Texas property taxes are getting out of hand in the Republic of Texas. My property taxes went up 1500% in the past four years in Burnet county. I've watched a video here on RUclips where they went up 5000% in an area of Harker Heights of Texas. Basically "We the people" are renting our own property for whatever the local assessor says you need to pay. The price steadily increased EVERY YEAR. Eventually if you get behind they will try to take it away from you. I'm not against paying for local services but we've paid more than enough at lower rates and the assessor continuously increases the rates. I thought I owned my property because I have the deed and paid for it in full. If " we the people" don't stand up for what is right and for what is blatantly wrong then these local tax assessors will continue to do what is essentially taxing you out of your land.
I agree that the property taxes are absolutely ridiculous. The county is all of a sudden charging $7 per square foot just for the land in my neighborhood, but not that much in all of the surrounding neighborhoods with much bigger and even smaller lots. I don't get it.
Sad that you spend 30 year's paying off your mortgage and if you can't pay the taxes county will just take your house! We need reform once you pay your house no more property tax!
Thank you for the time and effort spent making these videos. It was very helpful in my preparation for my protest effort. I was able to have my assessed property value by 1/3. The points that stood out in your videos was to be nice ... be cordial, respectful and know your data. Knowing the reasons why the assessed value is inflated and being able to quickly and concisely articulate the reasons why is paramount. Thanks again for the very helpful videos.
I am in Bastrop County in a new subdivision. I will be protesting my new construction property taxes too. The home next door is assessed $15,000 less than mine. Yes, fifteen thousand less. Similar single story with similar size. I will look up other homes on the same street for their assessed value too. I moved in Dec 2016 and already have noticibly concrete cracks in the garage and front patio. Of course the builder is being difficult and does not want to repair it. That is okay. More evidence for me to take to the protest. More than likely I will have to repair it myself. Thank you Tammy for making the informative videos. When I decide to sell I will definitely call you.
Glad you found my video. I'd love to help you or your family member, neighbor or friend if you ever need an agent. Feel free to email me at tammy@homesalesaustintexas.com if you'd like to be added to my email list to stay in touch. Best of luck on your protest!
I had all my paperwork, my comps, a licensed evaluation on my mobile home, a written letter from a dealer giving the market value of the home. I had LOTS of documentation. They never looked at a sheet of paper. Waller County by the way. They ran us through, then sent me a registered letter saying if I wanted to contest again I will need to bring a lawyer. It's a ripoff - it's robbery. They have staked the game against you before you walk in the door. All to "help provide low cost housing" -- by taking MY LOW COST HOUSING?! It's a disgrace.
This is what the site say's in my county . File your protest online here. If you receive a settlement offer online that you agree with, accept and you're done. If you do not receive a settlement offer online within seven days of your ARB hearing date, or you do not agree with your settlement offer, then: Come to the office at least a day prior to your scheduled ARB hearing for an informal review with an appraiser. If you do not reach an agreement with the appraiser, you may present your case before the ARB at your scheduled date.
The appeal board told me this year (2022) that they only do Market Value, not the assessed value, which is BS. They did not consider estimates, drainage issues, window issues and sprinkler systems issues. They said it does not have much value. Well it does if you are selling, which I am not. I did get $20k off Market value which means nothing to me AND increased the Improvement value $15k. I asked them why didn't Over 65 increase since everything else did, they could not answer. The comps they provided was not comparable to my home and had bigger sq ftage. They took WHAT WAS SOLD. Because I had a realtor run comps. Only one home has sold in this subdivision in the last 6 months. I do not see how the sale of one home can increase the value of my home by $50K and the Land by $20K. Yet, DCAD states that my home has depreciated by 45%. They told me since my house was 1983, they wanted pictures of 1983 kitchen and baths with avocado deco and such, never been updated. REALLY? IT IS RIGGED!
My appraised value states the same as the market value. Does that mean its not worth for me to protest anymore? I am new to this and would appreciate any advice.
Tammy thanks for the video, so helpful. Now, I protested the assessed value at efile and now have to attend the formal hearing on 10 Jul. I live in Pflugerville in the newer divisions. I am trying to gather all the information possible to have my assessed value lowered.
