Property Taxes: How Much Do You Really Know?

I recently attended a PRISM (Pride Rings In Stone Mountain) meeting, which featured members of our county tax commission.  If you attended this meeting, you know exactly how informative it was. If not, you really missed a great one. All the speakers gave the community their personal time, explained their position with the county, and how that affects each and every one of us. This came about after we all received our surprising tax assessments.

You received your tax notice. It shows a huge decline in property value, doesn’t it? How did this happen?

1.  Do your homework, look up State Bill 346 and see how your rates are calculated.  Were you aware that short sales and foreclosures directly affect this? This is a new addition to the process which adversely affects your property values.
2. Appeal, appeal, appeal. Why? Well, first, you have that right, and if your instant reaction to your assessment was “whoa!” then what on earth do you have to lose by appealing? Absolutely nothing. I appealed last year because the tax maps were showing my home as a 3BR/2B home when in fact it is a 4BR/2.5B home. I took a chance that my taxes would go up, but, most importantly, I thought this would increase the value. Also, if we don’t appeal, we won’t be heard. We will, in essence, have just sat back and taken it without voicing our concerns, and if we don’t speak up, the powers-that-be don’t think we have a problem with what is happening, so they do nothing either.
3. Most importantly, if predatory lenders had not exploited those who were unable to afford their homes, so many homes would not have foreclosed, and so many people’s credit wouldn’t have suffered. Lenders are magicians with numbers on paper. Homeowners subject to predatory lending have had a major impact on our poor market by foreclosure, bank-owned properties and short sales. Yes, those predatory lenders will tell you anything to get you to sign that paperwork. They will charge you hidden, misunderstood and (oftentimes) duplicate fees. They are required under the RESPA Act to allow you to review the closing documents 24-48 hours prior to the actual Closing. This gives you an opportunity to fully review everything for which you’re being charged, and also allows you to consult others if you’re uncertain about the paperwork. Also, when your lender does not have a local office where you can actually sit down with their representative (not a private attorney they hired), that seems sneaky and elusive to me.

Many are losing their jobs, which also affects vacant and foreclosed homes. I, myself, am subject to this tragedy. Fortunately for me, I have completely restructured my budget and how I live on a daily basis. I ration my gas, water and electricity. I started driving a little slower, and walk when I can. I cut out luxuries such as cable, lawn service and don’t make multiple trips around town. I even scrutinize what foods I now purchase.

Remember this: The lower your property value, the lower your taxes and the lower your county budget. How does that affect you? It means fewer county services, cut-backs on staffing, less time and funds to do the County’s work. I think as a community, we could cut back on some things, or combine other services. I would be okay with trash pick-up only one day a week instead of two (most other states only have one day a week) or combining recycling pickup with debris pickup. Personally, I wouldn’t have a problem taking my recycling to the transfer station to further save county funds. I’m also okay with being asked to do certain things, such as maintain areas in my neighborhood instead of waiting for the County to come cut grass, etc. Every little bit helps, but most importantly, this entire issue is about re-establishing and increasing our property values. 

Stone Mountain/Lithonia has the largest foreclosure rate in the county. Stop and think.  What did we do to let this happen, and how can we pull ourselves back up by our bootstraps? We can take pride once again in our little piece of paradise. Let’s do whatever we can to bring our property values back up to where they should be!  Truly, it takes a village.