel, Stell, Smith and Mattison, LLC, about assessments,

"Gwinnett is sending out 2008 notices of re-assessment.  This should cause a groundswell of opposition and appeals as they are using 2006-07 data in a still falling 2008 market.  For instance our home was $460K +/- for 2007; they’ve raised it to $506K for 2008---don’t I wish!

Anyway, if you’re looking for a topic to get folks to read the newsletter, a timely mention of the need to watch for those notices being mailed this week and only 30 days from the date of the notice (not when rec’d) to appeal should get their interest.  Not that you (or I for that matter) are appraisers who would stand to pick up substantial business from all the appeals that will come of this, but it would be a great reminder to all your recent purchasers or current listings to stay on top of this.

Even if they hadn’t raised my assessment I was going to challenge it because of the other nearby homes with substantially lower valuations."

I would hardly call the Metro Atlanta market a crisis area, but at the same time, during this mortgage mess it certainly doesn't help to have the tax assessors giving incorrect assessments.  You'd almost think the assessors are ex-Real Estate agents who used to overprice their listings!

If you're interested in the process of appealing your tax assessment click here.  

* NOTE *

For those folks that e-mailed, NO, the image in this blog is not Tim Smith's home.  This is what the tax assessor thinks of YOUR home! You can get more in Georgia, but not THAT much more.