Your first year owning a home in Georgia comes with deadlines nobody hands you at closing. The attorney gives you a folder. The lender sends a welcome letter. Then everything goes quiet, and the notices that actually matter arrive months later looking like junk mail, with a countdown already running.
Here is the reframe. New homeowners think of year one as unpacking and settling in. Financially, year one is a series of dated windows that either save you money or close permanently. The homestead exemption, the assessment appeal, the builder warranty, the insurance review. Miss the date and you generally do not get it back, you get next year.
Nicole France works with buyers across Acworth, Kennesaw, Dallas, Cartersville, and Woodstock, and this is the list she sends clients after closing. Here are eight things to do in your first twelve months.
1. File for Your Homestead Exemption
This is the highest-value item on the list, and the rules recently got more forgiving.
Georgia grants a homestead exemption on your primary residence, but it is not automatic and the seller’s exemption does not transfer to you. Eligibility generally requires that you owned the property and it was your legal residence as of January 1 of the taxable year. The historic deadline was April 1. The Georgia Department of Revenue now states that taxpayers may apply beyond April 1, up to the end of their 45-day window to appeal their notice of assessment, a change made under House Bill 92.
Do not rely on that extension without checking. Some county pages still warn that applications filed after April 1 may not apply until the next tax year, so confirm directly with your county tax commissioner rather than assuming. And ask about local exemptions while you are there, because county and city exemptions are frequently far more generous than the state’s standard $2,000 reduction.
2. Watch for Your Annual Notice of Assessment
This envelope is the most important mail you will receive all year, and it looks like nothing.
Georgia counties mail an Annual Notice of Assessment stating the county’s opinion of your property’s fair market value. You have exactly 45 days from the date on that notice to file an appeal with the County Board of Tax Assessors. Not approximately 45. Weekends and holidays do not extend it. Counties mail on different schedules, typically April through June, so there is no single statewide deadline and your neighbor’s date is not necessarily yours.
The same 45-day window is now the backstop for filing your homestead exemption, which makes this notice doubly important for a new owner. Open it the day it arrives, find the date printed on it, count forward, and put the deadline on your calendar immediately.
3. Decide Whether to Appeal the Assessment
New owners are in an unusually strong position here and rarely realize it.
You just bought the property in an arm’s length transaction, which means you have the single best piece of evidence available: a recent sale price. If the county’s assessed fair market value comes in meaningfully above what you actually paid, that is a straightforward, documented appeal.
The payoff is larger than one year. Under Georgia law, a successful appeal freezes the reduced value for three years, excluding physical improvements. Property is assessed at 40% of fair market value, so a $50,000 reduction in market value is a $20,000 reduction in assessed value, which at a typical metro Atlanta combined rate of around 30 mills saves roughly $600 annually, locked for three years. File using the county Board of Tax Assessors process, and note that evidence can be submitted after filing but the appeal itself must land inside the 45 days.
4. Schedule the Eleven-Month Walkthrough on New Construction
If you bought a newly built home, this is your most valuable warranty deadline and it arrives faster than you expect.
Builder warranties are typically broadest in year one, covering workmanship and materials, then narrow sharply afterward. At month ten or eleven, walk the entire house methodically: doors and windows for operation, floors for squeaks and soft spots, drywall and trim for separation and nail pops, grout and caulk, HVAC in both modes, water pressure and drainage, attic for daylight and moisture staining, and grading around the foundation after a heavy rain.
Then submit everything in writing to the warranty administrator or builder before the anniversary date, in one organized list with photographs and dates. Verbal reports to a superintendent are not claims. Many owners hire an independent inspector for a one-year inspection, which is a few hundred dollars that produces documentation a homeowner cannot generate alone.
5. Review Your Insurance Before It Renews
You bought your policy under time pressure during closing. Year one is when you fix whatever that cost you.
Georgia premiums have risen faster than the national average in recent years, and the spread between carriers is enormous, with one 2026 analysis finding roughly a 68% gap between the least and most expensive major carrier for comparable Georgia coverage. Before your renewal, get at least three quotes on identical limits and deductibles.
Also confirm three things most owners never check: your dwelling coverage against current rebuild cost, your wind and hail deductible, which in Georgia is commonly a percentage of insured value rather than a flat dollar amount, and whether your roof pays replacement cost or actual cash value. Ask about discounts for impact-resistant roofing, alarm systems, and bundling.
6. Set Up Real Maintenance for Georgia’s Climate
The systems that fail expensively here fail for predictable reasons, and most of them are humidity and heat.
Service the HVAC twice, once before cooling season and once before heating season, and change filters on a schedule rather than when you remember. Georgia summers run air conditioning hard for five months, and deferred maintenance is also the most common reason a home warranty claim gets denied.
