Property Tax Question

Your house is capped at a 10% increase only if you have filed a homestead exemption on it (I sure hope you have).

Other than that, there must have been some high sales in your area, or they just flat got it wrong.

Usually you'll see two values, "appraisal value" and "market value". The appraisal value is the one you are taxed on and that is the one that is capped. The market value is the one that they say the market would bear if you sold your house today, but you aren't taxed on it. What it is, however, is the target that your appraisal value will get to someday if you don't protest.

Some things to protest: the fact that there was such a huge jump, perhaps there was a mistake.

Make sure they have the sq footage correct, the number of rooms, the additions, such as a summer kitchen or a pool.

Then start digging into neighborhood sales, which they should provide access to. They will also look at comparable market values near you as well from their own system, but actual sales are the best. Make sure not to try to protest based on "appraisal value," they don't care. They only look at "market value".

If this is your first time protesting, good luck. You are about to meet a very strange part of our government. HCAD is a totally independent organization that sets the amount of tax you pay by being in charge of an arbitrary value that your house may or may not be worth, however, they do not have to answer to any voters since they are not elected. You are at their mercy, and a lot of the "appraisers" are on little power trips, so make sure to play nice, thank them for their time, etc. Don't go in pissed off.

 

Governments have tighter budgets right now. Many like you haven't seen you values increase sharply in years despite the fact that the market increased greatly over that time period.

 

I've done it several times, both online and in person. Get some data on the condition of your neighborhood (pictures), selling prices, foreclosures etc. Come armed with data (even if it's subjective).

Most of the front-line guys who hear the appeals are younger guys who don't give a **** provided you are reasonable in your preferred appraised value.

 

I can vouch for this. I know someone who works at HCAD. Stroke their ego a bit and they will pretty much do what they can to reduce your value.

If there was a significant increase...then its most probably one of two things. They finally corrected a mistake that they haven't caught in the previous years OR they made a mistake in appraising your property.

What you are scheduled for is what they call a "courtesy hearing". The appraiser looks thru your account to justify/clarify your new value and you present your evidence. You piss them off and they don't have to do you any favors...regardless of how long you sit in front of them. If all goes well then you hearing should last about 15 minutes. If you cant get it accomplished in 15 minutes then thats as far as you will get.

If you don't like what you hear then they will send you to a formal review board and it can go either way in their. BTW, you have to come in another day to do this.

 

I have protested both in Harris County and Dallas County...much smoother process in Houston...I protested last yr in Dallas both have the same process, they basically give you a chance to talk to some guy that works there to lower your value...if you don't agree, then you go in front of the board...total bs process...

i had comps, and also showed them how much my neighbor paid for her condo, which is exactly my same floor plan as mine and still didn't reduce it any further...and still had the balls to say, "the values are rising in your neighborhood"...totally out of touch with reality...I told them to suck it and listen to the news sometime...

 

It probably should have dropped last year when the real estate market tanked and not stayed level. Not knowing anything about your house, I'd bet you have a good chance of winning.

 

So where do you guys get the evidence to bring to the protest? Mine is tomorrow and I'm totally unprepared.

 

The real estate market didn't really "tank" in Houston... certainly not anything like the rest of the country.

Especially inside the loop in Houston, it stayed pretty strong and/or even. I don't know as much about suburbs, cause I stay away from those areas.

 

It's the ##*$&#^%( CATALINA WINE MIXER!!!!

Sorry, man... that's all your username reminded me of... :grin:

 

There are alot of tax protest companies out there that will do research for you for a nominal fee. A realtor can also help you out.

 

How did it go?

 

It went horribly. I explained to the guy that all of the houses they were comparing mine too were in a much nicer part of The Heights, and I highlighted houses in my same neighborhood and the prices they sold for. He basically wanted to hear nothing of it, and now I'm going to the formal appeal in 2 weeks.

Also, I wanted to let you guys know that the guy I dealt with only wanted to talk about the market value number, not the appraisal value. I showed him how houses in within a few feet from me with the exact same floorplan were selling for 40k less than the market value they gave mine, but like I said he basically blew me off. SOOOOo frustrating!

Even worse, most of my neighbors that HAVE THE EXACT SAME HOUSE that I do only had their taxes go up by a few grand, and some not at all. Yet for some reason HCAD doesn't seem to think those houses are a valid comparison to mine?? The appraised value that they gave me this year is 23k more than last year. The market value is almost 40k more!

 

I know two people this year that had NO success with the intiial person but both had their values lowered at the formal hearing. Hopefully that one will work out better for you.

 

The first meeting rarely helps. If you are asking for a few grand knocked off, its usually not a big deal, but on the ones when they are really trying to increase or are out of whack, you have to go to the formal hearing.

