Anybody get their 2019 property tax values yet?

28,667 Views | 168 Replies | Last: 4 yr ago by RGRAg1/75
aggiepaintrain
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AG
I got a decrease by meeting informally, it all depends on who you get
FJB
nthomas99
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happyinBCS said:

With the comps you have what do you think your property value vs CAD should be?

They have my house 35% above the average selling price per sqft for the five comps (not cherry picked) that I have. Granted my home is smaller than the average sqft of these sales.

Also, all the homes around me were built around 2008 or so whereas my lot wasn't developed until 2017. So they depreciate the heck of them and not mine. But come sale time, I'm not getting that much more than the houses surrounding me.

Those caveats aside, it's still an excessive premium / adjustment based off the comps. They have it around $156/ft. I need to run the numbers some more, but it should probably be in the $130-$140/ft range.
happyinBCS
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Sounds like you will get it lowered they cannot fight true sold comps, let us know the end result
DakotaAg01
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AG
Did anyone else get a "corrected" notice because they put the wrong protest location on the original notice? Today, I cited Sec. 41.46 and demanded a new protest hearing date due to their failure to properly send notice 15 days before the protest date.

Quote:

(a) The appraisal review board before which a protest hearing is scheduled shall deliver written notice to the property owner initiating a protest of the date, time, and place fixed for the hearing on the protest and of the property owner's entitlement to a postponement of the hearing as provided by Section 41.45 unless the property owner waives in writing notice of the hearing. The board shall deliver the notice not later than the 15th day before the date of the hearing.

I was also surprised when I asked which option they provided (either Evening or Weekend hearings), that she said they did not do either of those.

Quote:

Sec. 41.71. EVENING AND WEEKEND HEARINGS. An appraisal review board by rule shall provide for hearings on protests in the evening or on a Saturday or Sunday

I guess I'll have that to appeal later.
TKDMom
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Quote:

Up 9.2% this year. A little peice of required information at the bottom of the page says its gone up 46.79% since I bought it in 2014. Jeez.

Edit: it's also higher than the estimated market value on Zillow.

The "a" in Zillow is for accuracy.
RXAggie02
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My original post is on page 3.

I went in to do an informal in April and they offered a decrease from my 483,100 to 457,000 (last year was 425,000). I told him with all the data I am presenting (29 comps in my neighborhood) that his offer is not good enough and I would like to meet with the ARB.

Today was my meeting at 1015am. I arrived at 10am. An appraiser called me back at 10:40am and took me to his desk to provide me an informal and again offered me the same as before to 457,000. I politley said I have already said no to that and am hear for a formal hearing with ARB not with you for an informal. I also said I have a set schedule. He said sorry we have to do this first, but if you want a hearing you will have to go back in the lobby and wait.

I sat there until 1235 when they finally called me back into the hearing room.

I chose to go first to present my data, then county, then I got to rebut.

After about 10 minutes I came out with a valuation at 413k.

The only thing I presented was the letter that I posted on page 3 of this forum along with every comp (all 29) I used as evidence to support.

Im happy with the 70k decrease and HATE that this dog and pony shows has to be made.

These should be called stupid, take advantage of people, tax....
91_Aggie
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I wish I had comps that were lower than what they keep assessing and increasing each year.


nthomas99
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happyinBCS said:

Sounds like you will get it lowered they cannot fight true sold comps, let us know the end result

So I got it lowered by about $60K, taking it from an 11% increase to a 5% decrease.

It's so frustrating though, I had to get much more cross than I like to in the pre ARB meeting. It took turning down the first two counter offers and then explaining that, no, a return to last year's appraised value when the comps show prices have declined is not in fact a "good deal".

This and buying cars is taking years off my life.
Our-turn-to-rule
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dallasiteinsa02
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Our-turn-to-rule said:

Researched for hearing and found the appraisal for my property in Aggieland (a football townhouse Hwy30) increased each lot/land value (.1xxx of an acre) by 7%. On the surface this fly's right on by and most people go "oh well"....then the improvements got another 10%. I'm about 3 miles from Miramount and my land ($/sq ft) is valued higher than golf frontage at the most expensive place in town.....and when you think that the taxing authorities also have 7-8 properties their collecting from (utilities each month, etc) it is a total screw the little guy game.

