Chatham county realtors say delayed tax bill notices and inflated assessments could cost homeowners thousands

SAVANNAH, Ga. (WTOC) - Chatham County residents are receiving tax bills with home value assessments realtors describe as inflated — and some say the bills are arriving so late that appealing in time is difficult.

WTOC sat down with Savannah realtor Chelsea Phillips, who has worked in the area for 14 years, and confirms that her clients are receiving their bills in the mail far later than the 45-day appeal period that is standard in Georgia.

“And by the time they receive them, there’s no seminar they can go to to learn how to appeal, none of that. Some people still haven’t received them,” Phillips said.

Phillips said the responsibility for informing residents about their assessments should fall on the tax commissioner’s office, whose team determines home valuations. The tax commissioner’s office did not respond to calls, emails, or texts seeking comment.

Assessments outpacing market value

Chatham County real estate agent Nick Witchel said at least one of his clients saw more than $100,000 in home appreciation reflected on this year’s tax bill alone — a figure he said does not reflect actual market conditions.

“And we definitely couldn’t put it on the market and sell it for that price, I think a lot of cases that happens,” Witchel said. When asked whether that was unfair to the taxpayer, Witchel said, “Absolutely.”

Witchel said he received his own tax bill just one day before speaking on camera.

Phillips pointed to Savannah’s housing market data to explain the disconnect. Median sales prices in the area have declined, and data from the Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis shows the median listing price has climbed less than $10,000 over the past several years, following a spike between 2021 and 2022.

“As you can see, the median sales price has gone down in the last year,” Phillips said.

‘We weren’t seeing assessments like this’

Phillips said tax bill increases are not new during her 14 years in the business, but the scale of the current assessments is.

“We weren’t seeing assessments like this,” she said.

She added that many realtors do not typically handle tax bill issues for clients, but said she believes there is a gap in public education on the matter.

“Really, is this our job? No. Do I feel like there is a real hole here when we should be educating people, yeah I do,” Phillips said.

Phillips’ real estate company is holding an informational session to help residents understand their tax bills and the appeals process. The session is scheduled for next Tuesday at 5:30, located at 2301 Price Street.

You can find our previous tax bill coverage in Chatham County by clicking here.