Posted: 05 Feb 2011 10:35 PM PST

Staff Writers

At the end of last year, $22 million in unpaid property taxes remained on the books at the Richmond County Tax Commissioner's office.

Jackie Ricciardi/Staff

The owner of the house at 1436 Twiggs St. has outstanding property tax bills from 2003 through 2010. The total owed, $6,427, is nearly equal to the property's fair market value.

Jackie Ricciardi/Staff

The house at 1749 12th St. has outstanding property tax bills from 2007 through 2010 totaling $1,607, which is more than half of the Richmond County property's fair market value.

Jackie Ricciardi/Staff

1006 Russell St. has a single outstanding bill for only $333.

Jackie Ricciardi/Staff

2833 Wheeler Road only has a outstanding tax bill from 2010.

SPECIAL

Richmond County Tax Commissioner Steven Kendrick said there are many no-bid properties worth less than their tax bills.

Much of it will be collected, but a sizeable chunk won't. The reason: It's not worth it to the property owner to pay taxes on it, and it's not cost effective for the city to pursue collecting the money.

The largest amount of unpaid taxes is from real estate, totaling $14.7 million. Of that amount, $3.6 million has not been collected since 2009, making it officially delinquent and likely uncollectable.

Richmond County Tax Commissioner Steven Kendrick said he expects to collect much of the remaining $11 million in unpaid taxes that were billed last year. He said his office historically collects more than 99 percent of $140 million it bills annually, meaning that about $1.4 million will likely go uncollected.

Then there is the matter of unpaid personal property tax bills on items such as boats, business inventory and airplanes, which totaled nearly $7.8 million at the end of 2010. More than $1.5 million of that total has been delinquent since 2009.

That means at least $5 million in both real and personal property taxes are delinquent and likely not collectable. That total and the $1.4 million likely not collected from 2010 is a significant amount given the county's $9.4 million budget shortfall.

At the time most are due, Dec. 15, Kendrick's office begins the arduous annual task of deciding which of the year's past due bills to pursue. And targeted first, among 7,000 to 8,000 that typically remain unpaid, are those with the largest amounts due.

"We have to collect more money for the county, and the faster and more we collect, well, that's the way the county operates," he said.

Delinquent Tax Services, a private firm that assists with the process for a fee from the money collected, verifies titles to the properties submitted by Kendrick's office in batches of 300.

After warning delinquents that a lien can be placed on their properties after 30 days, the first set of liens goes out in February. The message usually gets through.

During January, the office was able to collect $7.4 million in taxes unpaid in December, including $3.5 million in taxes on public utilities.

By October or November, most "non-distressed" properties are sold or paid up.

"The ones that are not stay on our books as uncollected," he said.

Small and sometimes neglected parcels, typically found in blighted areas, are often deemed uncollectable because they're upside down -- the taxes and fees owed on them are more than the property is worth.

Increasing that cost often is another lien placed on the neglected property by codes enforcement to eliminate a public hazard.

It can add several thousand dollars in fees, making it even less appealing to a potential buyer.

Selling the properties by the county at a tax auction isn't free. The largest expense is advertising -- $20 per property for four weeks -- plus approximately $22 in fees, Kendrick said.

Delinquent Tax Services also charges fees each step of the process, including approximately $55 for background work, another $100 if the county begins the levying process and $175 if the property goes to auction. Those fees must be paid no matter what.

The costs lead the tax commissioner to make a "business decision" for the county not to take the property to auction, particularly if it doesn't sell the first time, he said.

"If you get a $2,000 piece of property with $4,000 worth of liens on it, what's the sense in taking it to the sale?" said Jack McAdams, the deputy tax commissioner for finance.

In many of those cases, Kendrick said his office has exhausted its remedies against the delinquent taxpayer, leaving the property to sit, incur fees and penalties but remain in the possession of its owner.

A unique position

Kendrick estimated there are "thousands" of prior no-bid properties and parcels worth less than their tax bills dotting Augusta, placing the city in a position unique to large urban areas in Georgia.

Among them is Screven County real estate investor McQue Boddiford's several dozen upside down properties left over from his 1990s buying spree at Richmond County tax sales.