I plan on playing that card in front of the board....but more egregious is that my 4 yr old townhouse (the improvement) is valued greater than the brand new, developer owned, exact same unit (multiple examples) 100yds from mine.

So....protect the rich neighborhood and protect the developer.....this will be a fun one. Been in front of the board multiple times in different communities and have never gone to court. Will not go in front of arbitrator, they're bought and paid for.

This would be a good one to be out in the public domain because of the implied favoritism and hot story-line that can come out of a lawyers' mouth.

Developer valuations on raw land don't work the way you think they do. Texas State Law requires appraisal districts to reduce their basis because they are not a conventional market like a single property. Their reduction is based upon their absorption of property and the availability of like alternatives. It is quite complicated and will probably get you no where with the board.

What was the status of construction January 1st on the Developer owned units? If they were 100% complete, you have a complaint but you may want to figure that one out before you go to the hearing.

I would guess your land is valued somewhere between $35,000 and $45,000 based upon your limited description. They will have tons of comparables to justify this price.

One Louder
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When I turned in my intent to appeal, I stated what I thought the appraisal should be based on three comps. I got a response by mail that included a notice to present my case.

My appointment was at 2:45. I checked in at 2:30 and sat for almost an hour before being called into the cubicle area. When I finally sat down with the appraiser, he said "I'm inclined to go with your suggested value" and 5 minutes later, I was out.

I got my value lowered by $66,000.
Our-turn-to-rule
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Our-turn-to-rule
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dallasiteinsa02
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Our-turn-to-rule said:

Sorry, maybe wasn't clear. Our land (in middle of dense community) with townhouse sitting on top has a higher value as multiple owned ( not developer) $2 million dollar houses sitting on Miramount
You would have a complaint then.
dallasiteinsa02
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Our-turn-to-rule said:

Second question, developer units were complete and on the market for months.
And on this one as well.
Our-turn-to-rule
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dallasiteinsa02
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What is your lot value? I am having trouble finding anything under $100,000 on the golf course at Miramont in their system.
BetsyParker
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We had an appointment with ARB at yesterday. My husband went. He waited 2 hours past the appointment time before anything happened. The appraiser took the comps we prepared and entered them into his computer. Once the comps went through the adjusting the CAD's program does, they made our property appear to be worth MORE than the original appraisal letter.

Prior to the meeting, my husband and I dissected the evidence packet that the CAD used for our property to determine where each and every number came from. Strangely, the CAD used COMPS that are all approximately 1000 sqft larger than our house. Then, they did all kinds of adding and subtracting for things to make the comp "comparable". These additions and subtractions are how they accounted for our house being smaller, our front porch being bigger, etc. Our lot size is bigger than all the comps they used, so the CAD adjusted for land on each comp. The comps all sold in 2018, but the land adjustment was based on the 2019 proposed values that have not been certified yet...protesting is happening now. Why are they using 2019 proposed values for land on the 2018 sales comps? So, back to the first paragraph. The sales comps we brought in were for houses that are much closer to our size, but once the CAD system put in the land adjustment (again, for 2019 proposed land values), these sales comps don't look so good now because we have so much more land (the 2019 proposed value on that land is an 80% increase over the 2018 certified land value). The appraiser told my husband that the land wasn't accounted for in the sales comps he brought in. So, husband asked how land values are determined and the answer was something that was more of a non-answer, but the appraiser left and came back with a nice deduction on our land value. There was a bit more back and forth and in the end, we ended up with a 1% increase in appraised value instead of the 34% originally mailed to us. Its seems that the appraiser is the one who will represent to CAD at the ARB and he had a vested interest in getting to an agreement so as not to go before the ARB.

