2012 Dekalb County Board of Equalization

I had my first appeal of the season at Dekalb County, for tax year 2012, yesterday morning. The process seems more formal this year than in years past.  The appraiser representing the county was very young and the three comparables that he selected to use were all valued less per square foot than my subject property was.  So in addition to showing the seven sales I found, I pointed out the fact that the county selected three sales that were valued less than we were so clearly we were overvalued.  I saved my client $985.00, so he was happy.  The value that I obtained yesterday will remain the same for the next two years, so the total tax savings is $2,955 less my one time fee.  If anyone needs professional representation pertaining to his or her tax appeal, please contact me, Rob Vinson, at 404-218-7874 or emai me at info@taxappealatlanta.com or check out my website at www.taxappealatlanta.com.

Advertisement

Cobb County Board of Equalization

I went and had a tax year 2012 residential appeal at the Cobb County Board of Equalization, yesterday, and unfortunately it didn’t go too well. Right from the start, a particular board member, on board 2, was very combative towards me and just nasty acting. I could tell early on that they weren’t going to make an adjustment to my value, as is typical there because they all seem to be in the “back pocket” of the chief appraiser Phil Hogshed, and the assessor’s office. So, after receiving the “rubber stamp” no change to the value, as I was leaving, I let the nasty board member on board 2 know that I would be filing this matter to superior court, and I got the man’s name and told him I would be contacting his boss, the clerk of court Jay Stephenson, as soon as I got in my car, and he would be hearing from him later on in the day. Mr. Stephenson is over the entire board of equalization, which is supposed to be independent of the assessor’s office, but really doesn’t seem to act like it. Anyway, Mr. Stephenson did check in to the matter and the board member lied to Mr. Stephenson and he basically got off with just a complaint letter in his file. I thanked Mr. Stephenson for checking into the matter and let him know that the board member was lying to him, but I didn’t have proof because I didn’t record what was said and neither did the board member. Many people who go to these hearings get rail roaded and treated bad and they don’t know who to turn to to complain about it. Well, I do know who to turn to and If I have a negative experience with a board I go straight to the top and let them know about it.  I have done over 2,000 hearings in my career, so I’ve occassionally had to contact the person in charge of the various b.o.e’s.  By doing so, It helps get the attitude of the rogue board member under control.  I typically see them again in the future if I’m working in whatever county and of the ones I’ve had problems with in the past, they always seem to act a little nicer to me after they get their “talking to.” If anyone feels like he or she wasn’t treated with respect, or if they feel like they didn’t get a fair shake because the board of equalization seemed to be on the county’s side, then contact me and let me know about it. I can point you in the right direction as to where one would need to go to vent and maybe get something done. Also, it doesn’t cost anything to file an appeal to court in Cobb County, so always file it to court and that will get you an informal meeting with the assessor’s office and typically something can get worked out in lieu of going to a jury trial. Also, you don’t have to be an attorney to file an appeal to court. If anyone has questions or comments about property tax appeals, please contact me at info@taxappealatlanta.com or call me, Rob Vinson, 404-218-7874.