Wednesday, June 29, 2011

TUCKER PATCH ARTICLE: Civic Duty: Appealing Your Property Tax Assessment

Originally Posted on June 28, 2011 at 8:41am
Author:  Cheryl Miller

**  As recommended by Representative Scott Holcomb  ***


Appealing Your Property Taxes: The Cell Tower Factor

Like most people, our property tax assessment recently arrived in the mail. As usual, it includes the most recent computer-generated estimated value of our home in Tucker, Ga. Tucker is divided between Gwinnett County and the portion where my husband and I live, which is in unincorporated DeKalb County.

We usually look it over and then file it away without any emotional response. This year, however, we were both in shock. Somehow, after 11 years of remaining either stable or increasing in value, the past 12 months resulted in a huge decline.

We soon learned we were not alone. Everyone we spoke to in our neighborhood received similar news. Many of our homes are now valued at less than half the amount they were a year ago.

“How is this possible?" one neighbor asked me while out walking her dog. The answer... it cannot be possible. Someone made a huge mistake because these numbers are just plain wrong! Sure, there have been a few foreclosures here, but not enough to make an impact this big.

My assessment - WRONG! My neighbor’s assessment - WRONG! Yours? Probably WRONG? Everyone else’s in the entire county? Probably WRONG!
So, what is the RIGHT thing to do?

I don’t really need to say this, but I will in case you are still in shock. You did not just hit the lottery. You do not have the right to keep this small “windfall” of money by way of lowered taxes. The government will not find the mistake and correct it. The only RIGHT thing to do is file an appeal.
It is easy to do. It can be done for FREE. You will feel much better about yourself when you have finished because you did not sit back and accept phony numbers, even if you thought they might help you.

Have we learned anything from the CRCT scandal where otherwise good people felt compelled to cheat? Didn’t we admonish the actions of former Superintendent Crawford Lewis and Pat Pope for cheating the school system for their own personal gain? Isn’t this sort of the same thing? Is this what we have become? Really? All of us?

I think we are better than that. I hope you will help in proving me right. We cannot be part of the problem. We should not proliferate another scandal. We are not numb to these actions where bad data is substituted for good data. In fact, we are hypersensitive to it now.

That’s why we all knew in our guts when we looked at our tax statements - something is wrong here. And when dishonesty is brought to our attention, I hope and pray we all do the right thing. We must appeal our taxes.

Let's show our leaders that we are paying attention. We will refuse to let them drag us into another scandal. We will do what is in our power to make sure our hands are clean.

Thank you, Mr. Mayor
You may have heard that Avondale Estates Mayor Ed Rieker has stated that DeKalb County's tax data for the city is flawed. I would like to thank him for speaking out and having the good sense to realize that something is definitely wrong here.
“There's no way these props can be down," Rieker said during a meeting called especially for this issue Tuesday, June 7. "This doesn’t make sense to me or anyone else."
He presented his findings in a meeting a couple weeks ago and the county’s only reported explanation was to blame it on the new state law. Really guys? A new law might cause you to calculate your numbers differently, but it can’t corrupt the results all by itself. You need human input for that.
At least they were quick to admit their mistakes… to Avondale’s Mayor. But what about the rest of us? Can we borrow your Mayor for a day so he can come over to Tucker and help us out, too?
"[DeKalb] is absolutely on board. These numbers are in error," Rieker said. "They committed that Avondale would have new numbers by [June 15], close of business."
Garbage In, Garbage Out
Just in case you are curious, here is a short list of errors I found with my assessment. I hope this inspires you to take a closer look at yours, too:
  • Incorrect number of bedrooms
  • Incorrect number of floors
  • Incorrect number of parking spaces (my single-family dwelling was reported to have 400 parking spaces making it appear as if I live in a condominium or apartment)
  • Incorrect square footage
  • And, when we pulled the sales data for our area, my husband noticed something very odd: several of the forclosure sales were listed multiple times contributing to a lower overall result. And, even some of the non-foreclosure, mid-range sales were listed two or three times. Eureka! We've found some faulty data here. Not sure why there wasn't someone in charge of reviewing these figures before they were mailed to the public. Maybe quality control isn't a top priority these days.
The form listed below will ask for the reason you would like to appeal. I think "incorrect data listed for my home" would work if you see some of the same issues that I did.
Or, you could simply say, “because the county has admitted faulty data as leading to incorrect values in other areas of the county. Therefore, I believe the data used in my assessment may be faulty as well.”

