Two weeks ago, on June 29, there was another town hall meeting, regarding the creation of the new city of Brookhaven, GA. This meeting seemed to be conducted by people who did not seem to be in favor of it. Rep. Mike Jacobs did not talk at the second meeting, although State Rep. Elena Parent and several organizers from Dunwoody and Sandy Springs spoke.

The areas being considered for a City of Brookhaven are currently in unicorporated Dekalb. These property owners pay their taxes to the county, in exchange for certain services. The organizers for a push to city-dom, it seems to me, are pushing an agenda of what is in it for them, rather than what is in it for the taxpayers.

To incorporate into a city, the city must provide a minimum of three services. These services cannot be overlapped (ie; one can’t have two police departments).  At the town hall meeting, Jim Grubiak, of the Association of County Commissioners of Georgia said, ‘is the perception the same as the reality?’. Grubiak said that what leads citizens to create a new city is:

1. Communication (or lack of communication);
2. Planning and Land Use;
3. Resource allocation;
4. Representation: are officials listening?

Are county officials listening to North Dekalb residents/taxpayers? Does the creation of a City of Brookhaven warrant the extra money and bonds that must be raised to substantiate  a new city?

What will the new city of Brookhaven bring to its residents? Some negative considerations to consider are:

1. The probability of higher taxes *;
2. Needed government buildings;
3. Employees, equipment (this could be as small as copiers and as large as police cars).

Dekalb County’s police has Swat & Riot Units, a Detectives Unit, a Gang Unit, Narcotics unit, Vice Unit, two police helicopters: would these services go away with the creation of a Brookhaven police force?

Obviously, the positive considerations are:

1. Local control, which would mean empowerment and self-control;
2. Additional representation;
3. Efficiency and responsiveness;
4. The opportunity for enhanced services (two examples would be more police and upgraded parks);
5. Better code enforcement;
6. More local control over planning and zning decisions.

*Higher taxes? You bet there will be higher taxes! The areas being considered for a City of Brookhaven, are primarily residential, with a small portion of it, commercial businesses. Without taxes for commercial interests, where will the money come from, for government/city buildings, squad cars and equipment, employee salaries, park enhancements and on and on? Can you say higher taxes?

Buckhead Trees

A Buckhead man has been fined more than $52,000 by the city of Atlanta for trees destroyed on his property. He says he didn’t cut them down.

There’s a new bill in Congress, The Housing Recovery Act of 2011, or H.R. 1526, which is aiming at getting the backlog of foreclosures sold, by allowing buyers to use retirement funds for purchases.

The new bill aims to clear the growing foreclosured properties’ backlog by allowing buyers to dip without penalty. The bill would amend the IRS tax code, so that qualified individuals could use distributions as a down payment to purchase residences that have been in foreclosure status for one year or more.

Typically, pulling funds out of an IRA, 401k, or similar retirement accounts prematurely would call for early distribution penalties, but Florida Congressman (and real estate agent) Bill Posey is hoping the IRS will waive it for the greater good. US Rep. Posey introduced the bill in the US House last week, and it was referred to the Committee on Ways and Means.

If it is passed, it will come with a few requirements:

1. The subject property must have been in foreclosure for one or more years;
2. The retirement funds must be used within 120 days of the close of purchase;
3. The foreclosed property must be held be the buyer for a minimum of two years to avoid any early distribution penalties. It will not allow investors to “flip” properties.

The bill is aimed at promoting sustainable homeownership, while giving homeowners a tax break. Let’s hope the Congress can move on this!

Recently, I wrote about an upcoming article in Atlanta’s local paper, the AJC. The series was published today and told us what we already knew: values are going down, counties are gasping for more tax dollars and home owners are caught in between the two. But they did offer a valuable insight of what to do, if you think your property is over-valued.

1. Do the research and look at your property tax bill. Here are the several sites for the largest counties in the metropolitan Atlanta area:

• Dekalb County: http://web.co.dekalb.ga.us/taxcommissioner/search.asp
• Fulton County: www.fultoncountytaxes.org/fultoniwr/11_depts_property_taxes.asp
• Cobb County: http://www.cobbtax.org/Search/GenericSearch.aspx?mode=PARID   
• Gwinnett County: http://gwinnetttaxcommissioner.manatron.com/Tabs/ViewPayYourTaxes.aspx
• Forsyth County: http://www.qpublic.net/ga/forsyth/search1.html

     2.   File a property tax return. Under a new state law, assesors must send a Notice of Current       Assesment to all residential property owners. However, in some cases, the owner may want to file a return. Download and print the one-page return at: https://etax.dor.ga.gov/ptd/adm/forms/pt50r/LGS_TAXPAYERS_RETURN_OF_REAL_PROPERTY_PT50R.PDF.

