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re: Harris County residents: best method to protest value?
Posted on 5/22/14 at 12:16 pm to sneakytiger
Posted on 5/22/14 at 12:16 pm to sneakytiger
You going to ifile our just schedule a hearing?
1
Posted on 5/22/14 at 12:24 pm to LSUJuice
I'm leaning towards a hearing... I need to get the best possible valuation this year. Thousands of dollars are at stake.
My neighbors bought late last year and their tax value went up 50%! These idiots have my lot valued at the same exact price as my neighbors, only my house sits directly across from an HISD elementary school.
My neighbors bought late last year and their tax value went up 50%! These idiots have my lot valued at the same exact price as my neighbors, only my house sits directly across from an HISD elementary school.
Posted on 5/22/14 at 12:34 pm to mikelbr
hcad.org are not comps.
That is simply what the appraisal has been for the tax year & historical. Comps are market transactions.
That is simply what the appraisal has been for the tax year & historical. Comps are market transactions.
Posted on 5/22/14 at 12:36 pm to Duck
Aren't tax values typically lower than market? What good would showing market prices do for you?
Posted on 5/22/14 at 12:39 pm to Duck
quote:
hcad.org are not comps. That is simply what the appraisal has been for the tax year & historical. Comps are market transactions
I know that. And that's what he's contesting, his appraised value(which determines assessed value) as set by an appraiser for the County, not what his house is worth on the market.
This post was edited on 5/22/14 at 12:41 pm
Posted on 5/22/14 at 1:41 pm to LSUJuice
quote:
We bought a house that had just been renovated so I expected the improvement value to go up. But the land value almost doubled for everyone in the neighborhood.
When did you buy the house?
I bought my house in in April 2013. The appraisal this year was 45% more than what I paid for the house and 40% more than the two appraisals I had at the time of purchase.
I filed online with that info and offered a settlement of 10% over what I paid and they accepted it.
Posted on 5/22/14 at 1:49 pm to mikelbr
quote:
I know that. And that's what he's contesting, his appraised value(which determines assessed value) as set by an appraiser for the County, not what his house is worth on the market.
Not to be an arse, but you are entirely wrong. Comparables are open market transactions between buyers. The goal/job of the assessor is to estimate this value. It is stated on their website:
quote:
The Harris County Appraisal District is a regional agency responsible for appraising all property within the boundaries of Harris County for property tax purposes. By law, the district must appraise property at the price for which it would sell on the open market as of January 1.
So if he wants to argue his assessment, he should use market comparables to support his case (not information on other people's assessments). This is coming from someone that has successfully challenged an assessment in Harris County.
Posted on 5/22/14 at 1:53 pm to Duck
quote:
So if he wants to argue his assessment, he should use market comparables to support his case (not information on other people's assessments). This is coming from someone that has successfully challenged an assessment in Harris County
As a programmer who worked for 2 years in cads all over Texas and knows the business, market value is rarely at appraised value. I also took two of the training classes that appraisers take to be certified. an agents comp will almost aways be much higher depending on the county (certainly in Harris) than appraised value from the cad.
Appraised values are his best defense if lower than his.
This post was edited on 5/22/14 at 1:54 pm
Posted on 5/22/14 at 2:11 pm to mikelbr
Creepers! This just popped in my FB News feed 
Dallas news article about protesting
Dallas news article about protesting
This post was edited on 5/22/14 at 2:12 pm
Posted on 5/22/14 at 2:33 pm to mikelbr
So how would this affect someone buying in the next few months?
Posted on 5/23/14 at 8:29 am to Slingscode
quote:i have used Novotny
We contract with a firm that takes 1/2 of the amount of money they save us in the protest. Sorry, but I don't have the name of the firm at my finger tips.
Posted on 5/23/14 at 8:35 am to mikelbr
quote:
He shouldn't need an agent for comps
You claim this, but I filed an online protest and laid out my case pretty clearly.
Used 6 different comps. 2 on same street but larger and used $/sqft, 2 same size that had sold in the zipcode within the last 4 months, and 2 that were currently listed.
Laid it all out and got the response back... "Law doesnt require disclosure of selling prices, so we don't have the same data that you may have... We are setting a time for you to speak with an appraiser and if it can't be resolved at that point, you can go to hearing"
So my question was, if they don't know what the houses in the market are truly selling for, how in the frick can you put a price on them???
Posted on 6/18/14 at 9:59 am to Lsut81
Finally got this notice on my protest...
I have no idea why they are referring to a lack of sales disclosures, since my protest was on the basis of comparable appraised values. Guess I'll be getting the chance to sit down with these yo-yo's in the near future. Any luck from the OP or other posters?
quote:
Thank you for signing up for our iSettle™ program. Unfortunately, after reviewing the information we have available, we cannot propose an online settlement for your 2014 protest. Since sales disclosure is not mandatory in Texas, we acknowledge that our market information may not be complete and that you may have evidence unique to your property that may support a reduction in your property’s market value. To be sure you have an adequate opportunity to have it reviewed, we will be setting you up for appointments with one of our appraisers and for a hearing with the Appraisal Review Board. The Appraisal Review Board will set a hearing for your protest and notify you of the time, date and place of the hearing by standard USPS mail.
