It’s property assessment season again for DeKalb County. If you have property in this county, you have recently received your tax assessment and have until July 15th to file an appeal. Other area assessments will go out later in the year.
Property values have seen a steady increase in the last several years. Metro Atlanta properties have increased by an average of 9% this year alone. Your tax assessments will likely reflect this increase, causing your taxes to go up. If the assessors haven’t gotten around to increasing property values in your area, all the more reason to lock in the current rate before they get to you. In addition, many areas are seeing an increase in millage rates, adding more costs to your tax bill.
How do you avoid paying high taxes? Appeal, appeal, appeal. By appealing your taxes, you buy time to research other area properties, see if their assessments are on par with yours, and appeal if they are not. Even if you cannot find other area properties with lower assessments, it still makes sense to appeal as long as values continue to increase.
Why appeal:
1) Property values have increased another 9% in the past year, and are expected to continue climbing.
2) Property values are assessed on an average of current sales in your property’s area.
3) Most current sales are for properties that have been renovated to get the highest sales price.
4) Most rental properties should be assessed at lower values due to low cost turnovers versus high cost renovations generally done for sales.
5) You get a chance to show evidence that your property was overvalued.
6) Even if you can’t get your value lowered, by appealing, you can lock in the current rate for three years.
You have 45 days from the date of notice mailed (noted on your tax notice) to file an appeal. For DeKalb County, annual assessment notices were mailed out at the end of May. Fulton County notices will be mailed in July. Gwinnett County mails theirs the first week in April and Cobb County notices are usually mailed mid August.
There are several companies who can handle the appeal process for you. Compass does not handle appeals, but works with an experienced appeals expert who can handle your appeals for you. For more information, contact Alex at: alex@compassrent.com.
Compass has our owner’s best interests at heart. We believe it would benefit you to consider locking in your current rates and/or lowering those rates before property values rise even further and result in increased tax assessments.