I had to get some comp sales from zillow , because when filing online the only sales comp grid they offer is a sample grid dated 2016 , so i got what i could get for now , hearing in 10 days . I still intend to call the CAD and ask personally for the comp grid . Thank you Tammy , i probably would have missed the informal , and didn't know about the comp grid .
I did not get my informal hearing option, they only gave me a date for a Formal Hearing only and is today JUNE 29/2020 i'm ready to go: 1;15 pm hearing time. thank you Tammy and wish me luck!
Does the judge during a formal appeal process see pictures of your property from MLS? Or do they pull from Zillow/Redfin...etc? The reason is because my public pictures were posted by me after an improvement, so it would be unfair to evaluate a property based on "after repair value"
Texas Property Tax.. YOUR NEW LANDLORD.. My property tax is so high I feel like I'm paying rent every month as a Homeowner. The problem with Texas is there is no ceiling in 10 or 20 years when your ready to retire your property tax could be 5x higher or more. Therefore YOU are discouraged to do any home improvements to your property in fear of an INCREASE OF TAXES. My TAX on just the property is 25k per acre.. were not talking breathtaking views here were talking a couple of acres off the freeway. Texas Property Taxes will be the demise of this state and will not sustain any growth when your local tax authorities think it's a good idea the more you pay. PROPERTY TAX HAS BECOME OVERWHELMING FOR SENIOR CITIZENS.. AND MANY WILL LOSE THEIR HOMES DUE TO HIGH PROPERTY TAX. And Lastly I'm going to sell my home here in Texas and move elsewhere just because of the property taxes. END PROPERTY TAX NOW!!!.
Hello, I am taking all of your advice in my own property protest way down in Hidalgo County. Currently I have 5 "Comps" of properties sold in my area. I have noticed that one of the "comps" sold for a significantly higher price than I purchase my own for but it is also about 700 square feet larger. I have this comp because not much has been sold around my area recently. Is it okay or should I remove it from my case file? My property was assessed by the county at $292K, I paid $246K in October 2016, my property appraisal was $250K. Any advice on a number I should shoot for?
Currently my case file includes 5 sold "comps" that I got from MLS, 5 comps from similar homes around my area, 30 full size color photos of damage or wear associated with my property, as well as multiple city code violations in my area, trash, yards, unfinished homes, etc.
Michael Garza if you just bought your house in 2016 you can bring the settlement statement and show your sales price & they should reduce it to that. I would not recommend an argument on solds since they can use your own sold price and hard to dispute it's not = to price you paid. You could still make an equity argument based on values of similar homes that didn't sell if they are a lot less. In Travis county they usually like comps no bigger/smaller than 200 sq ft. A 700 sq ft difference is too big. Hope this helps & good luck!
Winner of a video, I been tryin to find out about "become a retail business consultant" for a while now, and I think this has helped. You ever tried - Charlottenon Property Packtrain - (should be on google have a look ) ? Ive heard some super things about it and my m8 got amazing success with it.
second question can you use the photos of the inside of your home to lower property value such as rehab can they deam your home unliveable and force you to get a contractor to repair
Robert Garcia I highly doubt basic cosmetic issues would deem it unlivable. It would have to be really bad like a hoarders house. I have not ever heard of this happening.
question one code compliance and the appraisal district work hand and another words if you take photos claiming rotting siding no skirt on your home roof is holey they can send code enforcement to your house forcing you to fix these in ten days or face a fine
Robert Garcia Hi! I’ve never heard that before. I’m not sure if they have enough bandwidth to follow up on thousands of homes but I guess it is possible.
Tammy, you mentioned that we need to focus only on reducing the Assessed Value. My understanding is that you argue that the Market Value is lower than what the county has put in there. The Market Value has to be adjusted to be lower than the Assessed Value and then they need to reduced the Assessed value to be the same as Market Value. Is this correct? So in summary, you bring down the Market Value to be lower than the Assessed Value and they reduce the Assessed Value as it cannot be higher than Market. Please confirm.
Is it true that 2018 has a cut-off date for protests as May 15? Also this is our first year in Kaufman County. Our seller's did not agree to closing costs...How do we lower the assessed value?
Isolated Existence yes it’s true. This year the deadline changed from May 31 to May 15. Closing costs don’t relate to the assessed value so not sure I understand that question.
