Georgia housing affordability is slipping out of reach for a lot of working families, and one number from the newest Justice Unfiltered shows why. Rep. Martin Momtahan represents District 17 in Paulding County. He came on the show with a statistic that stops you cold. In his own district, he says, the top five institutional investors own 92 percent of the single-family rental homes.
Not half. Almost all of them.
Momtahan sat down with hosts Tug Cowart and Daniel Matalon, CEO of A 2nd Chance Bail Bonds and A 2nd Chance Monitoring. He is a small business owner first and a lawmaker second, and he talks like it. The housing part of the conversation hit the hardest.
Why Georgia housing affordability keeps slipping away
Momtahan pointed to a figure he said came from Georgia State University research on his district. Big funds, he said, are buying up houses and treating them like a commodity. When five companies own almost every rental on the block, families lose the chance to buy in.
The rent gap tells the story. A privately owned home might rent for around $1,750. A hedge fund landlord, he said, often charges $2,500 to $2,700 for something similar. For a young family trying to get started, that difference is brutal.
He did not stop at rent. A starter home in the area now runs close to $400,000. Daniel and Tug both remembered buying their first homes for well under six figures. Those days are gone.
Then there is the tax side, which most people miss. Big investors appeal their property assessments and push their bills down. When they win, the cost does not disappear. It shifts onto longtime homeowners. Momtahan said property taxes in Paulding County have climbed about 14 percent over the past 20 years, and that kind of jump is hard on seniors and anyone living on a fixed income.
He called himself a small government guy. But he was honest about where this is heading. When a handful of investors own that much, he said, government has to at least have the conversation. Lawmakers are weighing ideas like limiting how much these investors can own. He asked listeners to email him with their own thoughts, because he sees this as something both parties can get behind.
A common-man seat on the Judiciary Committee
Momtahan is the only member of the House Judiciary Committee who is not an attorney. He sees that as a strength.
When the lawyers get lost in the commas and the ifs and the ors, he asks a simple thing. Walk me through how this actually works in real life. Who really wants this bill? More often than not, he said, the only person who wants it is the one talking. Everyone else in the room just shakes their head.
That is the lens he brings to public safety and criminal justice work. Less wordplay, more common sense.
The Georgia land Tennessee still will not give back
Not all of it was heavy. Momtahan also pushed a bill on a border issue that sounds made up but is not.
Georgia, Tennessee, and North Carolina never formally settled their shared line at the 35th parallel. Because of that, he said, there are people living in what should be Georgia who get treated as Tennessee residents. He calls them stranded Georgians in the contested area.
The stakes are real. Water access from the Tennessee River. In-state tuition for families who should qualify for Georgia schools. He pointed to a Supreme Court ruling between New York and New Jersey, where the justices basically said a border is a border, no matter how many years have passed.
His negotiating tactic might be the best part. For an interview with a Chattanooga outlet, he set up the shot with years of Georgia versus Tennessee football scores printed on the wall behind him. Petty? Sure. Effective at getting people to talk? Also yes.
From teaching Travis Tritt’s kids to the Gold Dome
Before politics, Momtahan built a life in Paulding County. He runs West Metro Driving School, a driver’s education business his family has been part of for years. He recently added a digital billboard out in Hiram, too.
His claim to local fame is a good one. His school taught country star Travis Tritt’s kids how to drive. By his telling, Tritt is exactly the regular, down to earth guy you would hope he is, out planting flower beds in jeans when the instructor pulled up.
What Momtahan wishes you knew about how laws get made
The final segment circled back to the heart of the show, which is second chances.
People call Momtahan when the justice system has tangled up them or someone they love. He gives them an honest answer. Changing a law usually will not change the outcome of a case already in motion, because laws are not retroactive. But it can help the next family down the line. That, to him, is the whole point.
He gave an example he is studying now. Older laws block certain convicted criminals from cashing in on books or broadcasts about their crimes. Those rules, he said, were written before social media and streaming existed, so they leave a gap. A constituent brought it to him, and it is the kind of thing he wants to fix.
His ask was simple. Email your legislator. Show up. He says he meets people at the Waffle House over coffee, even folks who disagree with him, and he would rather be candid than tell anyone what they want to hear. You can reach him at [email protected].
That spirit is why this show exists. Georgia housing affordability, fair laws, and real second chances all start with people who are willing to sit down and talk it through.
Listen to the full episode of Justice Unfiltered with Rep. Martin Momtahan at The Podcast Park, or on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, YouTube, and iHeartRadio.
About A 2nd Chance Bail Bonds
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The information in this article is provided for general educational purposes only and does not constitute legal advice. Comments about pending legislation, court decisions, property taxes, and housing policy reflect statements made on the podcast and may change over time. Laws, procedures, and requirements in Georgia can change, and individual circumstances vary. If you have specific legal questions about your situation, please consult a licensed attorney in Georgia. A 2nd Chance Bail Bonds is a licensed bail bond agency, not a law firm.
