Diggity said:

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you still in the same spot?

I've heard this was a recurring thing in the Woodlands.

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Yep, same place

AGHouston11 said:

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What they are doing is ridiculous! Texans are being ripped off.
Not allowing your purchase price is so terrible.

Also if people voted for bonds don't complain about taxes !
Enjoy them.

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This is such a ridiculous statement. Tomball ISD had a bind that passed last fall and our school tax rate is actually going down. Not all bonds raise taxes, and without them we would not have new schools to accommodate population growth.

Also, property tax appraisals =/= property tax rates, so they really should be complained about separately.

looked at a house today that would def need inspection. the broker who walked us suggested someone, but I wanted to make sure my texags hive mind doesn't know anyone. he said it would cost around 800 to 1k ?

I don't understand. You talking to buy? Every house should be inspected. Cost depends on size of house but that sounds high.

How big is the house? Pool? Slab or pier and beam. Include termite? Any other weird things the inspector would be responsible for?

yes, to purchase. older pier and beam home. I also thought it sounds high, but thought maybe it's more expensive cause they need to crawl under the house

ALWAYS get a home inspected and I agree that sounds high. There are a ton of home inspectors in hkuston area but I have used Ed Fryday and I think you would be hard pressed to find someone more knowledgeable and thorough. He isn't the cheapest but I dont think you could get a better value.

Seriously, not getting a home inspected prior to purchase might be the worst decision you could make prior to purchasing one.

I usually use Fox inspection group and have always been happy.

Sea Speed said:

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ALWAYS get a home inspected and I agree that sounds high. There are a ton of home inspectors in hkuston area but I have used Ed Fryday and I think you would be hard pressed to find someone more knowledgeable and thorough. He isn't the cheapest but I dont think you could get a better value.

Seriously, not getting a home inspected prior to purchase might be the worst decision you could make prior to purchasing one.

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I agree with the premise. But with A LOT of inspectors out there, might as well not get an inspection. My sister asked me to run through her house with her after the inspection. Every single item was dumb: loose bathtub fixture, sink stopper doesn't work, door lock loose, crap like that. He did note a water spot on the ceiling of an upstairs bathroom but "couldn't access the attic to inspect." He couldn't access the attic because they cut the cord, I guess so their kids couldn't mess with it. I found a chair and went into the attic and it was clear as day that the leak was coming from the roof.

Similar story when my brother in law bought his house. They missed a leak from the water heater.

Both inspectors filled the sheet with stupid items while not actually doing anything. And both were referred by the realtor.

pier and beam, definitely want to check out roof because previous owner says no leaks but doesn't know how old it is, want to make sure not wood isnt rotted, etc. 1623 Sq ft

Yes and I see i forgot to mention thst because there are a lot of inspectors out there, you need to make sure to pick someone who is going to be thorough and who is knowledgeable. The guy I mentioned was incredibly thorough and knowledgeable. I used another guy because he wasn't available a couple home purchases back and didn't feel I got half the value I did with Ed. You need to be selective with who you pick, certainly. One example is my cousins husband was some sort of apartment maintenance guy who just decided to become a home inspector. Not the kind of person I'd want going over what could possibly be the largest purchase of my life. I am certain that she could get several SOLID recs from this board.

Also, most realtors don't know jack **** about home inspections nor what ti look for so you can't necessarily trust them on where to turn for one. No offense to those in here who are certainly knowledgeable about both.

Diggity said:

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Got my iSettle response this afternoon.

New proposed market value was +12% from last year. I argued for an ~2% increase.

They came back @ +4.5% and I happily accepted.

I'll call it a victory this year.

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Probably should have just done this. Got a comps package from Jubally for both uniform & equal and market value. I stuck to U&E as it had the best case.

Had an unusual experience at the formal hearing (skipped informal, maybe a mistake).

ARB board members took my packets, glanced at it briefly as I went through the U&E math using HCAD's adjustment factors, careful to not come across in a patronizing or rude- just matter of fact.

They looked at each other, and refused to look at it or follow any of the math. When I was done (5 mins) The appraiser rep simply stated that their comps were fine, and made a non-quantitative argument that properties looked like mine so must be right. Zero math. Arb panel agreed, no change.

Never before have i had a panel refuse to even engage with my evidence, it was clear they were overwhelmed by anything other than pictures and "seems right" gut feel comments by the appraiser.

When I've done this in the past, the board has always been willing to at least go through the exercise and throw me a bone, and once vigorously agreed that I was right and gave me a substantially positive judgement. This panel just sat there, stared at their monitors and looked at pictures.

Considering appeal / attorney, but unlikely to be worth the cost to do so.

that sucks. the ARB system seems seriously flawed.

Hoping I just got a bad panel, because the second I started talking about anything other than pictures and whole sales / appraisal numbers, they shut down.

Appraiser rep made no actual arguments at all, other than "we are fair".

1. Never skip the informal. In my experience, this is your best shot to get the value down.
2. The burden of proof is preponderance of evidence. If you are not an appraiser, the board is automatically going to side with the appraisal district because there is a greater than 50% chance that they are right based on their credentials alone. So you have to show that a mistake was made. Obtain their comps before the meeting and be prepared to show why they're not appropriate.
3. Bring up evidence that the appraiser couldn't have known about and therefore didn't account for. Foundation, roof, mechanical issues, etc.

