DeKalb County made headlines this week for the number of homeowners who argue their properties are worth more than they have been assessed by the county. But not every resident has that problem.
While the county's overall tax digest fell 13 percent in 2010, the assessed value of Jeffrey Byrd's Stone Mountain home assessment plunged 44 percent. Some homeowners are fighting to raise their assessments, but Byrd said he will ask the county to lower his even further.
Byrd said he still owes $110,000 on a house now worth $65,000. He’s so far under water, he figures if he wins an appeal for a lower assessment, he can put the extra money on his mortgage.
“My back is up against the wall either way,” said Byrd, who thought he’d gotten a deal when he paid less than the home's assessed value when her bought it more than a decade ago. “This hits me hard no matter what I do.”
At a meeting to explain the assessment and appeal process Thursday night, DeKalb’s chief appraiser told Byrd and 200 others packed into a church meeting room that he expects and welcomes plenty of appeals for lowered assessments. Many of the homeowners there said they were still deciding if they would appeal.
DeKalb has the third highest number of foreclosures in the state but lacks the commercial and industrial properties that have helped sustain property tax income for the top two, Gwinnett and Fulton. For DeKalb, the situation has led to some unusually low property values. Many have fallen 20 to 50 percent from last year because a new state law requires distressed sales be included when calculating market value.
That has created a $37 million hole in the county's budget and discussions of a tax hike. Successful appeals for lower assessments could create an even larger shortfall, though it could take the county months to work through the appeals.
Calvin Hicks’ office is reviewing assessments made in five neighborhoods -- including parts of Candler Park, Druid Hills and areas in and around Avondale Estates -- where homeowners complained that home values dropped too far. But homeowners in other areas, such as Dunwoody, have called to ask why their values barely moved at all, even with some foreclosures in that part of the county
“If you are in an area without many of these foreclosures, the impact on your assessment is minimal,” Hicks said. “But we realize in terms of knowing your property, you are much more familiar than probably we will ever be.”
Erin Murphy isn’t happy that DeKalb didn’t bother to get more familiar with her Dunwoody home. The value hasn’t changed from $297,000 since she bought it in 2007 for $307,000, but homes in her neighborhood now sell for about $250,000. So although she wasn’t at Thursday’s meeting, Murphy has already lined up information on comparable sales she will use to appeal her value.
“I have a pretty good case given the sales prices I’m seeing,” Murphy said. “I think DeKalb is denying reality.”
Property owners have 45 days to file appeals, meaning most must be in by the first or second week of July. The county needs to set its property tax rate by July 12.
The commission is weighing a tax rate increase of up to 4.5 mills to offset the loss in property value countywide. It will announce the proposed rate -- which can later be lowered but cannot be raised -- at its regular meeting Tuesday. If the full 4.5 mill increase is approved, the tax hike would add $93 to the yearly tax bill on the average home valued at $155,000.
"The millage rate is the big question on what this all means," said Joe Arrington, a longtime resident who helped organize Thursday's meeting. "That's what we'll use to calculate what happens with our taxes, even while we still talk about our home values."
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