Kelly Loeffler's Atlanta mansion, 'Descante,' mysteriously dropped in value by millions of dollars, giving her a tax cut of roughly $88,000
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Republican Sen. Kelly Loeffler's sprawling Atlanta mansion dropped in value by roughly $6 million in 2016, significantly cutting her property-tax bill, and no one knows why, The Daily Beast reported.
Loeffler and her husband bought the mansion, called "Descante," for $10.5 million in 2009 and paid $200,000 in property taxes until 2016.
Then the home's value mysteriously slipped to $4.15 million, reducing their tax bill to $90,000. A slight increase in the value in 2020 means they will shell out about $112,000 in property taxes this year, per the report.
The Republican senator is running against the Democrat Raphael Warnock in a highly anticipated Georgia runoff election on January 5.
The value of GOP Sen. Kelly Loeffler's Atlanta mansion, known as "Descante," dropped by roughly $6 million in 2016, and no one knows why, The Daily Beast reported on Wednesday.
Loeffler and her husband, Jeffrey Sprecher, saw their property-tax bill drop precipitously as a result, even after investing hundreds of thousands of dollars in improvements and as home prices went up across the city.
The couple bought the home for $10.5 million in 2009. According to The Daily Beast, it was the most expensive private home purchase in Atlanta's history.
The property value held steady for the next seven years, based on appraisals from local officials for tax purposes. But in 2016, it mysteriously dropped by 60%, to $4.15 million.
With the home valued at $10.5 million, Loeffler and Sprecher paid about $200,000 in property taxes to the city and county governments, per the report. But their tax bill plummeted to $90,000 in 2016.
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In 2015, the couple spent almost $90,000 to renovate the kitchen, $150,000 to build a new greenhouse, and $125,000 on various outdoor improvements, The Daily Beast reported, citing city records.
The value of the home rose slightly this year, to $5 million, translating to a $112,000 property-tax bill - $88,000 less than what the couple originally paid.
The Daily Beast said there were no signs that the couple acted improperly or took nonpublic avenues to see their home devalued and tax bill lowered. But the outlet said that it could not find an explanation for the drop in value in city and county records and that a local official also could not explain it.
"The employees responsible for these changes, including the appraiser, the Residential Property Manager, the Deputy Chief Appraiser and the Chief Appraiser, are no longer within Fulton County and there is no documentation suggesting the cause of these changes," a Fulton County representative told The Daily Beast.
Loeffler was appointed to the Senate by Gov. Brian Kemp late last year and was sworn in back in January. She filled the seat that was held by Sen. Johnny Isakson, who stepped down because of health issues.
After the election on November 3, Loeffler advanced to a highly anticipated runoff election against the Democrat Raphael Warnock set for January 5.
Loeffler's campaign and her Senate office did not respond to Business Insider's requests for comment.
Watch: Biden hits Georgia campaign trail ahead of runoffs
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