First, the assessment is not supposed to be about theoritic value, it’s required to be about the actual value of your property. Which means if you listed your home tomorrow, your house should sell very closely to its assessed value. Feel free to take a few minutes to stop laughing before you continue reading.

The law requires that the county’s appraised tax value (fair market value) be the same as what it would sell for on the open market, during the given tax year. The assessor needs to be able to look you in the eye and tell you that he sincerely believes your home should sell, today, for the amount of its tax appraisal, if not, then the county is breaking the law. It’s really that simple.

The fair market value of a property, as defined by the GA Code is, “the amount a knowledgeable buyer would pay for the property and a willing seller would accept for the property at an arm’s length, bona fide sale.” OCGA § 48-5-2.

I bought a home in April of 2009 and Fulton County currently has it assessed at double its purchase price (in an arm’s length transaction). When you live in Fulton County / City of Atlanta, with the highest property tax rates in the state, an incorrect assessment can be extremely expensive. If you bought your home in 2010, or later, then your property tax appeal will be easier – due to a new Georgia property tax law that was passed.

Here are the details: I bought a home for $605,000. It was a bank owned. The house was listed for $750,000, with a REALTOR, for 7 months before we went under contract. So my home was not a “fire sale” and it was exposed to the marketplace for an adequate amount of time. The county, has my home valued at $1,200,000. Essentially, Fulton County believes that I should have been able to sell my home, for double what I paid for it, less than a year after I bought it.

Here is a great link to someone else who has blogged about their Fulton County Tax appeal.

As I previously mentioned, this post is basically an introduction to my Odyssey. I’ll keep you updated on all the hoops that I have to jump through.

Related posts:

1. Fulton County Tax Appeal Timeline
2. Fulton County Homestead Exemption Increase
3. Buckhead Property Tax Appeals
4. Atlanta Property Taxes are Assessed at the Selling Price
5. Researching Atlanta property taxes might be antiquated

If you are 62 or older, you may be eligible for other additional exemptions. Feel Free to call me with any questions.

If you live in Atlanta, Buckhead, Dunwoody or Sandy Springs you can go to the Fulton County Tax Assessor’s website for more information.

Related posts:

1. Homestead Exemptions for Metro Atlanta
2. Atlanta passes tax increase on homeowners
3. Fulton County Property Tax Appeal Rant
4. Fulton County Tax Appeal Timeline
5. Temporary Tax Breaks