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2018 Tax Appraised Values

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Brewin’1up

Brewin’1up 34

Posted
Posted
13 hours ago, dimyh said:

 

Good stuff there, any other tips on getting them to knock off prices based on recent damages? In year 2 of home ownership with an increase of 10%, not as terrible as some of you old fucks but still a kick to my wallet. I'm definitely not the surly 2% and need every amero I can get. 

Just confirmed water damage from a pipe leak. Its older house so when they stripped out drywall/flooring we identified wood root & mold. Plus outside drainage problems that may have contributed as well. Still working on insurance to see what will be covered but right now the place is an absolute dump compared to my purchase price from 2016.

Assuming the damages hadn't been fixed on Jan.1, photos and repair estimates will get you a reduction for sure. I would also try and argue the "I'll have to disclose the mold if I decide to sell" angle.

good luck

 

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krevo

krevo 142

Posted
Posted (edited)

Question for those of you who may have just gone through this.  

I just closed on our new house in Hays a month ago.  Got my tax appraisal today and its showing Improvement (Buildings) Market Value and Land Market Value.  Does the fact that there is a value in the Improvements section mean that my house was considered a finished home by the time they got around to assessing it?  I've heard from some folks that if the house is not finished at the time of appraisal, they only assess it as dirt or sometimes a percentage of the structure.  

The good news assuming the above is correct - my place came in WAY under what I expected it would.  The bad news - the effective tax rate out here is 2.8% which feels like murder.  We finally built our dream home and now I get to be dryfucked on a yearly basis for the rest of my life.

Edited by krevo
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gecko

gecko 1104

Posted
Posted
On 4/25/2018 at 12:34 PM, ChickenSandwich said:

create a child tax devoted to funding schools from parents and scale with income (with some exemptions).  Skins on the wall for education

As an empty nester I fully support this proposal...... gimme gimme gimme.....

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Brewin’1up

Brewin’1up 34

Posted
Posted
56 minutes ago, krevo said:

Question for those of you who may have just gone through this.  

I just closed on our new house in Hays a month ago.  Got my tax appraisal today and its showing Improvement (Buildings) Market Value and Land Market Value.  Does the fact that there is a value in the Improvements section mean that my house was considered a finished home by the time they got around to assessing it?  I've heard from some folks that if the house is not finished at the time of appraisal, they only assess it as dirt or sometimes a percentage of the structure.  

The good news assuming the above is correct - my place came in WAY under what I expected it would.  The bad news - the effective tax rate out here is 2.8% which feels like murder.  We finally built our dream home and now I get to be dryfucked on a yearly basis for the rest of my life.

No. The Date of Appraisal is Jan.1 - so assuming there was at least a slab present on Jan.1, the CAD would have picked it up as an improvement. If the house wasn't fully finished, they will put it at a %complete (depending on how much of the construction was done), and then put it to 100% complete for 2019.  

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Catpfish

Catpfish 618

Posted
Posted
1 minute ago, Brewin’1up said:

No. The Date of Appraisal is Jan.1 - so assuming there was at least a slab present on Jan.1, the CAD would have picked it up as an improvement. If the house wasn't fully finished, they will put it at a %complete (depending on how much of the construction was done), and then put it to 100% complete for 2019.  

So be very careful in this instance with your tax escrows and how you handle them.  When your valuation takes a big jump in 2019, it's very possible that the lender will be behind the curve and you could be headed for a dramatic increase in your payment.  State law only allows escrow accounts to maintain a certain level, any overage is refunded to the owner.  If your payment was calculated using completed value, you'll have a large balance in escrow after taxes at the end of the year and you should get a refund.  If the loan servicing company resets your payment using the 2018 valuation as a guide, you'll be woefully short on escrow at the end of 2019.  You'll have to make up the difference, essentially doubling your escrow tax payment to catch up the shortage and pay for the 2020 taxes.  I've seen payments go up by more than $500 when people weren't expecting it and weren't prepared.  

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krevo

krevo 142

Posted
Posted
16 hours ago, Catpfish said:

So be very careful in this instance with your tax escrows and how you handle them.  When your valuation takes a big jump in 2019, it's very possible that the lender will be behind the curve and you could be headed for a dramatic increase in your payment.  State law only allows escrow accounts to maintain a certain level, any overage is refunded to the owner.  If your payment was calculated using completed value, you'll have a large balance in escrow after taxes at the end of the year and you should get a refund.  If the loan servicing company resets your payment using the 2018 valuation as a guide, you'll be woefully short on escrow at the end of 2019.  You'll have to make up the difference, essentially doubling your escrow tax payment to catch up the shortage and pay for the 2020 taxes.  I've seen payments go up by more than $500 when people weren't expecting it and weren't prepared.  

