Home Repairs - How to Avoid Getting Ripped Off
This document discusses basic issues relating to home repairs and helps you avoid getting ripped off.
By: Atlanta Legal Aid Society
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Mortgage and Foreclosure Relief: Answers for Reservists, Guardsmen and Other Military Personnel
(Separate Website)
Information for service men and women about how the Soldiers and Sailors Relief Act helps with mortgage relief, lease termination and eviction issues.
By: U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD)
Reverse Mortgages
(Separate Website)
A reverse mortgage is a loan against your home that you do not have to pay back for as long as you live in your home. With a reverse mortgage, you can turn the value of your home into cash and not have to make monthly repayments. The total loan must be paid back when the last surviving borrower dies, sells the home, or permanently moves away.
Reverse mortgages are quite a bit different from other types of debt. These loans can be complicated, and you have a lot at stake. So be sure to investigate reverse mortgages carefully before deciding if one makes sense for you.
By: AARP Legal Services Network
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Spanish / Espaņol
Spending the House: A Quick Guide for Advocates on Reverse Mortgages
(Separate Website)
A reverse mortgage is a type of loan that allows senior homeowners to convert the equity in their homes into a source of income, without having to sell the home. For many seniors, the accumulated equity in their home is their primary or only financial asset. Such seniors are on a fixed or limited income and do not have enough money saved to pay for uninsured medical expenses, home improvement, or to meet other pressing needs. For these financially strapped seniors, reverse mortgages are an attractive option. A reverse mortgage, however, must be carefully evaluated as it is more complex than most home equity loans. A senior, for example, must not only understand complicated budget projections, but also make predictions as to his or her future financial needs. To assist seniors with this assessment, counseling is a required part of the application process for most reverse mortgages.
By: National Consumer Law Center
What You Should Know About Refinancing
(Separate Website)
Refinancing is a process in which you pay off one or more existing debts with a new home loan. If you have perfect credit, refinancing is sometimes a good way to obtain a lower interest rate or to convert a variable rate loan to a fixed rate. However, if you are in the midst of financial difficulties, if you have too much debt, or if you have bad credit, refinancing is loaded with pitfalls. We recommend that you be very careful when refinancing debts. Many refinancing loans hurt consumer. Here are twelve things to consider before refinancing.
By: National Consumer Law Center
Home and Personal Property Disaster Loans
(Separate Website)
If you are in a declared disaster area and are the victim of a disaster, you may be eligible for financial assistance from the U.S. Small Business Administration - even if you don't own a business. As a homeowner, renter and/or personal-property owner, you may apply to the SBA for a loan to help you recover from a disaster.
By: U.S. Small Business Administration
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Spanish / Espaņol
Georgia Department of Banking and Finance Website
(Separate Website)
The Georgia Department of Banking and Finance (Department) is the state agency that regulates and examines banks, credit unions and trust companies which are chartered by the State. The Department also has regulatory and/or licensing authority over mortgage brokers and lenders, check cashers, sale of check companies, money transmitters, international banking organizations, and bank holding companies conducting business in Georgia.
By: Georgia Department of Banking and Finance
Mortgage and Real Estate Loans Information from the Federal Trade Commission
(Separate Website)
This web site contains documents relating to: (1) home equity loans, home equity credit lines and common home equity scams, (2) high rate, high fee mortgages, (3) reverse mortgages, (4) payday loans, and (5) mortgage discrimination. You may view the documents on-line and print them out or print them in PDF format.
By: Federal Trade Commission
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Spanish / Espaņol
Housing Codes and Repairs
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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Spanish / Espaņol
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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Spanish / Espaņol
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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Spanish / Espaņol
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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Spanish / Espaņol
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
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LegalAid-GA is a project of Atlanta Legal Aid Society, Georgia Legal Services Program and the Pro Bono Project of the State Bar of Georgia. The project is funded by the Legal Services Corporation and the Georgia Access to Justice Project.
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