One overlooked pitfall of owning a home that  – with your intervention – can cultivate clients for life

What’s one thing most homeowners would say no one told them about buying a home?

If you said how quickly property taxes can go up, you’re not lying—and let me give you a tip to help you save them thousands.

But first, last night, some of my MBA Accounting students graciously volunteered with me to help Atlanta homeowners appeal their property taxes through the Atlanta Beltline Property Tax Assistance (shout out to Marian Davis) in partnership with Atlanta Legal Aid (shout out to Stacy Reynolds).

Here’s just one example of what we saw: 

In short, in one year, this home’s value almost doubled. That’s great if you’re selling the home or refinancing to pull out equity, but it’s a nightmare when you suddenly have to pay more in property taxes, which, if you are not able to pay, could mean you lose your home due to a tax foreclosure or tax deed sale. Yeesh.

And guess what? We noticed many homeowners had lived in their homes for years and didn’t have a homestead exemption, which is offered in most states across the U.S. This exemption gives you an automatic discount for living in the home as an owner-occupant (in other words, if you’re not an investor, the state will give you a tax break). But here’s the catch: You have to ask for it. You have to opt in. It’s not automatic—which is a shame, but we’ll talk about lobbying for that another day.

The next thing we noticed (since this is all public record) was that many people had neighbors who not only appealed their property taxes but won the appeal—locking in a reduced rate for multiple years. And clearly, those neighbors didn’t spread the word. It’s better late than never, but we saw so many people who’d lived in their homes 5 to 10 years without a homestead exemption and never knew they could file an appeal to at least freeze their property tax rate (so it doesn’t go up every year). Yikes.

Now, if you’re here in Georgia, here’s some good news: For the first time ever, even if you missed the homestead exemption deadline (typically around April 1, depending on your county), you can file for it right now while submitting a property tax appeal—but all of this is due by August 1.

Sharing is caring, so make sure you pass this along to any homeowners you know, whether in the great state of Georgia or not, so that they can at least prepare for next year’s deadline. Again, we were shocked to see how many people didn’t have a homestead exemption or had never filed an appeal to lower—or freeze—their property taxes.

Lastly, since I am wearing my professor hat, it makes sense that I have homework for you to help both your business grow and to create brand loyalty among your neighbors.

Homework for real estate pros (looking at my Mortgage Brokers & Real Estate Agents friends):

• Homestead exemption: Remind your clients to apply ASAP—it’s not automatic!
• Appeal deadlines: In Georgia, August 1 is the cutoff this year for appeals and, for the first time, late homestead filings. 
• Neighborly duty: Many homeowners miss out simply because no one told them. Be the one who does even if they were not your client! BONUS: As a real estate pro, this is a tried-and-true, old-school marketing tip that promotes goodwill and helps to build your book of new business.

Happy learning!

Lee Davenport is an international real estate educator (as well as a former RE/MAX managing broker and agent).

This column does not necessarily reflect the opinion of HousingWire’s editorial department and its owners.

To contact the editor responsible for this piece: zeb@hwmedia.com.