Thanks for responding. I may have misunderstood the terms for the value at closing being matched or assessed value....I'd read something regarding the value at closing of setting the property taxes. Nevermind, please disregard the question. I won't confuse you with my own misunderstanding.
so what can you actually use to lower your taxes in my case the first time i didnt protest the rose the value 11,000 now they want to jump from 39 to 103 thousand
Robert Garcia you have 2 ways to protest: 1) using sold homes (sold argument) or 2) using similar homes to yours that didn’t sell (equity argument). For #1 ask the appraisal district to send you comps used to value your home. You can write request on protest form. For #2 look up values of similar homes on your street and nearby. Look for ones like yours valued less. Good luck!
i noticed they way the rose my taxes is the rose value of the land the land cost more than my house what method should i use to lower my taxes i can devalue my house but how do you bring the value of land lower
Unfortunately there is usually not much you can do about a land increase especially in a homogenous neighborhood where lots are similar. My videos and tips are about protesting the actual house.
@@wellsbranchrealtor Thanks for posting these helpful videos. FYI - the County is taxing my land now for the same amount that I bought the house for 9 years ago. It is absolutely ridiculous and frustrating! 🤬
San Zeng got your email & I’ll send you comps so hopefully that will help. In general people see better results in the informal so keep that in mind for next time.
Texas property taxes are getting out of hand in the Republic of Texas. My property taxes went up 1500% in the past four years in Burnet county. I've watched a video here on RUclips where they went up 5000% in an area of Harker Heights of Texas. Basically "We the people" are renting our own property for whatever the local assessor says you need to pay. The price steadily increased EVERY YEAR. Eventually if you get behind they will try to take it away from you. I'm not against paying for local services but we've paid more than enough at lower rates and the assessor continuously increases the rates. I thought I owned my property because I have the deed and paid for it in full. If " we the people" don't stand up for what is right and for what is blatantly wrong then these local tax assessors will continue to do what is essentially taxing you out of your land.
I agree that the property taxes are absolutely ridiculous. The county is all of a sudden charging $7 per square foot just for the land in my neighborhood, but not that much in all of the surrounding neighborhoods with much bigger and even smaller lots. I don't get it.
Sad that you spend 30 year's paying off your mortgage and if you can't pay the taxes county will just take your house! We need reform once you pay your house no more property tax!
Thank you for the time and effort spent making these videos. It was very helpful in my preparation for my protest effort. I was able to have my assessed property value by 1/3.
The points that stood out in your videos was to be nice ... be cordial, respectful and know your data. Knowing the reasons why the assessed value is inflated and being able to quickly and concisely articulate the reasons why is paramount.
Thanks again for the very helpful videos.
I am in Bastrop County in a new subdivision. I will be protesting my new construction property taxes too. The home next door is assessed $15,000 less than mine. Yes, fifteen thousand less. Similar single story with similar size. I will look up other homes on the same street for their assessed value too. I moved in Dec 2016 and already have noticibly concrete cracks in the garage and front patio. Of course the builder is being difficult and does not want to repair it. That is okay. More evidence for me to take to the protest. More than likely I will have to repair it myself.
Thank you Tammy for making the informative videos. When I decide to sell I will definitely call you.
Glad you found my video. I'd love to help you or your family member, neighbor or friend if you ever need an agent.
Feel free to email me at tammy@homesalesaustintexas.com if you'd like to be added to my email list to stay in touch. Best of luck on your protest!
I had all my paperwork, my comps, a licensed evaluation on my mobile home, a written letter from a dealer giving the market value of the home. I had LOTS of documentation. They never looked at a sheet of paper. Waller County by the way. They ran us through, then sent me a registered letter saying if I wanted to contest again I will need to bring a lawyer. It's a ripoff - it's robbery. They have staked the game against you before you walk in the door. All to "help provide low cost housing" -- by taking MY LOW COST HOUSING?! It's a disgrace.
This is what the site say's in my county . File your protest online here.
If you receive a settlement offer online that you agree with, accept and you're done.
If you do not receive a settlement offer online within seven days of your ARB hearing date, or you do not agree with your settlement offer, then:
Come to the office at least a day prior to your scheduled ARB hearing for an informal review with an appraiser.