Found out yesterday they had it at 75% as of Jan 1.  Based on the price they chose for 75%, if I added another 25-30% to that value, it'll still come in well under what we paid for it which was my hope.   We opted to roll any additional escrow over instead of taking the refund because I expected a jump.  As far as the amount of tax we chose to escrow - the house was lender appraised at more than sticker and we put 25% down.  We opted to have our escrow be 90% of sale price as opposed to 100% of the lender appraised value (which was actually 35k more than we bought it for) 

 

 

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NameAlreadyInUse

NameAlreadyInUse 5111

Posted
Posted

I'm asking because I'm curious about this....Since you put 25% down, why did you decide to go with escrow rather than just paying your taxes and insurance separately? I killed my escrow account because I could, and I simply divert insurance and tax money into an interest bearing account and pay from that account.  Its not much interest but it pays better than escrowing does.  Are there other advantages to staying with escrow?

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Catpfish

Catpfish 618

Posted
Posted

Don't know in this particular instance, but some companies have a fee when escrow is waived because they will have to verify that taxes and insurance have been paid and that fee would be more than any pittance you would earn in interest

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NameAlreadyInUse

NameAlreadyInUse 5111

Posted
Posted
5 hours ago, Catpfish said:

Don't know in this particular instance, but some companies have a fee when escrow is waived because they will have to verify that taxes and insurance have been paid and that fee would be more than any pittance you would earn in interest

Ahh, thanks Cat, I had no idea that was a thing.  I agree its a pittance, but it'll pay for a yearly nice dinner, and its more than the money makes sitting in escrow, so I always wondered why anyone would keep that money in a non-interest bearing account when they didn't have to.  Fees makes perfect sense.

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gecko

gecko 1104

Posted
Posted
On 5/9/2018 at 10:18 AM, NameAlreadyInUse said:

I'm asking because I'm curious about this....Since you put 25% down, why did you decide to go with escrow rather than just paying your taxes and insurance separately? I killed my escrow account because I could, and I simply divert insurance and tax money into an interest bearing account and pay from that account.  Its not much interest but it pays better than escrowing does.  Are there other advantages to staying with escrow?

Only advantage I can think of is if the taxes exceed the amount put aside the mortgage company pays the shortfall and you have an interest free loan paying it back.  At least that's what I had with my loan through USBank.  That, and I'm lazy.  I escrowed all the way up until I paid off the remaining balance in one lump sum.

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phdhorn

phdhorn 6224

Posted
Posted

Yeah, I went down with Five Stone this year. I figured it's a tough year for me too really get much production, and I've gotten some of the past, so if they can do this one, then I know how good they can do compared to myself. Hopefully they'll have reason to collect money from me.

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PantsTent

PantsTent 2002

Posted
Posted

After a successful Efile and reduction last year, TCAD is tying to make up for it this year I guess.  Appraised value was bumped up $85K.  The took $20K off after Efile, but I need another $20K off to reduce tax bill under the cap.  I guess my only option now is request a formal hearing or hire someone to do the formal for me?

The 4 sales comps seem so damn cherry picked.  2 really high dollar ones due to brand new construction price.  And the median of 4 homes is just the average of the middle 2, so those fuck me.  Can I cherry pick my own comps for the hearing?  What's a good resource for getting accurate data on sales...have to know a realtor or is shit like Redfin accurate?

 

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Catpfish

Catpfish 618

Posted
Posted

In a shocking update, the appraisal district is full of shit.  Protested my dad's house and (being a realtor) took in all of the sales from the subdivision to support our claim.  The appraiser said that realtors only care about price per square foot and that the county doesn't go by that.  Yet, they use the exact same sales in the exact same manner...and then come up with their valuation.  

They had my dad's house at roughly $340K on their valuation and when they sent their evidence packet, their own comp sales grid had a value of $307K.  When questioned about it, the guy was like "Oh, I guess someone made a mistake.  We've got your valuation at $307K."  No, you didn't, you lying mother fucker, the tax appraisal statement clearly states $340K.  If we hadn't said something, it would have never changed.

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ChickenSandwich

ChickenSandwich 9826

Posted
Posted
2 minutes ago, Catpfish said:

In a shocking update, the appraisal district is full of shit.  Protested my dad's house and (being a realtor) took in all of the sales from the subdivision to support our claim.  The appraiser said that realtors only care about price per square foot and that the county doesn't go by that.  Yet, they use the exact same sales in the exact same manner...and then come up with their valuation.  

They had my dad's house at roughly $340K on their valuation and when they sent their evidence packet, their own comp sales grid had a value of $307K.  When questioned about it, the guy was like "Oh, I guess someone made a mistake.  We've got your valuation at $307K."  No, you didn't, you lying mother fucker, the tax appraisal statement clearly states $340K.  If we hadn't said something, it would have never changed.

