Property value appeal

[kwelhand]

I got a house and also a small commercial property in Gwinnett county.
Just got property tax value letters from the county and I almost spit out my drink.
Almost every 2 years or so Gwinnett county raised my damn property tax and I'm sick of it.

Does anyone know any good & reputable local property tax appeal company who handles Gwinnett county area?
Any tips or advice on tax appeal in Gwinnett county?

Many thanks in advance.

 

[Vincent Vega]

Almost every 2 years or so Gwinnett county raised my damn property tax and I'm sick of it.

Me too brother. The process of appeal is really easy and I believe you can do it yourself. I don't know how a property tax appeal company is compensated (percent of tax reduction, flat fee, etc) but their fees may eat considerably into any tax reduction you may recognize. Should you decide to file the appeal yourself this may be helpful:

https://www.gwinnettcounty.com/port...sessorPropertyAppraisal/TaxAssessorFAQs#value

I appealed mine last year with Gwinnett County and they reduced my value by about 10% upon appeal. I had requested a 20% reduction based on comparables provided to me by a real estate agent buddy of mine. The tax assessors met me half way and I was not happy but I accepted it since I believe the next step in the process would have been a visit before the Board of Equalization or onsite visit should I have not accepted. I wasn't too thrilled with the thought of an onsite visit or having to trot out in front of the BOE.

You have a couple of options. You can spend the money and get an independent appraisal of your properties. That adds a great deal of support for your appeal but it does cost money. I wasn't willing to spend the $300 or $400 for the appraisal since I wasn't convinced it would have reduced my property tax by more than the cost of the appraisal. Your situation is likely different due to the residential and commercial properties you own. If you know a real estate agent, you can request they pull the comps like I did. That would at least give you a good feel for the reasonableness of the appraisal performed by Gwinnett County. The Gwinnett County Tax Assessor is supposed to use comps for your specific area but to be honest with you, I'm pretty sure they don't. As I mentioned, I used the comps to support my appealed value.

Remember you only have 45 days and the clock is ticking....Hope this helps and good luck!

 

[Nonliberal]

@Cobalt 60 is a real estate attorney. He may know something about it.
He is currently helping me work out some real estate value issues.

 

[BHJ]

It's not that hard. The SOBs do make sure it's something you have to do every year though. Mine fell through the cracks last year when one of the kids brought up the mail and stuck it in a drawer instead of the mail basket it should have been put in and I had to pay based on their kooky appraised value.

All you have to do is find a couple of properties for sale close to you that are similar say you're dealing with a 3 BR 2 bath then find a couple close to you with low values that are for sale and print the ads and take em with you. ( you can go to Zillow and put in your zip code for comps and see the asking prices in your neighborhood pick the low ones and print)
Last time I don't even think I had to have that when I went but just drove to Lawrenceville and filled out a form. It only takes a couple of minutes and I think every appeal I saw went through with no problem In my opinion they are just taking advantage of those who cant, or wont drive to Lawrenceville and fill out the form and taxing the heck out of em.
Don't worry This seems to be something you'll have to do every year. With the current values It makes me wonder if the tax assessor has bumped their head.
I darn sure wish they would make me an offer equivalent to their appraisal. I'd sell in a heartbeat.

Piece of cake no lawyer or real estate agent needed. Just a trip to Lawrenceville and well worth it.
Here's a link but I never had to go through the inspections or other BS and won my appeals each time.
https://www.gwinnettcounty.com/port...xAssessorsOffice/TaxAssessorPropertyAppraisal

 

[Vincent Vega]

Just a trip to Lawrenceville and well worth it.

It doesn't even require a trip to Lawrenceville. You can file the appeal on line.

 

[8675309]

 

[SMLEshooter]

Disputing the local tax assessor's opinion of your property's market value will generally grant you a short term reprieve, but the real root of the problem is typically the budget of the municipality. They still have to pay the bills.

