After a Disaster: Repairing Your Home
(Separate Website)
If your house has been damaged by a natural disaster - flood, fire, snow/ice, tornado or earthquake - chances are you're on the hunt for a reputable contractor to help with repair and restoration. Inevitably, the demand for qualified contractors after a disaster usually exceeds the supply. Enter the home repair rip-off artist, who may overcharge, perform shoddy work or skip town without finishing your job.
By: Federal Trade Commission
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Georgia Consumer's Guide to Home Improvements
(Separate Website)
Are you considering making any improvements to your home? If so, select the contractor with great care. To avoid many of the common pitfalls of remodeling, think about: (1) What you want to have done. (2) What it will realistically take to do the job. (3) How much you are willing to spend and what type of professional you want to do the job.
By: Governor's Office of Consumer Affairs
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Home Improvement Scams Alert
(Separate Website)
Many low-income elderly homeowners are targeted by scam artists who use high pressure tactics to sell unneeded and overpriced contracts for "home improvements." Often these scam artists charge more than their quoted prices or their work does not live up to their promises. When the senior refuses to pay for shoddy or incomplete work, the contractor or an affiliated lender threatens foreclosure on the senior's home.
By: National Consumer Law Center
Repairs and Mechanics' Liens in Georgia
This document discusses repairs and the mechanics' liens that a someone repairing your auto or home can can levy on the property they repaired. The document is excerpted from An Introduction to Law in Georgia, Fourth Edition, published by the Carl Vinson Institute of Government, 1998 (updated 2004).
By: Carl Vinson Institute of Government, University of Georgia
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Insurance
Frequently Asked Questions about Homeowners' Insurance
(Separate Website)
This web page answers common questions about homeowners' insurance. Homeowners insurance provides the policyholder protection for damage or loss to his or her dwelling, its contents and additional living expense. Further, it protects that policyholder from claims of others generated by his or her alleged negligent acts of commission or omission or those of relatives residing in that household.
By: Georgia Department of Insurance
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Property Taxes
Frequently Asked Questions of the Georgia Property Tax Division
(Separate Website)
This web site contains information about Georgia Property Taxes.
By: Georgia Department of Revenue
Georgia Taxpayer Bill of Rights
(Separate Website)
Basic information about your rights as a taxpayer, your rights during an audit, your rights to dispute any determinations that you owe taxes.
By: Georgia Department of Revenue
Information about Property Taxes in Georgia
(Separate Website)
This section provides specific information on property taxation in the various counties in Georgia. Use the pulldown menu to select a county. Information is provided for each county on the following topics: (1) Location of Courthouse, (2) Local Tax Officials, (3) Property Tax Returns, (4) Homestead Exemptions, (4) Freeport Exemptions, (5) Ad Valorem Tax Payments, (6) Valuation Appeals, (7) Ad Valorem Tax Refunds, (8) Motor Vehicle Registration, (9) Mobile Home Taxation, (10) Intangible Recording Tax. Taxpayers that have questions about the information presented on these pages should contact their local tax officials.
By: Georgia Department of Revenue
Property Tax Relief for Seniors and Veterans with Disabilities
Georgia law provides property tax and school tax benefits to senior citizens and to veterans with disabilities. Please be aware that this web page gives only a general description of the Georgia tax benefits. Your situation may be different enough so that the general rules will not apply.
By: Elder Law Committee of State Bar of Georgia
Related Information
EarnBenefits Online
(Separate Website)
How to get free checking accounts, homebuying resources, repairing your credit
By: Seedco
Georgia State Fire Code
(Separate Website)
This Georgia State Minimum Standard Code (the International Fire Code) establishes regulations affecting or relating to structures, processes and premises and safeguards from the hazards of fire and explosion arising from the storage, handling or use of structures, materials or devices; from conditions hazardous to life, property or public welfare in the occupancy of structures or premises; and from fire hazards in the structure or on the premise from occupancy or operation. It also applies to the construction, extension, repair, alteration or removal of fire suppression and alarm systems.
By: Georgia.gov
Mobile Homes and Manufactured Homes
Consumer Guides
Getting the Mobile Home You Deserve
(Separate Website)
Advice for Mobile Home buyers.
By: National Consumer Law Center
How to Buy a Manufactured Home
(Separate Website)
A Consumer's Guide to Today's Manufactured Home
By: Federal Trade Commission
Getting Financing
Manufactured Homes Consumer Guide
(Separate Website)
By an act of Congress in 1974, the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) was designated as the government agency to oversee the Federal Manufactured Housing Program. The area within HUD responsible for the oversight function is the Office of Regulatory Affairs and Manufactured Housing, Office of Manufactured Housing. Most States have a State Administrative Agency (SAA) that administers the HUD program in that State. A listing of the SAAs can be found in the homeowner's manual that is provided with each new home.
By: U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development
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Manufactured Housing and Standards
(Separate Website)
The Manufactured Housing Program is a national HUD program established to protect the health and safety of the owners of manufactured (mobile) homes. These web pages contain inforamtion for consumers and businesses.
By: U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development
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Home Page
Intake Workers
(Separate Website)