Fuck you, pay me. 

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Catpfish

Catpfish 618

Posted
Posted (edited)

One more thing, their comp equity grid did show a value of $340K...explain that one to me.  I guess people aren't protesting their valuations and are paying over 10% in taxes more than they should be

Edited by Catpfish
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PantsTent

PantsTent 2002

Posted
Posted
3 hours ago, Catpfish said:

One more thing, their comp equity grid did show a value of $340K...explain that one to me.  I guess people aren't protesting their valuations and are paying over 10% in taxes more than they should be

Yeah, the equity grid is bullshit.  Mine had 10 properties.  6 in the $530k range and 4 in the $490k range. Well, median of that is $530k.  I looked at the history of the 4, and it is obvious they all had successful protest last year or based on an actual sale last year.  

After the Efile they used the comp sales which brought it down some.  Is picking 4 different comp sales a valid protest strategy if I have evidence of why they are more applicable comps to my home than the ones they used?

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Catpfish

Catpfish 618

Posted
Posted

It's definitely worth a try.  Since they like to use median, you can also include a high priced one just to show that you didn't only pick the low ones.  You'll probably have to defend your choices beyond being the same square footage as they have some crazy rating system based on "corners" (or at least they used to) and that was how they tried to justify rating house construction as lower or higher quality even though the house was built at the same time, by the same builder and in the same neighborhood.  The lead appraiser several years ago (I think it was Dismukes) was barely above the IQ of warm spit.

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Brewin’1up

Brewin’1up 34

Posted
Posted
21 hours ago, Catpfish said:

In a shocking update, the appraisal district is full of shit.  Protested my dad's house and (being a realtor) took in all of the sales from the subdivision to support our claim.  The appraiser said that realtors only care about price per square foot and that the county doesn't go by that.  Yet, they use the exact same sales in the exact same manner...and then come up with their valuation.  

They had my dad's house at roughly $340K on their valuation and when they sent their evidence packet, their own comp sales grid had a value of $307K.  When questioned about it, the guy was like "Oh, I guess someone made a mistake.  We've got your valuation at $307K."  No, you didn't, you lying mother fucker, the tax appraisal statement clearly states $340K.  If we hadn't said something, it would have never changed.

In all fairness the CAD doesn't go by a straight price/sqft formula - if that were the case, we wouldn't need appraisers. In Appraisal, you have to analyze the market and make appropriate adjustments for the differences between the properties.

This is one of the hazards of Mass Appraisal. The CAD looks at ALL the sales in the neighborhood - which might indicate a value increase of x% over the previous year. But if you break it down and focus on a specific range of sales, say +/-200sqft of the subject property, it might actually indicate a reduction. The same is true for Equity. That's why you always want to get their evidence package and make sure the homes they're using as comps are actually similar. e.x. Make sure you're not being compared to sales of new construction or remodeled homes, if your home was built in 1950 and hasn't ever been updated (extreme example, but it happens).

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closetojumping

closetojumping 62555

Posted
Posted

I protested taxes on my first house once. I went through the process myself and went to the hearing with all of my prep. It was your basic bureaucratic railroading where it was clear the game was rigged and I didn’t understand it. The 3 person committee declared that they’d uphold the original estimate even though they knew fully well it was bullshit. 

I came totally unhinged and harangued them in some sort of blind aggressive rage that ended with me telling them that if there is a god above, he was sending them all to hell for little acts like this on their judgment day. My realtor was with me and disturbed by the whole thing and I think I lost a few years of my life with the experience. Two weeks later, bizarrely, I got a notice in the mail that they’d reconsidered and slashed the appraisal by over 20%  

With that, I’ve never protested a thing for the last 11 years. With another crazy jump on properties after Harvey, I’ve bitten the bullet and filed a protest with one of the tax entities built to play the game. I’m interested to see if it is worth it at all. 

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AUinHsv

AUinHsv 579

Posted
Posted
57 minutes ago, closetojumping said:

I protested taxes on my first house once. I went through the process myself and went to the hearing with all of my prep. It was your basic bureaucratic railroading where it was clear the game was rigged and I didn’t understand it. The 3 person committee declared that they’d uphold the original estimate even though they knew fully well it was bullshit. 

I came totally unhinged and harangued them in some sort of blind aggressive rage that ended with me telling them that if there is a god above, he was sending them all to hell for little acts like this on their judgment day. My realtor was with me and disturbed by the whole thing and I think I lost a few years of my life with the experience. Two weeks later, bizarrely, I got a notice in the mail that they’d reconsidered and slashed the appraisal by over 20%  

With that, I’ve never protested a thing for the last 11 years. With another crazy jump on properties after Harvey, I’ve bitten the bullet and filed a protest with one of the tax entities built to play the game. I’m interested to see if it is worth it at all. 