He's quit paying taxes on them and is looking for help.

"Property I've wanted to keep, I've paid the bills, but there's no use dumping good money after bad," Boddiford said. "I'm hoping the county can sell it and get me out from under it."

For properties such as Boddiford's, they just move down the line on the tax rolls, accumulating liens and penalties. He owes $18,002.

Others, such as Southern Milling Co. on Twiggs Street, are both unpaid and too costly to demolish and potentially make more appealing to buyers.

Codes enforcement has demolished more than 1,000 properties over the past 12 years but can't find an affordable way to tear down the 100-year-old mill, which burned in 2008, Sherman said.

Southern Milling also owes unpaid taxes, penalties and fees of $36,161 dating to 2002, according to tax records, but the property has never been taken to auction because it's contaminated, McAdams said.

For those he takes to auction that receive no bids, Kendrick has used his "biggest bullet" to no avail. The property remains in the hands of its owner and the debts simply sit on the tax commissioner's books.

Touting a success rate of 90 percent, John Watson, the president of DTS who estimates his company has helped Richmond County collect hundreds of millions of dollars over six years, said there is little recourse against property owners who don't pay their taxes and whose properties don't sell at auction.

The liens show up on an owner's credit, but county governments can rarely afford to pursue garnishing wages of a delinquent taxpayer, Watson said.

Even Augusta-Richmond, which has the option to bid on a property when no one else does, rarely wants to do so "because then we have to take care of it," McAdams said.

"I don't think it can be understated, but a lot of money we don't collect is uncollectable," Kendrick said.

Nearly 22,000 unpaid real estate and personal property tax bills issued over eight years remained unpaid as of Dec. 31.

Among the unpaid real estate bills, nearly 80 percent are for less than $5,000. Forty percent are for less than $1,000.

Finding solutions

Ready solutions are not built into Georgia laws, but there are other options, particularly where an interested buyer exists.

Proving useful is the Augusta-Richmond County Land Bank Authority. Overseen by a board that includes Kendrick, Sherman, Planning Director Paul DeCamp and Administrator Fred Russell, the land bank buys properties and turns them over to buyers for private development, Russell said.

The land bank is willing to buy unwanted properties, clean them and return them to the tax rolls.

The land bank is the only buyer to have requested Kendrick hold a judicial sale, a costlier legal proceeding in which a judge sets the title to a property, he said.

"We would love it if the land bank would want all of them, but they don't," McAdams said.

The land bank shows approximately 115 properties with unpaid property tax bills on them, but those properties are about to be wiped from the unpaid register.

But the land bank only wants properties it thinks it can sell.

For the others, upside down and unsold at auction, Kendrick offers the suggestion that the county abate taxes or fees owed so that they might also return to the tax rolls.

It's a suggestion he'll eventually bring back to the Augusta commission after exploring the legalities of it, but asking the county to write off thousands of dollars in demolition and cleanup fees might be trickier, he said.

After 10 years working on delinquent taxes, Watson said he'd arrived at no other solutions when liens, taxes and fees are more than a property is worth at auction.

The problem is derived from old development standards, which cared little about lot or building size as people moved in.

Often the unwanted properties are unsuitable for much more than a driveway, he said.

"Unless there's some magic wand they can wave and sell the property for a dollar and set that precedent," he said.

Unpaid Real Estate Property Tax (as of 12/31/10)

Unpaid Personal Property Tax (as of 12/31/10)

Note: Data for this project was downloaded from the Richmond County Tax Commission and Richmond County Property Assessor's offices. Data collected is as of December 31, 2010.

The city's information on property owners' names and addresses came from the owners and property records. The data may contain incorrect information. Please report any errors to the city offices and The Chronicle will use the corrected data to update the database.

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Property tax return still useful

Posted: 06 Feb 2011 02:00 AM PST

By David Wickert

The Atlanta Journal-Constitution

As the Great Recession decimated real estate values, tens of thousands of metro Atlanta homeowners discovered a seldom-used document — the real property tax return — to help them combat county tax appraisals that in many cases were too high.