Then handle water. Clean the gutters, extend the downspouts away from the foundation, and confirm the grading slopes away from the house, ideally about six inches of drop over the first ten feet. On red clay, water sitting against a foundation is the mechanism behind the expensive structural problems, and correcting drainage costs a fraction of correcting what it causes. If you are on septic, plan pumping every three to five years and locate your tank and drain field now.
7. Build the Repair Fund and Learn the House
Year one is when you find out what you actually bought, which is different from what the inspection told you.
Set aside a maintenance reserve, with 1% of the home’s value annually being the common planning figure. Then document what you own: the ages of the roof, HVAC, water heater, and appliances, the location of the main water shutoff and the electrical panel, and the service history for anything the seller provided.
Register every manufacturer warranty. Appliances, HVAC equipment, water heater, roofing, and windows all carry their own coverage that frequently outlasts anything the builder or seller provided, and almost nobody registers them. This is also the year to keep receipts for improvements, since capital improvements can affect your cost basis when you eventually sell.
8. Handle the HOA and the Paperwork You Filed Away
The closing folder contains documents that matter later, and the association has expectations you may not know about.
Confirm your HOA account is set up correctly and that dues are being billed to you rather than the prior owner. Read the covenants before you plan a fence, a shed, a pool, a satellite dish, or an exterior paint color, because architectural review approval is generally required first and retroactive approval is a harder conversation. Attend a meeting or read the minutes at least once, since that is where special assessments get discussed months before letters go out.
Then find your closing folder and confirm you have the recorded deed, the owner’s title policy if you purchased one, the survey if one was performed, and the closing disclosure. Keep them somewhere you will find them in ten years, because the next owner’s attorney will ask.
What Homeowners Need to Know
Three dates carry almost all the financial weight, and they are easy to miss because nothing reminds you. The homestead exemption filing, historically April 1 and now potentially extending through your assessment appeal window. The 45 days from your Annual Notice of Assessment, which governs both the appeal and, under the newer rule, a late exemption filing. And your builder warranty anniversary if you bought new construction.
Verify everything at the county level. Georgia has 159 counties, exemption amounts and local rules differ, notice mailing schedules differ, and the counties in Northwest Atlanta do not operate identically. If your address is in Acworth, confirm whether you are in Cobb or Paulding before you call anyone, because the mailing address does not determine your taxing jurisdiction.
And keep records from day one. Maintenance receipts defend warranty claims. Improvement receipts affect your basis. Your closing documents establish what you bought and what was disclosed. Homeowners across Acworth, Kennesaw, Dallas, Cartersville, and Woodstock who keep an organized file spend far less time reconstructing history when they sell.
Frequently Asked Questions
Do I have to reapply for my homestead exemption every year?
In most Georgia counties, no. Once granted, the exemption typically renews automatically as long as you continue to own and occupy the home as your legal residence. It does not transfer between properties, though, so you must file again when you move. Confirm your county’s specific renewal policy, since procedures differ.
Can I appeal my property assessment if I just bought the house?
Yes, and recent buyers often have the strongest case. A recent arm’s length purchase price is compelling evidence of fair market value. If the county’s assessment exceeds what you paid, file within the 45-day window shown on your Annual Notice of Assessment. A successful appeal generally freezes the reduced value for three years, excluding physical improvements.
What if I never received an assessment notice?
Contact your county board of assessors immediately rather than waiting. Notices go to the address on file, which may still reflect the prior owner, and Georgia law generally holds property owners responsible for deadlines regardless. Confirm your mailing address is updated with the county in your first few months of ownership.
Just Closed in Northwest Atlanta?
Most of what costs new homeowners money in year one is a deadline nobody mentioned. If you want an agent who follows up after closing rather than disappearing at the table, reach out.
(404) 867-3869 | nicolefrance-realestate.com/contact/
Curious what your home is worth a year in? Start with a home value estimate, or learn more about Nicole’s background.
Sources: the Georgia Department of Revenue on homestead exemptions, Georgia Legal Aid on exemption and appeal deadlines, and a guide to Georgia’s 45-day appeal window and three-year value freeze.
This post is general information, not legal, tax, or insurance advice. Nicole France is a REALTOR®, not an attorney, tax professional, or insurance agent. Exemption amounts, filing procedures, and deadlines vary by county and change over time. Verify everything with your county tax commissioner and board of assessors.
Nicole France is a REALTOR® with RE/MAX Center serving buyers and sellers across Acworth, Kennesaw, Dallas, Cartersville, and Woodstock. Client Focused · Results Driven.