Mine went up 35k..... yea I don't think so. I plan on fighting it so anny advice would be great.

 

Im going to be doing the same here too. Its been a long time since I have done do...

 

What county do you fall under?

I'm disputing my HCAD appraisal, jumped about $63k from last year which is complete bullshit.

 

I am not a professional, but I have dealt with this is Harris county for my home and my grandparents home for years. I just hire someone. I use O'Conner, but there is another one (I cannot recall the name that is owned and run by Paul Bettencourt). You only pay if they are able to reduce your taxes and you only pay a portion of your savings.

They can only increase your value 10% year over year (I believe their may be a catch up clause, but I don't recall the details). I have had them try to increase mine 12% once. I protested based on that fact. When I did my research, I found that many people had this happen. They did not protest and the value stood. If you don't protest, you can get screwed.

If you allow an HCAD inspector to come in and re-appraise your home, all of this is out the window and the appraisal they do sticks. You do not have to let them appraise your home.

When a home is sold, the value will be very close to the selling price the next year and you will have a hard time getting it reduced.

There is much more to it and I am by no means an expert. I have O'Connor set up to fight mine every year so it happens automatically. Even though I know my home is likely worth a good bit more than the HCAD appraised value, they have typically been successful in reducing the value each year. The only exception was a year when 3 homes within 500 feet of my home sold for nearly double my appraised value. They charged me nothing because they could not get my value reduced.

I have a friend who fought his own several times with mixed luck. He got it reduced slightly twice. The 2 other times the county told him they had appraisers who were experts and he was not so their valuation stood. It's BS, but he is an accountant. He has no expertise or certifications in appraising so he didn't have much luck. When he presented some facts, he was told that didn't matter and these other factors are what mattered.

 

No way in hell will I let an inspector inside. I've spent almost 40k updating the kitchen and master bath. I'll call O'Connor and see if they can help.

 

I boarded up my windows and sprayed graffiti on the walls and fence. I got the blighted house tax deferral discount! You can only do this once. Next year I need to show fire or water damage and/or file a report of ghostly apparitions. Thank you Obama!

 

If permits were pulled, they will ask what was done. O'Connor can probably guide you better about what you should admit to and what you don't have to tell them.

 

I used Bettencourt, did a great job last year. http://btanow.com/

 

I moved out of Harris County in 09. The last time I protested HCAD, they had an online system you could use, which was much preferred over in person. I did the online form and agreed with their appraisal IF my house was in top market condition, but it wasnt. I documented why and they dropped my appraisal. No in person visit; quick and easy. Might as well try that first.

I have protested Montgomery Country twice. First was in 2010 after I purchased my house. I planned to have it reduced to what I paid as they had it appraised for more. When I met the first appraiser, she didn't ask for my paperwork, she just ran comps and dropped it to less than I paid, so I kept my mouth shut. That kept me happy for a couple years.

Last year, I tried to get MCAD to reduce my value based on a refi appraisal. Appraiser was no help. Went to the review board. They were far from impartial. It was more of a learning experience for me. I have a feeling my taxes are going way up this year. Might try Bettencourt instead of dealing with it myself.

 

HCAD in particular is very, very difficult. Once I cited Texas Property Code and asked why they wouldn't let me follow the law, Sr. Appraiser's response was "because we're HCAD." I fought it and won. As of today, I've disputed more than 30 valuations and won them all (not for hire BTW).

Here are a few tips to defend your valuation. Under all scenarios, pull up your neighbors' valuations online to compare things like condition, $/sq.ft., % of land improved, build dates and quality, and changes in value by year. Plug the data into a spreadsheet then compare yours to others. Hope you have your homestead exemption in place!

If your home value jumped due to recent purchase you can argue things like sentimental value and distressed purchase increasing value to ONLY YOU. This is part of my protest, I moved where I moved for 1,000 reasons that I do not need to share with any stranger. They don't need to know anything other than I was in a rush to buy and this met my criteria.
If your improvement value jumped, use last year's figure when you protest and submit your new value.
If you had to pull permits for improvements you need to dig up receipts and ignore labor costs.
If your land value increased, your only fight is comparing to other comparable properties (neighbors).

 

I bought my house as a forclosure last year for $160k My taxes are set at $259k I just started the protest process. I sent them my closing statement Of what I paid. I did the same for the last house I bought and they lowered the taxes considerably but not to what I paid. I think I might just sell this one now considering an agent thinks they can get me $300k for it. IM pretty sure IM boned on the taxes on this house.

 

Glad you posted this- just looked and ours went up about 30k.

Here's my question- we expanded the garage on the house significantly and it is definitely worth more than what they have listed.

Not sure if I should attempt this or leave well enough alone? I am concerned if I dispute and they send someone out then they see an additional 1300+ sq ft not listed I will be screwed.

Thoughts?

 

You need to be careful because if they find out a year or two from now that you expanded it they will hit you up for back taxes on it.

 

Good call - I should just leave it alone I guess