Travis CAD Values Are Online (Austin: 2014, new house, neighborhood)

[FalconheadWest]

I'm in Bee Cave and went up 8%.

[CarnivalGal]

I think the county should be forced to buy my house for what they appraise it for. According to TCAD, our house has increased in value 100K in the last 5 years. Bull hockey. I will protest, and they will lower i by like 1%.

[squatt3r]

if only my salary increase per year could increase the same rate as this appraisal value :-(

[TCBTEX]

Full 10% increase on assessed value here in NW part of town. That's 5 years in a row of absorbing the full 10% hit. For out of town readers considering a move to Austin... I'm now paying $7,700 / year in property taxes on a modest 1900 square foot 3/2 house on a 0.20 acre lot that is now assessed at $388K per Travis County. From what I can tell, with only a few houses sold in my area this year, $388K is about top end of what I can probably get if I listed it now. Very similar house just 3 down on my street has been sitting at $399K for 3 weeks now with no pending offers but buying season has yet to really kick in which should happen once school ends. If they get something close to that price I'll feel better about my new $388K valuation.

I tried to protest last year and only received a deduct on my "market value" which provided zero relief as they apply the prop tax rate to your "assessed value." Like many others, I'll let a tax protest company take a shot for me this year as it wasn't worth the hassle doing it on my own after last year's experience.

Counting the days until my child finishes high school and heads to college so we can relocate to TN where property taxes on the same type of house would run about $2,200/year. Like Texas, TN also does not charge residents any state tax. TN does have a point or so higher sales tax and food/fuel costs are slightly higher but that will be easily negated by the massive savings I'll enjoy in property taxes. Not sure how many folks are going to be able to actually retire in Austin at this point since prop tax is not capped until you reach 65 years of age. That's 11 years away for me so there is a very real chance I would head into retirement having to absorb a prop tax cost of $1K+ each month if the housing market continues forward at a decent rate. That type of expense doesn't fit into my personal retirement plans. With Amazon adding 500 new jobs at the Domain less than 3 miles from me and Apple doubling their work force less than 5 miles away I don't really see any reason values will drop in the next few years. Remember, rising property values are only fun if you want to sell. No fun if you're trying to make a long term life in the home! "T for Texas...T for Tennessee!"

At least I have a kid in a decent public school that she enjoys and my prop taxes help fund. Can't imagine having to absorb these increases with no kids in the school system.

[WhatTheFox]

Originally Posted by CarnivalGal

I think the county should be forced to buy my house for what they appraise it for. According to TCAD, our house has increased in value 100K in the last 5 years. Bull hockey. I will protest, and they will lower i by like 1%.

I like that idea that they should be able to buy it for that price.

Basically, property taxes are their bread n butter to a large extent. So there is a motive to up the prices. Combine that with all the hype surrounding Austin as THE place to live and it all goes unchecked.

[Trainwreck20]

Originally Posted by WhatTheFox

I like that idea that they should be able to buy it for that price.

Basically, property taxes are their bread n butter to a large extent. So there is a motive to up the prices. Combine that with all the hype surrounding Austin as THE place to live and it all goes unchecked.

It is 'checked' by sales price data during homeowner protest.

[WhatTheFox]

Originally Posted by Trainwreck20

It is 'checked' by sales price data during homeowner protest.

So the onus is on the homeowner to do the work or lose money. How many would have the time in their busy lives to file for protests etc.? Even if they do how much do the values actually go down? As for sales data, that seems to be a very unscientific way to appraise a house. Even ones in a master planned neighborhood with the exact same floor plan can't be the same due to upgrades, lot size, lot view etc. So I'm not sure how that can work in an apples-to-apples comparison.

[Trainwreck20]

Originally Posted by WhatTheFox

So the onus is on the homeowner to do the work or lose money. How many would have the time in their busy lives to file for protests etc.? Even if they do how much do the values actually go down? As for sales data, that seems to be a very unscientific way to appraise a house. Even ones in a master planned neighborhood with the exact same floor plan can't be the same due to upgrades, lot size, lot view etc. So I'm not sure how that can work in an apples-to-apples comparison.

I was just replying to the 'unchecked' comment. There is a check, fuzzy as it might be. They do have a bunch of factors to vary the cost based on lot location, options, etc.

And who SHOULD the onus be on to keep an eye on our own taxes? Although there are dozens of companies that will 'protest' for free.

[Austin97]

the issue is NOT appraisals. If the city budget was constant, the tax rate would go down tremendously to compensate for the increase in value.

Your taxes are 100% determined by the city, AISD, and other taxing jurisdictions. AISD represents 55% of my taxes. 50% of that goes to recapture.

The COA is only 20% of my tax bill
Travis county is 15%
Health district 5%
ACC 5%

I actually think the COA austin does pretty good. the COA does a lot more with my money than travis county..

The increase in taxes is 100% related to increases in budget, not increases in appraised value.

[CarnivalGal]

Originally Posted by Trainwreck20

It is 'checked' by sales price data during homeowner protest.

Someone who used to work closely with TCAD once told me that they basically knowingly assess high with the hopes that most people won't protest. And most, apparently, don't.