Here is what I do for the formal hearing:

Take three comps. You just mentioned a few you can take. You can only compare to the MARKET value, like you said, they care care nothing for the APPRAISAL value.

If you are comparing to the actual HCAD page, print them out and take them. Make sure to explain how they are the exact same house. Print out a map and show them, especially if you can get a map that shows their comps in a different section of the Heights compared to your section. Also go take actual pictures of the houses from outside. You'll make a little packet for all three comps (and will need four or five copies I believe). I copy for yourself, a copy for each of the three board members, and a copy for the "appraiser".

If you can find actual sales prices in your neighborhood as close to January 1 as possible, those are the best. I believe that you will be able to have access to sales records now that you have a protest filed. You used to be able to access it online, but I think you might have to actually go down there now. Make sure to check.

Printing out a couple of listings in your area as well doesn't hurt, but they won't pay too much attention to them usually.

The other thing to do is to make your house look as terrible as possible. I know its hard, but highlight a roof that needs to be replaced, cracks in the sidewalks, anything. DON'T take pictures of the inside of your house. Never volunteer any inside pictures.

Also, double check the sq footage and size/number of rooms. They like to add extra rooms sometimes. If you find a mistake in footage or rooms, they will often lower automatically.

That's all I can say. The board members are volunteers. You'll be sitting at a table with three board members and an "appraiser". You'll give your case. The appraiser will give the case for the appraisal. I think you get a chance to rebutt the appraisal's case too. Then they will decide.

Despite being volunteers, the board members are on power trips. This is there chance to be a part of government. They hold your money in their hands. Even if you hate the process, act like you are going to court. Dress decently, be polite, thank them for their time, etc. It DOES make a difference. Same advice as above, if you go in with a chip on your shoulder, its not going to help. They see 1000 pissed off people a week, so if you are polite, they'll be more willing to work with you. Also act "impressed" by the whole thing, like a little nervous. It actually works. You own your home, they are taxing you out of it, they are your only hope.

EDIT: Also, on the amount that you are asking for, don't be stingy. Low ball them. I've seen them just average what they have, and what you ask for. I've also seen two board members vote for my number, and one vote to keep it at their number. They just added it up and divided by three. So if you ask for a lower number, it'll often help. If its crazy they won't consider it, but don't give them anything before you even show up thinking if you don't ask for as much off they'll just give it to you.

 

Great information, thanks so much. I'll let you know how it goes.

 

We protest our property taxes every year. I really hope you get a young girl! The guy we got took his job way too serious. I had one of my friends who is a realtor pull comps in my neighborhood and she even told me what value they should give me BUT NO! The guy I got had crazy eyes and never gets laid and only lowered the value by like $1100

 

The courtesy meeting with the appraiser is often a joke. A lot of the "appraisers" take it personally that you would dare challenge their expert opinion. Its like meeting with the prosecuter before your case goes to trial. Sometimes you can work soemthing out, but more often than not, they want to stick to their guns and it takes the independent body of mediators at the hearing to actually change anything. I also think they are capped at a certain percentage in those meetings anyways, whereas the board can set whatever they want, so if you ask for more than 10 or 15% off, the "appraiser" has his/her hands tied.

Its also a little bit luck of the draw on who you get in the board hearings as well. Sometimes you get board members that are really working to help you out, and sometimes you get board members that are obviously in a pretty friendly relationship with the HCAD appraiser and will side with them.

I've seen examples of realtor friends of mine go into a hearing with airtight comps of recent sales in and around their home and pretty much put together the perfect case, but get almost nothing. I've also seen examples of people put together pretty weak cases and luck out and get a sympathetic board. Luck of the draw.

The best thing you are doing, however, is protesting EVERY year. You basically have to now, in lots of parts of Houston, just to protect yourself. The good thing is you can file online now, and if you aren't getting killed each year, you can hopefully maintain by chipping a little off year over year without ever having to go into the actual HCAD office. The thing is, even small increases compound on themselves over time. So 3 to 5% increase doesn't sound like much, but 3 to 5% every year over 10 years adds up a lot, and there are parts of Houston that don't have home values increasing at all.

EDIT: I'm kind of interested in how it turned out for Ima_drummer as well.

 

If the appraisal value is still 40k below market value, why do you expect them to lower it?

Compare houses in the neighborhood is fine if they are all the same. Besides floor plan, you have the varied conditions of the houses, you have improvements to houses. Some people might have lower appraisal value because their foundation cracks or something.

If you don't what that something is, it's not easy to argue that your appraisal value should be as low as the next guy.