If you do not reach an agreement with the appraiser, you may present your case before the ARB at your scheduled date.
The appeal board told me this year (2022) that they only do Market Value, not the assessed value, which is BS. They did not consider estimates, drainage issues, window issues and sprinkler systems issues. They said it does not have much value. Well it does if you are selling, which I am not. I did get $20k off Market value which means nothing to me AND increased the Improvement value $15k. I asked them why didn't Over 65 increase since everything else did, they could not answer. The comps they provided was not comparable to my home and had bigger sq ftage. They took WHAT WAS SOLD. Because I had a realtor run comps. Only one home has sold in this subdivision in the last 6 months. I do not see how the sale of one home can increase the value of my home by $50K and the Land by $20K. Yet, DCAD states that my home has depreciated by 45%. They told me since my house was 1983, they wanted pictures of 1983 kitchen and baths with avocado deco and such, never been updated. REALLY? IT IS RIGGED!
My appraised value states the same as the market value. Does that mean its not worth for me to protest anymore? I am new to this and would appreciate any advice.
Boom! They didn't want to go to panel so they honored my purchase price which was 33K less than their county appraisal.. I feel like a winner :)
Yay! Congrats! Thanks for updating me on what happened.
Tammy thanks for the video, so helpful. Now, I protested the assessed value at efile and now have to attend the formal hearing on 10 Jul. I live in Pflugerville in the newer divisions. I am trying to gather all the information possible to have my assessed value lowered.
Paola Rodriguez hi Paula, got your email and will be sending you info this week!
I had to get some comp sales from zillow , because when filing online the only sales comp grid they offer is a sample grid dated 2016 , so i got what i could get for now , hearing in 10 days . I still intend to call the CAD and ask personally for the comp grid . Thank you Tammy , i probably would have missed the informal , and didn't know about the comp grid .
Thank you so much
Your information is greatly appreciated
Wishing you continued success
I did not get my informal hearing option, they only gave me a date for a Formal Hearing only and is today JUNE 29/2020 i'm ready to go: 1;15 pm hearing time. thank you Tammy and wish me luck!
Good info thank you
texas property taxes are ridiculous omg! And yes they rip you off giving you the reduction that doesn't count!
Does the judge during a formal appeal process see pictures of your property from MLS? Or do they pull from Zillow/Redfin...etc? The reason is because my public pictures were posted by me after an improvement, so it would be unfair to evaluate a property based on "after repair value"
Is the assessed value the same as appraised capped value? If so would I protest my appraised cap value or market value?
Texas Property Tax.. YOUR NEW LANDLORD.. My property tax is so high I feel like I'm paying rent every month as a Homeowner.
The problem with Texas is there is no ceiling in 10 or 20 years when your ready to retire your property tax could be 5x higher or more.
Therefore YOU are discouraged to do any home improvements to your property in fear of an INCREASE OF TAXES.
My TAX on just the property is 25k per acre.. were not talking breathtaking views here were talking a couple of acres off the freeway.
Texas Property Taxes will be the demise of this state and will not sustain any growth when your local tax authorities think it's a good idea the more you pay.
PROPERTY TAX HAS BECOME OVERWHELMING FOR SENIOR CITIZENS.. AND MANY WILL LOSE THEIR HOMES DUE TO HIGH PROPERTY TAX.
And Lastly I'm going to sell my home here in Texas and move elsewhere just because of the property taxes. END PROPERTY TAX NOW!!!.
Hello, I am taking all of your advice in my own property protest way down in Hidalgo County. Currently I have 5 "Comps" of properties sold in my area. I have noticed that one of the "comps" sold for a significantly higher price than I purchase my own for but it is also about 700 square feet larger. I have this comp because not much has been sold around my area recently. Is it okay or should I remove it from my case file? My property was assessed by the county at $292K, I paid $246K in October 2016, my property appraisal was $250K. Any advice on a number I should shoot for?
Currently my case file includes 5 sold "comps" that I got from MLS, 5 comps from similar homes around my area, 30 full size color photos of damage or wear associated with my property, as well as multiple city code violations in my area, trash, yards, unfinished homes, etc.
