DeKalb County School Commissioner Nancy Jester will be hosting a public meeting on Wednesday July 1st at Dunwoody City Hall to discuss the procedure for appealing your property value assessment. I am guessing that she will be joined by her husband and DeKalb County School Board Member Stan Jester as he posted instructions on the appeal process on his
FactChecker Stan Jester blog.
How To Appeal Your DeKalb County Property Value Assessment
Wednesday 1 July, 2015 7.00pm - 8.30pm
Dunwoody City Hall 41 Perimeter Center East, Dunwoody, GA 30346
http://factchecker.stanjester.com/2015/06/4349/
(Note: By reading this blog, you agree this site should not be used
as a substitute for obtaining legal advice from a licensed attorney.)
Rising property values have created a windfall in tax collections.
School tax assessments are based on the full appraised value and are
not subject to the assessment freeze that limits the value upon which
the county and cities can levy taxes. So, any increase in your assessed
value will translate into increased school taxes but may or may not
increase your county/city government taxes. In addition to feeling the
full effect of rising property values through school tax collection,
DeKalb has the
2nd highest millage rate in the state at 23.98 mills.
Georgia law requires that all personal property be appraised annually at its fair market value. The
DeKalb County Property Appraisal Department
has an automated computer system appraising property values. When you
receive the Annual Assessment Notice, if you do not agree with the
Current Year Value, you have 45 days to appeal.
Appeal of Assessment Form.
Before Getting Started
Approach this clinically and understand how the county values
your property. Do your homework and collect documentation. Understand
how the process works and what to expect in your 15 minute BOE hearing.
This should be a relatively painless exercise.
Go to
DeKalb County Property Search
and check the accuracy of information the County has about your home.
The “Digest Year” is the year you received the Assessment Notice, 2015
in this case. The Appraisal Year is Jan 1st thru Dec 31st for the year
your house is being appraised, 2014 in this case. When talking about
Property Value, that includes the value of your home.
Valuation
Property owners may appeal based on Uniformity and/or
Valuation. Valuation uses the purchase price of similar homes sold
during the Appraisal Year. Square footage of the house and lot size as
well as the number of bedrooms and bathrooms are the key. Foreclosed
homes are valid comps, but the assessors often neglect to include them
in the comps.
Comparables
Your property will be compared to 3 recent “resales” in your area known as Comps. Use
Zillow.com
to find the comps in your area that sold during the Appraisal Year.
Selecting “Recently Sold” will display a yellow dot for all the
recently sold houses around you. Be sure to only use homes sold during
the Appraisal Year.
Uniformity
Uniformity compares the assessed value of the property to the
assessed value of other properties in the same neighborhood. Calculate
the price per square foot for all the houses around you in your
neighborhood. Get the average and compare that to the price per square
foot of your house. Note the lot size could affect the final assessed
value.
Documentation
Write a letter explaining why you are appealing your
appraisal. Like a court case, include exhibits with facts, figures and
pictures. Label the exhibits and refer to them in your letter. The
more documentation you have the better.
Appeal of Assessment Form (
download here)
- Digest Year: 2015
- Appeal Type: Real
- Specifiy Grounds for Appeal: Check “Value” and “Uniformity” (This gives you the option to argue either one)
- Path: Check “BOE” (The Boards of Equalization is free)
- Property Owner Comments: Declare what you believe is the fair market value of your property and a short summary why.
- Property Class: Residential
- Sign it
- Owner Declared Value: Take this question seriously and do some
research before answering. In your BOE hearing you will be asked how
you arrived at that number.
- Attach documentation
- Mail to:
Property Appraisal Department
120 West Trinity Place, Room 208
Decatur, GA 30030
Process
By virtue of filing an appeal you will receive a 15% reduction
of the appraised value automatically. The Board of Assessments (BOA)
will acknowledge receipt of the appeal by mail. Eventually, the Staff
Appraiser reviews the property value and any owner concerns mentioned in
the letter of appeal. The BOA reviews the appeal, renders a decision,
and notifies the property owner in writing within 180 days.
When you receive the decision from the BOA, you are given the option
to agree or refer the appeal to the Board Of Equalization (BOE). If you
agree, that value will be valid for one year and the process stops
here.
You can disagree and select to take it to the BOE. When you get the
BOE hearing notice with the hearing date, call the BOA and ask for the
Residential Sales Comparables Inventory and Account Value Summary they
used to appraise your property. This document will be the basis for the
BOA’s case. At the BOE hearing, ask to hear the BOA case first. Take
notes and address each item they present. Make 5 copies of all the
documentation you have. When it’s time to present your case, distribute
them to the interested parties. This shows them you are prepared,
organized, have done your diligence, and have approached this in an
objective manner. Walk them through the differences in the properties
and the costs that would be required to get your property up to the
value of the comps provided by the BOA.
Once you have finished, if they believe you have made a case they may
begin to negotiate with you on a compromised value. Or they may thank
you and inform you that you will receive a letter with their decision
within “X” weeks. If the latter is the case, you can ask to stay for
their deliberation so that you can hear their thoughts. However, you
cannot speak during this time. They will discuss their thoughts and
advise the County’s Appraiser of their decision which will then be
officially provided to you via mail.
If you take it to the BOE, the property value that comes out of that
proceeding will last for 3 years. It doesn’t hurt to take whatever
decision to the BOE, most of the time it will be the same or less than
what the BOA came back with and it will be good for 3 years.
If it goes to the BOE, it will be a year before everything is said
and done. The final assessed value will be retroactive to the Digest
Year.