Appeal Today! It’s Easy! It’s Fun! It’s FREE!
Here are a few helpful links and tips:
A summary of the process: http://web.co.dekalb.ga.us/PropertyAppraisal/realSearch.asp

A form to simply fill out and mail back: http://web.co.dekalb.ga.us/PropertyAppraisal/forms/2011/REAppealForm.xls

They will also accept a basic letter as long as it includes a few key items. That is also explained on the first link above.

Note: You will be asked for your own estimate. Since we are not qualified tax experts, I doubt they will actually use our numbers, so don’t waste too much time on this one. This is not a good reason to delay your appeal. Here are some ideas for coming up with an answer for the “taxpayer’s estimate” question:
1. Use Last Year’s Property Value: After all, this was the last professional appraisal that is available.

2. Recalculate the Average: Look at the data that they provide on their website at: http://web.co.dekalb.ga.us/PropertyAppraisal/realSearch.asp. Highlight the errors such as any duplicate or triplicate entries or properties that should not be considered “similar” to yours (like condos being included in single-family home averages). Recalculate the average and submit that as your best estimate.

3. Contact your Realtor: Get a “market snapshot” or ask for an estimated selling price for your home.

4. Use a Reputable Real Estate Calculator: A well-known one can be found at http://www.zillow.com. Just note that Zillow does not include foreclosures in their home estimates, but they do show them to you. You can easily create a new estimate that combines both if you want to try to follow the logic the state law is using. Since you will not be using duplicated values, your estimate will likely be more accurate than the one provided to you by the county.
What’s in it for me?
Okay, I know what you might be thinking. If you are not planning to sell your home any time soon and you don’t really care if county services must be cut back or discontinued, why should you appeal?

First, we must all work together to ensure that our government remains fair and is not permitted to use faulty data as a measure for calculating taxes. Just because it appears the mistake is in your favor this time, does not mean it will be the next time. We cannot sit back and allow mistakes of this magnitude to happen by giving our silent consent.

Second, the trickle down effect of these mistakes is monumental. The county has already announced that there will have to be major cutbacks this year due to the lower amount of taxes that will be collected. That means job cuts and reduced quality in vital services. And, public education will again be faced with funding issues. That gives the green light for the school board's millage rate increase and let's them suggest "alternative" funding ideas. My largest concern is the one they will likely be voting on July 11 - placing dangerous cell towers on school grounds. They want our kids to play at recess right next to hazardous materials while unknown workers drive on and off the grounds all day, just like what has happened at a school in Maryland. Check this out: http://parentscoalitionmc.blogspot.com/2010/01/weasts-cell-tower-jungle-gym-for-kids.html.

Third, we can end all this talk about a TAX HIKE as a means for recouping some of this artificially (or accidentally) created loss of revenue. Here is an excerpt from the Atlanta Journal-Constitution:
The DeKalb County Commission on Tuesday announced a 4.5-mil tax hike , and then pledged to find ways to cut the increase before a final vote in July.

The commission must adopt its final tax rate by July 12 in order to get tax bills out by mid-August. The first payment would be due by Sept. 30 and the second and final installment by Nov. 15.

"We can't just hold our breath and hope to weather this for a year," Commissioner Jeff Rader said. "We have to structurally change our government for years to come. This is just the starting point."

No residents spoke out about the tax rate during Tuesday's public comment session. However, the county must hold at least three public hearings on the issue before its July vote. The first meeting is set for 10 a.m. July 5 at the Maloof Auditorium in Decatur.
So, if taxes go up and later your property value returns to normal, you will soon be paying a higher tax rate than ever before on the correct value of your home. The value that you knew all along was right. Keeping quiet will only hurt you in the end. It will hurt all of us.

I am not claiming to be an expert in this area. I am just a homeowner and taxpayer, same as you. Please join me in doing the right thing and filing your appeal today. And, I hope you will attend the tax hike public meeting noted in the excerpt above to explain why a tax hike is not needed this year. We all know deep down, wrongs do not make rights. Only people can make a difference.

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