Until recently, filing a property tax return was the only way to guarantee your right to appeal a county appraisal. Last year alone residential property owners in five metro counties filed nearly 90,000 returns.

Now a change in state law has simplified the appeals process, and filing a return is no longer necessary to ensure you can appeal. But that doesn't mean it's not useful.

County appraisers say filing a property tax return makes sense in some circumstances. And some private consultants say the document can still help you lower your property value for tax purposes.

"If you think your property is overvalued, go ahead and file a return," advised tax attorney Tim Peaden.

Your tax bill is based in part on the value of your property — generally, the more it's worth, the more you pay. It's the job of county appraisers to determine each year how much your property is worth for tax purposes.

But those appraisals aren't always accurate. Two recent investigations by The Atlanta Journal-Constitution have found property appraisals in five metro Atlanta counties are often too high.

Property owners can appeal those appraisals. But to appeal you need a notice from the county telling you what your property is worth.

In the past most counties only sent you a notice if they changed your value. If the value was unchanged, you didn't automatically receive a notice.

That's where the property tax return came in. A property tax return is a document that lets you tell the county what you think your property is worth. County appraisers can agree with you and accept your value. If they don't, they must send a notice telling you what they think it's worth. And you can appeal that value if you think it's too high.

In the past, homeowners seldom filed property tax returns. But as real estate values plummeted in recent years, that changed.

In 2007, residential property owners in Clayton, Cobb, DeKalb, Fulton and Gwinnett counties filed 5,212 residential property tax returns. Last year they filed 89,530. Residential property appeals in those counties rose 90 percent to 37,064 during the same period.

In the wake of an AJC investigation, state lawmakers last year sought to simplify the appeals process. Among the changes they approved: Beginning this year counties must send a value notice to every property owner every year.

That means anyone can appeal their county appraisal, whether or not they filed a property tax return.

County appraisers say you should still file a return if there's a significant change to your property, like an improvement, a subdivision or a change of ownership. You can also use a return to let assessors know if your mailing address has changed.

And some private tax consultants say a return can still help you lower your county property appraisal. Peaden, the tax attorney, said if you file a return the county might agree with your value, and that would save you the hassle of a formal appeal.

Larry Singleton of Woodstock-based My Property Tax Appeal, put it another way. "Do you want to be reactive or do you want to be proactive?" he said. "Be proactive. Say, 'My property is worth this and here's the evidence.' "

Some county appraisers agree, but say the evidence is crucial.

"If they'll do a little homework and give us a good number, we may choose that number," said Gwinnett County Chief Appraiser Steve Pruitt.

Property tax bills on the way

Posted: 05 Feb 2011 10:31 PM PST

The Arapahoe County Treasurer's Office was to begin mailing property-tax notices on Jan. 24, but only property owners who pay taxes directly — not through a mortgage company — will receive a notice unless they have requested one.

"Since Arapahoe County is joining other counties in providing tax notices electronically, we want to make sure all property owners are aware of this change," Treasurer Sue Sandstrom said.

Instead of mailing about 218,000 notices as the county has done in past years, the treasurer will be sending roughly 100,000 in 2011. That will save the county approximately $40,000 in paper and postage expenses, according to the treasurer.

"But, we also want to let all property owners know they have the option to take advantage of e-notices, or opt in to receive a paper copy if they prefer," she added.

Last October, the treasurer's office notified nearly 115,000 property owners that they will receive their tax bills electronically in 2011 because the Colorado Legislature passed a law authorizing counties to do so.

Historically, the tax bills have been mailed in January to all property owners. The bills cover taxes for the previous year.

The treasurer's office also sends the tax information to mortgage lenders, but Sandstrom said property owners are the ones who are ultimately responsible and may want to follow up with their lender to make sure their taxes have been paid.

Included with the 2010 tax bill is a yellow insert offering property owners the opportunity to discontinue paper copies of their tax bills.

All property owners will be able to access an electronic version of their tax notices at co.arapahoe.co.us/departments/tr in early February.

For more information, call 303-795-4550.

Property Tax

Sunday, February 6, 2011

“Unpaid property tax bills cost Richmond County” plus 2 more

“Unpaid property tax bills cost Richmond County” plus 2 more

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