Username checks out

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drt

drt 638

Posted
Posted

Have my informal tomorrow.  They were nice enough to send me notice on Friday of last week.

Also weird, they didn't send an evidence packet this year like I requested.  It states in the letter that they'll provide that info at the informal.  Dicks.

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drt

drt 638

Posted
Posted

Apparently they're trying to get all informals done by the 20th of June.  Also found out that they mailed the evidence packet, but it just hasn't arrived yet because the hearing date was set so soon, fuckers.  

They moved a bunch of desks into an upstairs room and have about 20 stations set up right next to each other.  They're very clear you only get 15 minutes.  Last year we were in the cube farm downstairs at normal workstations.

I was able to get 30k knocked off, but considering they raised appraised from 290k to 390k or so it doesn't really feel like anything.  I showed up with pics of needed repairs (roof and porches have leaks and need to be completely replaced) and got very little traction with that.  I was nice to the guy and he used a unremodeled house as a comparable (our neighborhood was all built between 1960 to 70ish, and I think he said it sold for 290k), but they improved our condition because we pulled a permit last year and that skewed how they compare values to our neighbors & comps.  Didn't matter that we didn't add square footage and almost all of the cost went straight to HVAC and water heater replacement, because we moved 2 interior walls to make a bathroom bigger they consider it a major remodel.  Our plumber refused to work without pulling permits (don't blame him, its his licence) but next time I'll think twice about pulling permits for any work.  I'm glad we don't plan on staying in this house too much longer as the taxes will quickly be assessed at well more than the house is worth if they aren't already.  Not 1% but goddamn this process is frustrating.

 

Side note, almost laughed out loud at the dude who sat down next to me and tried to argue that his house was worth less than his purchase price from this year.  Don't think he had much luck.

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phdhorn

phdhorn 6224

Posted
Posted

I usually just write it in when I checked the boxes (this year I'm having a service do this shit after me doing it like 4 of the last 5 years).
You can write them an email to request it if you sent in the form already, which of course you did, else you couldn't appeal now.

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phdhorn

phdhorn 6224

Posted
Posted
3 minutes ago, CooterBrown said:

How long does it take to get an answer via ProTax? I submitted my info over a month ago.

It just depends on when your informal was scheduled. They run all through June, so it could take that long.

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PantsTent

PantsTent 2002

Posted
Posted
4 hours ago, Longhornfan1024 said:

Perhaps a dumb question, but how do I get the evidence packet.  The FAQ on the TCAD website says there should be a check box on the protest form, but when I look at the protest form there isn't a check box for receiving the evidence packet.  

Just ask for it in your comments.  That worked for me.

 

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Biff Tannen

Biff Tannen 45665

Posted
Posted
On 6/1/2018 at 8:41 AM, CooterBrown said:

Just checked online and my protax account still just says "Filed".  Oh well, maybe sometime this month.

 

 

Same.  Got a feeling it's just gonna be homestead for me this year.  They've saved me money the past two years in a row.  Surely they can't all be winners.

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hornian

hornian 5210

Posted
Posted

Well, FiveStone came through clutch for me. 

2018 appraised value was $473,905, after a 2017appraised value of $446,342 (post protest). So, appraisal was a $27,563 increase, or about 6.1%

Just got the results on Friday - after protest, new value is $435,710. So, a $10,632 decrease from last year (and $38,195 decrease from the appraised value). or about a 2.4% decrease. 

They didn't just beat last year's appraised value, they got it below the 2016 appraised value (I didn't protest that year).

Holy crap - they really earned their fee for me. My property taxes will actually be less in 2018 than 2017. Amazing. 

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Nonbryan

Nonbryan 173

Posted
Posted
23 hours ago, hornian said:

Well, FiveStone came through clutch for me. 

2018 appraised value was $473,905, after a 2017appraised value of $446,342 (post protest). So, appraisal was a $27,563 increase, or about 6.1%

Just got the results on Friday - after protest, new value is $435,710. So, a $10,632 decrease from last year (and $38,195 decrease from the appraised value). or about a 2.4% decrease. 

They didn't just beat last year's appraised value, they got it below the 2016 appraised value (I didn't protest that year).

Holy crap - they really earned their fee for me. My property taxes will actually be less in 2018 than 2017. Amazing. 

I've been happy with FiveStone as well.

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Brisketexan

Brisketexan 105064

Posted
Posted

Will any of these outfits take on your case AFTER the informal process?

I tried that -- and it was a JOKE compared to previous years.  Issues and approaches that had worked in the past hit a wall.  And looking around the room, it was apparent that they'd just hired a shitload of temps whose job was to say "no" to any modification.  So, no move.  None.  I'll have the formal hearing (have to check my mail to see when that was set).

Do these folks sign up at this stage, or only for the full process, pre-informal hearing?

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