A number of homeowners in Metro Atlanta recently received their 2020 property tax notice and some had a bit of sticker shock. We reached out to Daniel Thomas Jones, Managing Director of Fair Assessments, LLC to get his take on the latest trends he is seeing and answer some basic questions you might find of interest.
Q ~ Daniel can you tell us how much of an increase you are seeing in Fulton County Property taxes for 2020?
A ~ This varies widely. Some values have actually dropped below the 2019 value, others up 80% and everything in between.
Q ~ Can you tell everyone a little bit about your experience in dealing with the property tax appeal process?
A ~ I have been doing this work since 2004 but started my own business in 2010. We handle everything for our clients from start-to-finish. We file the appeal, develop a case for a lower value, we can talk to the assessment staff, and we always get these appeals resolved at the Board of Equalization so that it caps the value for three years.
Q ~ It seems like the process for many counties is flawed. Can you explain why there seems to be some obvious over valuations on properties from time to time?
A ~ The mass appraisal process they use is imperfect. They look at their value estimates on the properties that have sold in the neighborhoods. If on average the assessments (value estimates) are only 80% of the sale prices then they assume the entire neighborhood or market area is undervalued. The State of Georgia requires the counties to have a median sale ratio (ratio of assessment to sale price) of 90% or higher for the county as a whole. But the closer the median sales ratio of a neighborhood gets to 100% it is likely that half of the properties are overvalued.
Q ~ You have been doing this for some time now, what trends are you seeing in Metro Atlanta that you would like to share?
A ~ The effective date of appraisal for tax purposes is January 1 each year. So the 2020 assessments reflect the state of the economy in 2019. The market has been strong, backed by low interest rates, and it doesn’t look like the interest rate picture is going to change any time soon. Unfortunately the pandemic is not a reason your 2020 tax assessment should be lower.
If you feel your home has been improperly valued by the county you can file an appeal. Many homeowners have navigated the process on their own and you can look at your county Tax Assessors website for more information on how to appeal.
If you do not want to take the time to do the necessary research, file the paperwork, and and attend an appeal meeting in front of the county then we encouraged you to contact a valuation professional. Daniel Thomas Jones at Fair Assessment is someone we recommenced and can be reached at 404-618-0355 or dan@fair-assessments.com. You can also go directly to their website to start the appeal process.