A listing price tells you very little about the monthly cost. Two homes at the same price can differ a lot once tax, insurance, association dues and upkeep are added. Every field in the worksheet starts empty, because the right number is the one for the home you are looking at.
Decision tool 3
What would it cost you to own a home here?
Type in your own numbers. Nothing is pre-filled with a market figure, and the links point to where to find yours: the current tax bill, your insurance quote, the association’s adopted budget and the utilities.
Where to find each number
Price, down payment and rate
Use the list or offer price and the rate your lender quotes you, not a rate from an ad. If you are comparing two homes, run the worksheet once for each.
Property tax
How the tax is set
- In Georgia, property is assessed at 40% of fair market value unless the law says otherwise (O.C.G.A. 48-5-7). Tax bills show both the fair market value and the assessed value. Georgia Dept. of Revenue, checked 2026-10-19
- Georgia property taxes are charged against the owner of the property on January 1 (O.C.G.A. 48-5-9). DOR notes that for most counties taxes are due by December 20, but this varies by county. Georgia Dept. of Revenue, checked 2026-10-19
- The Fulton County Board of Assessors' 'Property Search' quick link goes to its qPublic (Schneider) parcel search, where a parcel's owner, values and tax district can be checked. Fulton County qPublic, checked 2026-10-19
Find the parcel on Fulton County qPublic and use the most recent bill as a starting point. Then adjust for what changes when you buy. The seller’s exemptions come off at the deed change, and if they had held a frozen base value for years, your bill can be higher than theirs.
In Fulton, a granted homestead exemption renews automatically while the owner keeps living in the home under the same ownership. If the deed changes, the exemption is removed and the owner must re-file. (Fulton County Board of Assessors, checked 2026-10-19)
What homestead does to the number
Homestead exemptions take an amount off the assessed value, not off the bill, and the saving depends on each year’s rates. We do not convert them into dollars. Two things are certain. If you close after January 1, you have no homestead of your own for that year. Once you file, the City’s Base Freeze limits how fast your taxable value can rise for City taxes.
Homestead and the bill
- Georgia's homestead exemption generally requires that the homeowner owned the home and it was their legal residence as of January 1 of the tax year (O.C.G.A. 48-5-40). Georgia Dept. of Revenue, checked 2026-10-19
- The City of Atlanta's own floating homestead exemption (the 'Base Freeze', from 2019's HB 820, approved by Atlanta voters) limits the yearly taxable increase in a homestead's assessment to 2.6% over the lowest base-year value, for City taxes. City of Atlanta, checked 2026-10-19
- For 2026 Fulton County announced two new homestead exemptions: one for homeowners in the Fulton County School District and one for homeowners in the Atlanta Public Schools area. Assessors apply them automatically to qualifying owners who already have a basic exemption. Fulton County, checked 2026-10-19
For the first year, enter the tax without your homestead. For later years, ask the Board of Assessors how your exemptions apply. Our property tax and homestead guide explains each one.
Insurance
For a house, get a homeowner’s policy quote. For a condo, ask the association which parts of the building its master policy covers, then get a condo unit-owner (HO-6) quote for the rest. Look the address up on the flood map, and ask for a flood quote if it sits in a mapped flood zone.
FEMA's Flood Map Service Center (msc.fema.gov) is the official public source for flood maps; buyers can search a specific address there. (FEMA, checked 2026-10-19)
Condo or HOA dues, and special assessments
We do not publish dues for any building or neighborhood. Ask the association for its adopted budget, what the dues cover, the reserve balance and any special assessment that has been voted or is being discussed. Read recent minutes for repairs that have been put off. A special assessment is a real cost even when it is not in the monthly figure, so add it to the upkeep line.
For a covered (first) sale, the contract is voidable by the buyer until at least seven days after the seller delivers the listed documents (floor plan, declaration and amendments, articles and bylaws, any ground lease, long management contracts, budget, and facility leases), and the contract must carry a bold legend saying so. (O.C.G.A. (Justia), checked 2026-10-19)
That document list covers first sales. On a resale, ask for the same papers anyway. See the condo resale seven-day rule.
Utilities
Ask the seller for a year of power, gas, water and sewer bills, so you see summer and winter. We have not researched which companies serve which addresses, so confirm the providers from those bills. For internet, get a quote for the exact address.
Upkeep
Set aside a monthly amount for the roof, heating and cooling, painting and the yard. On a wooded lot, include tree care. If you plan to remove a healthy regulated tree, the 2026 recompense is a separate one-time cost.
Under the new ordinance, the established recompense value for removing a healthy tree is $140.00 (per diameter inch, per the ordinance's worked example), effective January 1, 2026. From January 1, 2027 it adjusts each year for Atlanta-area inflation (CPI-U). (City of Atlanta, checked 2026-10-19)
One-time costs the worksheet leaves out
- Inspections, a survey and an appraisal during due diligence.
- Closing costs and the property tax split on your settlement statement.
- A special assessment that is due soon after you buy.
- Tree recompense, if you will remove healthy regulated trees.
- Moving, and any work you plan before you move in.
Keep these in a separate list. They do not change the monthly figure, but they change how much cash you need on the way in.
Reading the result
The worksheet adds the monthly loan payment, one twelfth of each yearly cost and the monthly items. Change one input at a time to see what moves the total most. If tax or dues move it more than the price does, that tells you where to ask harder questions before you offer.
This is a planning estimate from your own inputs. It is not a loan quote, an insurance quote or tax advice.
Questions buyers ask
How much is Atlanta’s tree recompense in 2026?
The established recompense value for removing a healthy tree is $140 per diameter inch, effective January 1, 2026. It adjusts each year for inflation from January 1, 2027.
Source: City of Atlanta
Next step
Compare the homes that fit your budget on Buckhead homes for sale, or follow the whole process in buying a home in Buckhead.
Rules, rates and maps change. Every rule on this page links to the office that sets it; confirm with that office before you rely on it.