     3.  Appeal your appraisal. Previously, you could appeal your properrty assesment only if you filed a property tax return or if the county changed the value of your property. The Georgia state legislature changed that, and beginning in 2011, anyone can appeal. For more information on appeals, check out: https://etax.dor.ga.gov/ptd/adm/taxguide/appeals.aspx .

Need more answers? Contact me for more information or help.

With the talk of jobs on everyone’s lips, are you curious where the United States stands in the unemployment line? Here are the new numbers:

 Unemployment Rates of the world:

1. Monaco 0.0%
2. Thailand 1.2%
3. Lichtenstein 1.5%
4. Singapore 2.2%
5. Malaysia 3.2%
6. Guatemala 3.2%
7. South Korea 3.7%
8. Switzerland 4.0%
9. China 4.1%
10. Austria 4.3%
11. Netherlands 4.4%
12. Luxembourg 5.0%
13. Australia 5.1%
14. Japan 5.1%
15. Taiwan 5.1%
16. Mexico 5.5%
17. Brazil 6.1%
18. Israel 6.5%
19. Germany 6.7%
20. New Zealand 6.8%
21. Denmark 6.9%
22. Argentina 7.0%
23. Czech Republic 7.0%
24. Iceland 7.6%
25. Peru 7.7%
26. UK 7.8%
27. Canada 7.9%
28. Philippines 8.0%
29. Italy 8.2%
30. Finland 8.5%
31. Sweden 8.5%
32. Chile 8.6%
33. Belgium 8.7%
34. Russia 9.2%
35. Poland 9.4%
36. USA 9.8%
37. France 10.1%
38. India 10.7%
39. Portugal 10.7%
40. Greece 11.0%
41. Ireland 13.9%
42. Spain 20.1%
43. South Africa 25%
44. Zimbabwe 95%

The 2010 Brookhaven Arts Festival takes place Saturday, Oct. 16, and Sunday, Oct. 17. It’s open 10 a.m.-6 p.m. Saturday, and noon-6 p.m. Sunday. Exhibitors will set up booths along Apple Valley Road between Dresden Drive and North Druid Hills Road, which is behind the Brookhaven-Oglethorpe MARTA station. More than 125 artists have signed up to participate in the show. Admission is free.

Atlanta home maintenance: how much do you do? And how much do you know to do?

This past week, one of my seller-clients’ yard sprinkler system went crazy, spewing costly water. Disconnecting the power to the system didn’t stop it, but the Seller was out of town, so I was able to turn off the water to the property. Talking to the Seller yielded an unusual result: he wasn’t sure where the whole-house water turn-off was or where his exterior water cut-offs were. After this crisis was over, I asked several friends and neighbors if they knew where their cut-offs were. Amazingly, no one knew!

I turn off the water to my exterior water spigots and sprinkler system every fall. I’m afraid that cold temperatures could freeze my water pipes, which would not only be a pain in the neck, but extremely expensive to repair. I’ve attached pink cards to the valves, labeling the shut-offs. I know where my cut-offs are: do you?

If you need help with your home, whether it is to sell it or for home maintenance, call me. I can help. Experience True Experience!

Last night, as I began to spend a week with my just-flown-in relatives, I thought of all the things that I love about them. They are all lovable, quirky, funny and healthy. In this season of thanksgiving, I am cognizant of that and thankful for them.

I know that almost everyone thinks of their immediate family over the holidays, but I also am thankful for my real estate family. I am talking about my truly wonderful clients, both sellers and buyers and my friends who often refer their friends to me; my team of agents and brokers, whom I rely on constantly; the adminstrative helpers I work with daily; the closing attorneys and the loan officers that will go the extra mile for me; the vendors, such as my marketing lady, Christine; the handy-men; accountants; web-techies Terrence, Drew and Catherine; and my coach Teri.

My business of  ”one” could not survive without you. Even though I may not tell you as much as I should, I will be thinking of you this season. I am thankful you are not only in my real estate life, but also in my real life. Thank you; I wish you a happy and healthy holiday!

This afternoon, the House of Representatives approved an extension of the home buyers’ tax credit, sending the bill to the White House for President Obama’s signature.

The House voted 403-12 to pass the bill after the Senate unanimously approved the measure Wednesday night. The legislation continues the much-talked about home buyers’ tax credit, along with a measure allowing businesses to write off some of their losses, that were incurred over the past two years and an extension of unemployment benefits. 

Congress voted to approve the measure more than a month after initially agreeing to a more modest extension of unemployment benefits. The home buyers’ tax credit and the business-tax measure were added in the Senate.

The bill  extends an $8,000 first-time home buyers’ tax credit, that was set to expire at the end of November. The credit will apply to all contracts agreed upon before April 30, 2010, and closed by June 30. It creates a new $6,500 credit for existing property owners looking to sell their home and buy another during the same period of time. Both credits, however, have income restrictions limiting their availability. If you are interested in buying, selling or investing in  Atlanta’s real estate,  pleasee call us and Experience True Experience!