This entire process has been educational. The actual people involved have been fine to work with, but the way the proposed values are generated is not what I have assumed to be the method. Apparently, the numbers that are mailed in the letter are generated by a computer. No human reviews them unless you protest. If you protest, an appraiser looks at the data to see what it supports. Now that I know this, we plan to protest every year.
Our-turn-to-rule
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dallasiteinsa02
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Our-turn-to-rule said:

You nailed it before, $40k
I don't see anything non-developer for $40k or below.
Our-turn-to-rule
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dallasiteinsa02
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There is a reducing return to land price per square footage. For instance, three town home lots might be worth more than a lot that is three times the size of the single town home lot. In College Station, it is not abnormal to get $60,000 each for 4 townhome lots. That same land a single family residential couldn't get more than $120,000 or half the price per square foot.
Our-turn-to-rule
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Our-turn-to-rule
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Thank you for your time. You can probably tell I'm an old guy with time and some FU money that I won't mind spending. IF successful, my understanding is there is a way to recoup++ if you show certain bias exsisted, but that is way down the line and don't really care about that. Just want fairness.
Our-turn-to-rule
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So reading above, looks like a game being played is the wait time. I'm going to do some research (and sick law dog on it as well) to see how much they can make you wait.....also going to send them an email about this with the note detailing I live far out of town and will not look kindly at being a pawn.
WheelinAg
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Going on 2 hours and 15 minutes. How is this fair?
Our-turn-to-rule
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you are allowed to walk out at 2 hours and demand a new date/time...that is state law
RGRAg1/75
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Our-turn-to-rule said:

you are allowed to walk out at 2 hours and demand a new date/time...that is state law

I went in for my 3 PM appt last Friday. At 4 PM I asked them how much longer. They had no idea and said there were "several people" ahead of me still. I asked them what would happen at 5 when they close, and he said "it probably won't be that long." I asked if I'm supposed to sit around to find out and then they just end up rescheduling me anyway and now I've taken off work early, and will have to do so again for reschedule. They offered me a reschedule, which I took so we could get on the road for the weekend. Absurd. Everyone waiting whispering same complaint.
dallasiteinsa02
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I have been through the process in multiple jurisdictions. There are two types of setups. Loaded calendar with everything running longer than expected or a loaded calendar with set time limits for discussion. Both leave you frustrated.

RGRAg1/75
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RGRAg1/75 said:

Our-turn-to-rule said:

you are allowed to walk out at 2 hours and demand a new date/time...that is state law

I went in for my 3 PM appt last Friday. At 4 PM I asked them how much longer. They had no idea and said there were "several people" ahead of me still. I asked them what would happen at 5 when they close, and he said "it probably won't be that long." I asked if I'm supposed to sit around to find out and then they just end up rescheduling me anyway and now I've taken off work early, and will have to do so again for reschedule. They offered me a reschedule, which I took so we could get on the road for the weekend. Absurd. Everyone waiting whispering same complaint.

Follow up after my rescheduled appt.

Second appointment was for yesterday at 0915. Show up around 0900, and was sitting with an appraiser by 0916 (good start). The waiting area was empty this time vs packed a couple weeks ago. Perhaps early morning or it's getting late and they've worked through a bunch already.

Not many questions (or much said by him at all for that matter) from the appraiser. I show him a spreadsheet I made that shows increases for every house on my street were 0-3% while mine was 10%. Evidently someone mistakenly bumped my classification a grade up this year. No comments in the file so no explanation from appraiser. He corrects it, but I'm still around 6% increase. I explain that what I'll find acceptable is a 0-3% increase just like everyone else, and ask him if that's a reasonable expectation. He seems to think so, and runs something called an "equity formula." Magically I end up at a 2% increase.

I accepted it. Signed and out the door by 0945. I can't fathom sending an invoice to a client that is marked up and extra 8%, but the CAD doesn't even apologize. I've successfully argued myself out of back to back 10% increases on my homestead and ended up with 3% and 2% in 18 & 19 respectively.
 
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