Blog
As we near the end of the year, we draw closer to another tax season. If you are a homeowner in the State of Georgia, you are likely very familiar with the season of property assessments and taxation. However, you may not know as much about your homestead exemption. In the State of Georgia, there are special benefits conferred to properties that qualify as homesteads. We have written extensively about the Georgia Homestead Exemption here, but we wanted to provide… Read More
Where You’ve Heard It Before If you are interested in wholesaling real estate, you have likely seen advertising for real estate wealth building seminars pretty much everywhere. If you are already in the business, you may have even attended one. While some seminars are giving out good, accurate, and transparent information, others are peddling dishonest or incomplete information shared to make real estate investing seem much simpler and much less costly than it really is. At Brian M. Douglas &… Read More
Throughout the country, the real estate industry is booming. As the industry continues to grow, more homeowners are investing in rental properties. These investment properties can generate stable, long-term income for the property owner and generate a number of other financial benefits. Renting out your property is a business transaction, and as with any business deal, it is important that you protect yourself and your investment. If you are interested in investing in a rental property, or if you already… Read More
Depending on how you look at the year, we are either one-third of the way through the tax year (four months since you last filed taxes in April 2018), or we are in the last third of the calendar year (only four months until 2019!). No matter how you count it, the end of the summer is a great time to take a look at your taxes. In 2018, this is especially important because of the sweeping tax reform that… Read More
In the State of Georgia, there are special benefits conferred to properties that qualify as homesteads. Only homeowners can receive the benefits of a homestead property, and these benefits are only available if the home is the owner’s legal residence as of January 1 of the taxable year. There is an exception to the primary residence rule if the homeowner was away from home during the year due to health reasons. What is the Georgia Property Tax Homestead Exemption? If… Read More
When you are closing on a sale to buy real estate, the title company or law firm handling the transfer may ask you how you want to take title to the property. If you are not prepared for this question or do not have a lawyer reviewing the documents, this can be a stressful moment that has long-lasting implications. Are There Any Encumbrances on The Land? Before you choose how you want to take title to your new property, you… Read More
In December 2017, President Trump signed a new tax bill, the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act, into law. At the time, the changes in individual tax brackets and cuts to corporate taxes dominated the news cycles. However, there was a lot more in the law than the provisions that got top billing. For instance, there were a number of incentives included in the law designed to boost investment in distressed communities throughout the country, including the Qualified Opportunity Zones provision.… Read More
In the state of Georgia, property owners will soon be receiving Property Tax Notices of Assessment in the mail if they haven’t already. This notice is not a bill but shows the property’s appraised value and estimated property tax amount. If the property owner disagrees with the Current Year Value provided on the Notice, he or she may file an appeal. How do I file an appeal of my property tax assessment? There are a few counties in Georgia that… Read More
For the third time in the NFL’s history, the Super Bowl is coming to Atlanta. On February 3, 2019, the top two NFL teams will play in the new Mercedes-Benz Stadium, which opened in 2017. Last year, when the Super Bowl was hosted in Minneapolis, officials stated that up to one million visitors would be descending on the city for the Super Bowl weekend. Although there was some controversy over whether that number included Minnesotans, the number of out-of-town visitors… Read More
Summer is almost here! The weather is starting to warm up and kids everywhere are getting that end-of-the-school-year bug. Do you have plans for your kids this summer? If not, it’s not too late to enroll them in a summer camp that will really get them excited! There are so many different summer camps available in this area that we thought we would make things a little easier for you. Is your kid into sports? Nature? Science? Do they have… Read More