Workshops aim to help Westside homeowners understand—and appeal—property assessments
Isabella Malobe runs around with her siblings at a playground in the West End. In workshops organized by the Atlanta BeltLine Partnership, Westside residents can learn from Atlanta Legal Aid about how to appeal a property tax appraisal. (Evey Wilson/WABE)
Help is available for homeowners in southwest and northwest Atlanta who noticed their property values spike.
Workshops starting this week will show residents what to do if county appraisals, mailed last month, seem too high.
The sessions are targeted toward once low-income neighborhoods that are seeing significant new development because of the Atlanta BeltLine trail.
Atlanta Legal Aid attorney Stacy Reynolds said it can be hard to appraise older homes in those areas.
“They’re comparing it to homes that have been renovated and sold when really these homes are not in that condition,” she said.
In these sessions, which are organized by the Atlanta BeltLine Partnership, residents can learn from Atlanta Legal Aid how to appeal an appraisal if necessary. The county gives residents 45 days to challenge the appraisals.
Assessments are only part of what determines residents’ tax bills.
If owners live in their homes and claim a homestead exemption, that will reduce the amount they owe. In Atlanta, there’s currently a 2.6 % cap on city tax increases and a 3 % cap on Fulton tax increases.
There is no cap that applies to Atlanta Public Schools taxes, which make up most of the bill. Owners with a homestead exemption can only avoid school taxes on the first $50,000 of their home value.
Homeowners near the Westside Atlanta BeltLine trail may also qualify for help with property tax increases through the “Legacy Resident Retention Program.”
An information session about the property assessment workshops is Wednesday, July 16, in the Grove Park neighborhood.
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