Property tax question

I would call again, hoping for a different person just to be safe.

 

Sometimes they wait a long time to send you anything. But it sounds like this is on THEM, so just relax and pray they forgot you exist. That's what I'd do.

 

Get it in writing, always.

 

Not sure why they would have two account numbers if you only own one property? Assuming this is residential. I would just pay the bill you received and not worry about any "pending" account.

 

Can you pull up any results at the tax assessor collector site under your name or physical address (rather than the account numbers)? A lot of times, when new developments are plotted, the lots are only assigned a legal description, and it's not until a house is built that are they assigned an actual street address. I think this "transitional" period could account for the double account numbers.

 

It sounds like they haven't caught up on updating their records with your physical address, so they've given you a transitional tag. Until they are able to generate a Tax ID for your property (usually that number starts with an R), it will probably just come up as "pending" or "no data found." I would keep tabs on it, but I wouldn't worry too much. They will send you a tax statement once everything has been input. I'm dealing with a similar situation on a property I'm looking to acquire.

 

I think you can search by address on the HCAD site. I haven't used it much after the redesign.

 

I'd call them a couple of times -- because maybe the next person knows more, and because you can demonstrate you made a good-faith effort to resolve. Then just wait for your interest-free loan to expire when they finally send you a bill. If they charge a late fee, ask that it be waived because you called in and they didn't have their ish together.

 

I'll PM you later this evening. Would rather give you as much info without going just off the top of my head while I'm at work

 

@Haymitch

You have a new build, so this might be the issue. I have a friend who got a new build in Sienna Plantation that they bought in the middle of the year. Their first year, they paid taxes without any problems through escrow. But then they under paid by nearly $10k their 2nd year because their bank under funded their monthly escrow payments because the payments were still valued based upon the initial years valuation of the property (which was valued based upon the lot before the home was built). HCAD (or Fort Bend in my friends case) performs appraisals prior to May (my friend bought in July / August), so at the time only the land was appraised the first year and not the house because it was still considered "Construction In Progress" when it was valued.

I know that this is not the same as the situation you're in, but its possible that this is all because your in a new build

I'm also going to PM you some other details that I don't want to make public here

 

I didn't want to start a new thread and need some advice, I got my HC Appraisal for my new taxes and my head about exploded. I live in the Champions area and bought my house 16 months ago, I haven't made any major improvements (a few DIY projects that required no permit) but my dam taxes went up by almost 26k.......they also put the value of my home up $44k over what I bought it for. There is a protest letter that I will fill out but whats the best avenue to fight this, I thought about getting the median cost per foot in my subdivision (its very small but has quite a few sales over the past year) and showing them that but I have no clue how to go the best route.......do you hire someone or go it alone? I am going to ask my neighbors but to be honest I barely know them and that may be a bit personal

 

You need to price your house accordingly and be able to back it up with facts. It may behoove you to get an appraiser in, that $600ish will be worth the money if you can prove that your house isn't worth what your neighbor's is. If your house is out of date, that's a huge bonus because you can show pictures of your home to the HCAD review board and say, hey, these houses that sold at X amount had all new floors, countertops, paint, etc, my house is a POS by comparison. This is good ammo to have for future years too.

HCAD has an online protest so you can start ASAP.

But be aware that home values are through the roof, and even if you can whittle away at what they're charging you, it's probably not going to be satisfactory. The supply just isn't there and garbage homes have doubled in value in the last two-four years. You can blame Californians and Millennials if it makes you feel better (you really should be blaming other people but that's a D&D discussion).

 

Thanks......an appraiser might be the way to go!!

 

Just be aware that they're going to use recent comparables and, because of the nature of the market right now, those are also going to be grossly inflated.

 

It’s insane lol

 

I want to say , dam if I could sell if for what you have appraised the value of the home I dam sure would but its not even in the right ballpark

 

That's why you get granular and educated. Know your market, know why those houses sold for x amount. Come with pictures, appraisal, etc.

The key to winning with government is understanding bureaucracy. If you understand their rules, and play by them, you will get a much better outcome. That's why we have lawyers and why they get paid well. They're professional bureaucrats.

It also doesn't hurt to be polite when you deal with actual people. 98% of people who are protesting are really just b****ing. A little bit of honey can get you a long way at the CAD or DMV when all they deal with is assholes, all day, every day.

 

You can check your neighbors tax rates and property values by going to their website. https://www.hctax.net/Property/PropertyTax