Some of you may not know how it works. The local municipality, whether it be county commissioners, city councilmen, school board, etc... determines how much money they're going to spend in a year. They take that number and apply it to the total value of all the real estate, personal property, etc... in their jurisdiction to derive the millage rate. That millage rate is then mathematically applied back to your property to determine the dollar amount of your property tax (your share of the budget).

The only real way to lower your taxes is to lower the budget.

Having said that, it is the job of the Board of Assessors to uniformly assess property. Often times, this gets way out of whack and some people are assessed higher or lower than others. Myriad reasons abound for things getting out of control. The Georgia State legislature really got into placing severe limitations on what the assessor boards could and could not do over the past several years. The most recent legislation just recently expired. Other reasons may include lazy county appraisers or understaffed offices. Understaffing is more likely.

Read below if nothing else:

In my opinion, unless you have ironclad proof that your property is worth less than the local tax assessor thinks it is, your best bet is to argue your case based on uniformity. Essentially, you locate three or four nearby properties that are similar to yours that are assessed at a rate lower than yours. Bring those before the board showing that you are not being treated equitably (uniformly). Doesn’t matter if your property really was being assessed at true market value. You’re not being treated “fairly”. It’s very difficult for the county to argue against that.

What this means is that while your taxes will go down this year due to the lower assessed value, your taxes will most likely go back up next year as the millage rate had to be increased because the county did not decrease their spending and they still have to pay the bills, plus last year’s shortfall from property appeals…

Also, what this means is that the three or four properties you used to show you were not being treated fairly will most likely be reassessed next year, so be sure not to use your Uncle’s house across the street!!!


I appraise commercial and residential real estate for a living and have served on the local assessor board.

 

[BangBang]

%taxes

Nothing but legal stealing

 

[SMLEshooter]

%taxes

Nothing but legal stealing

Can't argue too much with that.

I've always been fairly disappointed that owning your land really isn't owning it all. You essentially are paying rent to the government because not paying your property taxes causes you to lose your land.

Thinking property taxes were a somewhat new thing the govt. cooked up, I started reading up on it and discovered that property taxes have been utilized by the US government since pretty much day one back in the 1700's... Turns out, income tax was the one that was implemented relatively recently...

 

[Retired Army]

Disputing the local tax assessor's opinion of your property's market value will generally grant you a short term reprieve, but the real root of the problem is typically the budget of the municipality. They still have to pay the bills.

Some of you may not know how it works. The local municipality, whether it be county commissioners, city councilmen, school board, etc... determines how much money they're going to spend in a year. They take that number and apply it to the total value of all the real estate, personal property, etc... in their jurisdiction to derive the millage rate. That millage rate is then mathematically applied back to your property to determine the dollar amount of your property tax (your share of the budget).

The only real way to lower your taxes is to lower the budget.

Having said that, it is the job of the Board of Assessors to uniformly assess property. Often times, this gets way out of whack and some people are assessed higher or lower than others. Myriad reasons abound for things getting out of control. The Georgia State legislature really got into placing severe limitations on what the assessor boards could and could not do over the past several years. The most recent legislation just recently expired. Other reasons may include lazy county appraisers or understaffed offices. Understaffing is more likely.

Read below if nothing else:

In my opinion, unless you have ironclad proof that your property is worth less than the local tax assessor thinks it is, your best bet is to argue your case based on uniformity. Essentially, you locate three or four nearby properties that are similar to yours that are assessed at a rate lower than yours. Bring those before the board showing that you are not being treated equitably (uniformly). Doesn’t matter if your property really was being assessed at true market value. You’re not being treated “fairly”. It’s very difficult for the county to argue against that.

What this means is that while your taxes will go down this year due to the lower assessed value, your taxes will most likely go back up next year as the millage rate had to be increased because the county did not decrease their spending and they still have to pay the bills, plus last year’s shortfall from property appeals…

Also, what this means is that the three or four properties you used to show you were not being treated fairly will most likely be reassessed next year, so be sure not to use your Uncle’s house across the street!!!


I appraise commercial and residential real estate for a living and have served on the local assessor board.

smart man here. I have been a real estate agent for 11 years and have helped a few people out. He knows his stuff.