Stair Steps or An Uphill Battle - On a line graph, your tax history would appear as one or the other. If you have been appealing your property taxes and using the 3 year freeze Gwinnett county allows, your tax history would look like stair steps. It looks like stair steps because during the 3 year frozen period, your taxes stay the same almost like a flatline. When that 3 years has expired, the property tax will shoot straight up to match the current rate. At that point you appeal again, giving you another 3 year freeze period, or flat line on the graph. The other option, the Uphill battle, looks like a line that is gradually increasing over, resembling an uphill climb, with no rest in between. Because the property taxes were never appealed, and a 3 year freeze never occurred, the property taxes for the homeowner in this case have risen considerably over time.

The major difference between the tax histories of an investor/rental property and that of a homeowner is you will see the stairs steps almost 100% of the time. This is because the investor has hired a company to appeal the property tax assessment every (3) years. You should be doing the same. Why should investors have all the fun and enjoy all the savings. You don't need a company to do this, it is all a matter of fact in the appeal process - even if you don't get the number you desire at the end of your process - which if your comps are right you should always win - but the 3 year freeze is a feature only available in certain counties that should be utilized every change you get.