Perkerson Civic Association

ANDP 2009 Property Tax Report

ANDP-RCLCO

REPORT 3

Released: February 18, 2010

Metro Homeowners Overpaid 2009 Property Taxes By More Than $200 Million.

Despite efforts by assessors to lower property tax values, highest-foreclosure neighborhoods overpaid their taxes last year by $82.2 Million, accounting for more than 40% of the metrowide overpayment.

This morning, ANDP released its 3rd report in an ongoing series documenting property tax assessments in high foreclosure neighborhoods in Metro Atlanta. Today's report, entitled (Link Here): Analysis of Changes in Property Tax Values from 2008 to 2009 in High Foreclosure Rate Neighborhoods, was prepared for ANDP by RCLCO (Robert Charles Lesser and Company), one of the nation's leading real estate advisory firms.

The study confirms that low-income homeowners living in neighborhoods devastated by the foreclosure crisis overpaid their property taxes last year by an average of nearly $500 per household, more than double the average metro-wide overpayment of $244 per household.

The 15 highest-foreclosure zip codes in Atlanta's five-county metro core make up only 20 percent of all metro peroperties, but homeowners in these communities are paying more than 41 percent- or $82.2 million-of the total metro overpayment of $200.2 million.

Metro tax assessors made some progress in lowering appraised values from 2008 to 2009 to match plummeting home prices in these communities, but the research still shows a significant gap between current market values and tax appraised values.

We encourage you to take a moment to review the report and share with others impacted by the problem. We've also placed information on our website regarding who to contact about property taxes and steps to take to reduce property taxes.

Sincerely,