I just had to shell out a bunch of money to replace my A/C system. Can that be used as part of my rebuttal? Or, will that just back fire and they'll tell me that my house is now more valuable with the new system?

Both times I went to the ARB this was exactly my experience. I'll refrain from personal attacks, but suffice it to say that simple math seemed well beyond their capabilities (or interest). The appraiser made a similar argument along the lines of "we stand by our price". At that point the leader of the panel suggested a minor reduction that was almost more insulting than just telling me to F-off.

After the second time getting boned, I asked for some type of de-brief or explanation of how they were arriving at their numbers since no math was done. I was polite and respectful and asked how I could make a better, more convincing argument next time since my numbers- and picture-based evidence apparently didn't move the needle. They couldn't tell me a thing about how they arrived at their decision. It was truly just one person pulling a number from their ass and the other two immediately falling in line to support.

After that second experience, I vowed that I would never go to the ARB again. I'd take whatever I could get from the informal and just accept it. Going to the ARB wasn't worth my time or effort.

I don't see how they can say with a straight face that those 3 panelists (who likely volunteered in order to get out of the home and have some social interaction) are unbiased when they spend all day (if not longer) in the room with the appraiser. Before one of my appeals when I walked in all 4 were cracking up and sharing stories about their families. Impartial indeed.

Captain Winky said:

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I just had to shell out a bunch of money to replace my A/C system. Can that be used as part of my rebuttal? Or, will that just back fire and they'll tell me that my house is now more valuable with the new system?

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Your appraisal is based on Jan. 1. If you have evidence that your system needed to be replaced, then submit it.

Good point. Would they use that against in proceeding years?

Highly unlikely. They only document remodels.

Market up from $359K last year to $422K. Filed protest and got an offer to reduce to $405K. Same thing happened last year and got substantially more lowered than this offer so I will do the same this year.

As others said, the ARB is a farce and the 2 times I have gone I have gotten the same treatment. I will likely be taking what the informal gives me.

Whatever offer you get via isettle or the informal, that will be your best number 90% of the time. The boards have been BRUTAL the last 3 years. Unless you get an appraiser that is willing to help you out, or you have a closing statement you are screwed.

Just my 2cents

Until the CADs are inundated with lawsuits the ARBs are going to continue to lazy their way to "numbers feel good, pictures and such."

Does the appraiser actually come to your house? I have some remodels that we didn't pull permits for and I'm going to pretend we still have the original 1950's kitchen in my argument.

Does anyone have experience with binding arbitration to appeal the appraisal review board?

The arbitrator costs $500, but a $20,000 reduction will pay for that. Even better, if the appraisal is lowered more than halfway between the disputed value then the appraisal district pays the $500.

Captain Winky said:

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Does the appraiser actually come to your house? I have some remodels that we didn't pull permits for and I'm going to pretend we still have the original 1950's kitchen in my argument.

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They do not come inside unless you let them.

Martin Q. Blank said:

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Captain Winky said:

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Does the appraiser actually come to your house? I have some remodels that we didn't pull permits for and I'm going to pretend we still have the original 1950's kitchen in my argument.

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They do not come inside unless you let them.

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like Vampires and Catholics?

Captain Winky said:

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Does the appraiser actually come to your house? I have some remodels that we didn't pull permits for and I'm going to pretend we still have the original 1950's kitchen in my argument.

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If you don't pull permits and don't allow anyone into your house, no one will be any wiser about any improvements you have made. With that being said, if I recall correctly, when you go to your informal or ARB hearing, they essentially swear you in that you are providing truthful, accurate information. I'm not sure how they could ever find out that you weren't 100% honest, and even then, I'm not sure it would be worth anyone's time to pursue it if it's just a single-family home with an undocumented new kitchen. That now becomes a moral/ethical issue that you can handle however you want. An argument could likely be made that HCAD was the first to throw ethics and morals out the window. You do you.

Well I have no ethics or a moral compass, so there's that. I'll just cross my fingers when they put my hand on a bible and swear me in. Jesus will understand.

Captain Winky said:

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Well I have no ethics or a moral compass, so there's that. I'll just cross my fingers when they put my hand on a bible and swear me in. Jesus will understand.

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You will be put under oath that the information you present is the truth. You can withhold information if you'd like or decline to answer a question.

swimmerbabe11 said:

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uh ... phrasing

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username checks out

Another partial win with HCAD.

Argued my friend's house (77389). Market was $364839 (up from $271328 in 2021). I asked for $310k. He was offered $338281.

I based my argument solely on the HCAD values for selected neighboring properties. I didn't use any recent sales comps.

My previous post about this was confusing because, when I wrote the protest, I also argued appraised should be lowered from $298460 to $275k, also based on the same neighboring houses.

Obviously, I did not win that argument. But I figured it was worth a shot, since I had the numbers right in front of me. But I know they won't change appraised as long as it's less than market.

Anyone had success appealing the ARB? I've never done that, but just seeing if it's worth trying to go that route or not (depending on the outcome).