Michael Garza if you just bought your house in 2016 you can bring the settlement statement and show your sales price & they should reduce it to that. I would not recommend an argument on solds since they can use your own sold price and hard to dispute it's not = to price you paid. You could still make an equity argument based on values of similar homes that didn't sell if they are a lot less. In Travis county they usually like comps no bigger/smaller than 200 sq ft. A 700 sq ft difference is too big. Hope this helps & good luck!
Ms. DeWitt Le, thank you... So just to be clear, I should just present the purchase agreement?
No you'd need to bring the closing/settlement statement which proves it actually sold at that price.
Winner of a video, I been tryin to find out about "become a retail business consultant" for a while now, and I think this has helped. You ever tried - Charlottenon Property Packtrain - (should be on google have a look ) ? Ive heard some super things about it and my m8 got amazing success with it.
second question can you use the photos of the inside of your home to lower property value such as rehab can they deam your home unliveable and force you to get a contractor to repair
Robert Garcia I highly doubt basic cosmetic issues would deem it unlivable. It would have to be really bad like a hoarders house. I have not ever heard of this happening.
question one code compliance and the appraisal district work hand and another words if you take photos claiming rotting siding no skirt on your home roof is holey they can send code enforcement to your house forcing you to fix these in ten days or face a fine
Robert Garcia Hi! I’ve never heard that before. I’m not sure if they have enough bandwidth to follow up on thousands of homes but I guess it is possible.
Are either the informal or formal hearings open to the public?
Tammy, you mentioned that we need to focus only on reducing the Assessed Value. My understanding is that you argue that the Market Value is lower than what the county has put in there. The Market Value has to be adjusted to be lower than the Assessed Value and then they need to reduced the Assessed value to be the same as Market Value. Is this correct? So in summary, you bring down the Market Value to be lower than the Assessed Value and they reduce the Assessed Value as it cannot be higher than Market. Please confirm.
If you win in court are you due money for your home being assessed wrong
If you win, the appraisal district has to pay your attorney fees.
Is it true that 2018 has a cut-off date for protests as May 15? Also this is our first year in Kaufman County. Our seller's did not agree to closing costs...How do we lower the assessed value?
Isolated Existence yes it’s true. This year the deadline changed from May 31 to May 15. Closing costs don’t relate to the assessed value so not sure I understand that question.
Thanks for responding. I may have misunderstood the terms for the value at closing being matched or assessed value....I'd read something regarding the value at closing of setting the property taxes. Nevermind, please disregard the question. I won't confuse you with my own misunderstanding.
How do you get net sales price with the comps?
so what can you actually use to lower your taxes in my case the first time i didnt protest the rose the value 11,000 now they want to jump from 39 to 103 thousand
Robert Garcia you have 2 ways to protest: 1) using sold homes (sold argument) or 2) using similar homes to yours that didn’t sell (equity argument). For #1 ask the appraisal district to send you comps used to value your home. You can write request on protest form. For #2 look up values of similar homes on your street and nearby. Look for ones like yours valued less. Good luck!
Tammy, my home was reassessed AGAIN and my property value went up another $31K. It's only been 5mos since I won my protest, what can I do?!?
Michael Garza are you in the greater Austin area? If you are I can look up your address if you email me at tammy@homesalesaustintexas.com
Tammy, I'm in deep South Texas. We use the same CAD system as Travis County. I'll send you my address anyway. Any advice is greatly appreciated.
i noticed they way the rose my taxes is the rose value of the land the land cost more than my house what method should i use to lower my taxes i can devalue my house but how do you bring the value of land lower
Unfortunately there is usually not much you can do about a land increase especially in a homogenous neighborhood where lots are similar. My videos and tips are about protesting the actual house.
@@wellsbranchrealtor Thanks for posting these helpful videos. FYI - the County is taxing my land now for the same amount that I bought the house for 9 years ago. It is absolutely ridiculous and frustrating! 🤬
We should not b paying property taxes on private property at all. Read the American constitution and/or listen to David straight.
Oh, no, I just registered protest online, ;o;
San Zeng got your email & I’ll send you comps so hopefully that will help. In general people see better results in the informal so keep that in mind for next time.
Thank you for this informative video! I send you an email. Please help!