I have no idea why they are referring to a lack of sales disclosures, since my protest was on the basis of comparable appraised values. Guess I'll be getting the chance to sit down with these yo-yo's in the near future. Any luck from the OP or other posters?
Posted on 6/18/14 at 10:32 am to sneakytiger
quote:
I have no idea why they are referring to a lack of sales disclosures, since my protest was on the basis of comparable appraised values.
Basically they are saying they essentially made up the number. Do you live in a part of town without a lot of comparable sales?
This isn't a bad thing. Go in fully prepared with multiple copies of all of your information. I've found that generally, if you have a reasonable leg to stand on, they will come down. Do not expect them to fully accept your number. You have to decide if they come down enough for you, or if not, if it is worth it to go to the ARB.
Posted on 6/18/14 at 10:35 am to sneakytiger
quote:
Mine went up to the 10% cap this year, but I bought my house in Jan 14, so the cap will come off next here and they will really frick me.
Is your property tax value below your purchase price?
Posted on 6/18/14 at 10:43 am to sneakytiger
quote:
Finally got this notice on my protest...
I'm scheduled to meet with an appraiser on Friday for an "informal" reviews which the notice claims can resolve most cases.
What all should I bring? Obviously brining all the comps that my buddy real estate agent gave me. Gonna bring photos of the vacant/overgrown lot that backs directly up to my property. Thinking about bringing photos of the damage to the property line that was done during recent construction along another side of the property.... Anything else I should try to use?
Posted on 6/18/14 at 10:50 am to LSUFanHouston
quote:
Do you live in a part of town without a lot of comparable sales?
Yes, but appraised values in the area are significantly less than sales values, across the board so I can't really use that.
quote:
Is your property tax value below your purchase price?
No the appraised value is about 10% lower. Other homes in my neighborhood are probably 20% lower based on recent sales, which is sort of the basis of my protest.
Posted on 6/18/14 at 11:30 am to Lsut81
quote:
What all should I bring?
Would you buddy realtor be willing to do a broker price opinion on your house?
Does your house have problems? Point those out and document with pictures.
Otherwise... what you are looking for is something that will realistically show what you can expect the house to sell for. Just like any appraisal, it's sometimes more art than science.
Posted on 6/20/14 at 9:18 am to LSUFanHouston
Going to meet with the appraiser this afternoon.
I've got
2 Current listed (Same size/area)
2 Sold within last 2 months
2 Sold within my complex (Last 6 months)
Excel spreadsheet breaking down averages and where mine would fall using the $/sqft
iPad with photos of vacant overgrown lot and damage that was done to my property line during recent construction.
What kind of pictures of problems around the house would be relevant? I could photo the tile floor downstairs that bowed up and will need to be replaced
Thoughts?
fwiw, my numbers come out about 25k less than what they are trying to appraise it for. Likelihood appraiser agrees, especially since I have all the documentation?
I've got
2 Current listed (Same size/area)
2 Sold within last 2 months
2 Sold within my complex (Last 6 months)
Excel spreadsheet breaking down averages and where mine would fall using the $/sqft
iPad with photos of vacant overgrown lot and damage that was done to my property line during recent construction.
What kind of pictures of problems around the house would be relevant? I could photo the tile floor downstairs that bowed up and will need to be replaced
Thoughts?
fwiw, my numbers come out about 25k less than what they are trying to appraise it for. Likelihood appraiser agrees, especially since I have all the documentation?
Posted on 6/20/14 at 12:22 pm to Lsut81
Make two copies of everything - one for you and one for the appraiser to keep with him/her.
If you got a few min, I might send the pics on iPad to Walgreens and print out. Again, you want to make the appraiser's job as easy as possible.
Pics around/in house: major structural/foundational issues (separations near doors, cracks near corners), any mold/insect damage, etc. Around home - any major drainage issues, isses around exterior foundation, cracks in concrete driveway, etc.
Unless you get someone ready to hit 290 early or someone completely new, I would not expect them to take your number and move on. It's a negotiation.
Good luck! Let us know how you did.
If you got a few min, I might send the pics on iPad to Walgreens and print out. Again, you want to make the appraiser's job as easy as possible.
Pics around/in house: major structural/foundational issues (separations near doors, cracks near corners), any mold/insect damage, etc. Around home - any major drainage issues, isses around exterior foundation, cracks in concrete driveway, etc.
Unless you get someone ready to hit 290 early or someone completely new, I would not expect them to take your number and move on. It's a negotiation.
Good luck! Let us know how you did.
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