Eh, our property tax increased 10%. Anyone have luck protesting theirs in the past?

Good luck protesting right now. I'd assume they would laugh you out the door.

Tax rates better be going down with all the new homes coming in

Our appraisal went up 25%. Homestead cap brought it back down to 10%. I looked up ten of our friends' home, from Cedar Park to Hutto, and all had the same result, or greater.

Mr. Fahrenheit said:

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Eh, our property tax increased 10%. Anyone have luck protesting theirs in the past?

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We use Five Stone to protest our taxes the last couple of years. There are others out there but this one was simple. https://fivestonetax.us6.list-manage.com/track/click?u=5aa60233bd6eebc97e9a77109&id=5543d52f52&e=6be493feea

You might be able to beat it on your own , but convenience is worth something

Has anyone used Protax or others? I have used Fivestone for several years, with multiple properties in multiple counties and they never were all that successfull--no more than I was when I did it myself. It was a no brainer though when there was no risk, and a fee was only applied if they were able to lower the appraisal. Now with the new fee structure--I figure I might as well shop around.

5stone did a couple properties of mine in Travis, Williamson and even Brazos when I asked, after being a client for a few years. No complaints on the service--just never had any significant success. Maybe 1 out of 4 would be lowered each year if I was lucky-and even then it wasn't much.

10% increase in value for me in Georgetown

Mr. Fahrenheit said:

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Tax rates better be going down with all the new homes coming in

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Remember. We just voted for an increase. So that was cool.

Valuation in Wilco has risen dramatically in the last year+. I had an appraisal in 10-19 at 225k I was expecting 200k.

House for sale down the street price per square feet my house would list at 305k. So 80k in 16 months. Everyone is going to get hit with 10% this year in round rock anyway.

Austin is bleeding into our market

Used to use FiveStone until they changed their rates to pretty much guarantee a fee. They probably had to do this knowing protesting might be pointless the next few years.

If your homesteaded yes it is. I was hit 5 years in a row with 10% until last year. I expect 10% this year

I've used Protax the past few years. 2018 was about $600 cheaper after their protest, 2019 was minimal and 2020 was no change (was also only a 1/2 % increase). Haven't seen this years yet.

NY and CA are bleeding into our area, and it has a trickle down effect from central austinites being pushed further out for their first home or even moving at all.

I bought my house in May 2020, and the tax value went up over 25% from what I paid. So I did the online express review and sent a copy of my settlement statement. Value went back down to just over what I paid, so I'm happy for 2021.

I suspect next year I will be screwed. Homes in my hood have gone up 50% since I bought my house a year ago, no telling what tax values will be next year.

And got my CAD notice today. Value up 25% and tax value up 10%. Like clockwork

Mr. Fahrenheit said:

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Tax rates better be going down with all the new homes coming in

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New homes = more people
More people = more services
More services = bigger budgets

What about the increase of everyone's taxes by 10% as it stands? Are we getting 10% more services?

Martin Cash said:

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Mr. Fahrenheit said:

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Tax rates better be going down with all the new homes coming in

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New homes = more people
More people = more services
More services = bigger budgets

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No. I think you are missing the point.

1000 people today. 1 police office. 1 trash. 1 road worker. 1000 Homes valued $100,000.

$1M budget.

2000 people tomorrow. 2 police officers. 2 trash. 2 road worker. 2000 homes valued $110,000.

$2.2M budget.

The "more services" should be scaling with the ratio of people at a tax rate adjusted for CPI. The city isn't offering jack **** extra 10% a year that they didn't already have allocated in a % fashion for parks, local roads.

tailgatetimer10 said:

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What about the increase of everyone's taxes by 10% as it stands? Are we getting 10% more services?

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No, but the same services cost 10% more due to wages, materials, overhead, etc. yeah, sure there is only 2% inflation....

I am in Willco. Mine has gone up the max allowed by law, annually, since I bought it about 15 years ago. It is what it is. Gotta pay to play.

I tried going to the courthouse myself years ago and it was worthless. I have used Protax with relative success over the last several years. Relative because my office property tax is up to 50K and my house is over 20K. Ridiculous.

we did a refi last year before things got crazy. I have my appraisal from that, which is lower than what Wilco says our house is worth, though Wilco is WAY under what we could get if we sold. Will the appraisal make any difference if i try to fight it?

I'm in the same boat having done a refi at this time last year. Hoping I can bring down the numbers with my appraisal.