How do you fight property tax appraisal on a brand new home? (Plano: sales, 2015)

[ddavid1101]

Guys,

Need your input here. First time home owner. Just bought a brand new spec home with DW at Ingram Terrace in East Richardson bordering E Plano and Murphy and closed in mid Dec. Paid 429K current appraised for 445kish for 2017. The start price on that style was $442,990 when I signed, now that same floor plan is starting at $407,990. Yes there were upgrades etc but a couple of months before that and the home was listed in the 500s. So they didnt price their homes properly and I thought I was getting a deal but got caught in the middle of it.

Anyways, they are now started to move some of the homes and 2 recent closes with owners moving in, one exact same size and another 200 ft bigger. the bigger one shown on zillow posted by agent as sold for 435K which by sqft can prove that either my purchase price is good enough and accurate.

Couple of questions as this is my first home and I have no experience in fighting or getting documentation:

1) How do I get comps on these recently closed homes in my small community? I emailed my buyer agent and have yet to hear back.
2) How do you do fight for brand new homes like this?
3) Do I need to pay someone for another appraisal?
4) Given that I over paid, what is realistic to ask here? my sale price or lower? What's realistic and winnable
5) is there a point to try for an informal hearing? Does it work?
6) is a professional property tax consultant worth it? How much do they cost? Any referrals? I think I would only use them if they can change the assessment lower than my purchase price, is that possible?

[stephwin]

I think the CADs have access to sold prices, so I doubt you can get it lowered more than what you paid. If I were you, I'd protest online and submit a copy of your HUD. They'll drop it to the price you paid with no problem. Getting it any lower will probably be a tough sale.

IF you want to push for more, you will need to find out the official prices the houses sold for. Texas is a non-disclosure state, so you need a realtor to tell you the sold prices. It appears you've already asked for that information which is good. You can submit that information as well.

If you have a few hours to devote to this, there is no need to hire someone to do it for you. You should be able to settle this completely online. I haven't gone up to the CAD office the last few years.

[dallas_cowboy]

Collin County accepts your HUD for 1 year from the closing to prove that your house is worth what you paid instead higher price that CAD appraiser quoted. I did when I bought the house in 2014 and protest with my HUD in 2015 thru their electronic protest procedure. They accepted my purchase price with no issues.

[ddavid1101]

Originally Posted by stephwin

I think the CADs have access to sold prices, so I doubt you can get it lowered more than what you paid. If I were you, I'd protest online and submit a copy of your HUD. They'll drop it to the price you paid with no problem. Getting it any lower will probably be a tough sale.

IF you want to push for more, you will need to find out the official prices the houses sold for. Texas is a non-disclosure state, so you need a realtor to tell you the sold prices. It appears you've already asked for that information which is good. You can submit that information as well.

If you have a few hours to devote to this, there is no need to hire someone to do it for you. You should be able to settle this completely online. I haven't gone up to the CAD office the last few years.

Just an update on my paperwork and details:

Details: purchased Dec 15 429K, 2017 assessment of 454K

Docs collected:
-HUD1 showing 429K
-original buyer contract with builder showing start price of home at 437K + upgrades and discount being a spec
-screenshot PDFed for current start price of the exact same home at 407K
-Comps provided with a home down the street, same layout and also spec sold for 410K in March/April this year, same sqft etc


I know i can get 429K no problem. Do you think I hvae enough evidence to go lower than 429K purchase price as such a recent one was sold for 410K being exactly the same home, along with the start price dropping 30K or so since I signed to now.

Would a professional service help with this?

[Johnhw2]

You fight in the. Said of unequal appraisal. You and your neighbors are all to be marketvakue but if the are appraised significantly less and comparable to your home you are not required to pay on a higher value than they do.

[ddavid1101]

Originally Posted by Johnhw2

You fight in the. Said of unequal appraisal. You and your neighbors are all to be marketvakue but if the are appraised significantly less and comparable to your home you are not required to pay on a higher value than they do.

Its literally exactly the same home. different face(elevation options) etc. both spec. same exact sqft. We bought 1 month too soon before the price drops stopped. keep in mind, last summer this redevelopment started at 500K now its at 407K and was at 437K when I bought.

So you think I should do this myself and shoot for a lower number? or ask a professional?

[Johnhw2]

Get a professional you are too emotionally involved and the logic of this is not something we typically know. This was designed for your situation.

[jdallas]

You can handle this one yourself. The current listing of 407k won't matter. Until it sells, it's irrelevant. The recent sold price of 410k of the same plan on the same street is perfect. You do need a realtor to provide you with the official sales data on that one. Take photos, provide aerial map showing both homes and you should be good. As supportive evidence, have the realtor also provide you with the closest comps that might have been used by the county and highlight any differences that would work in your favor. They will try to negotiate and you will probably end up with a 425k valuation

[Rakin]

They over appraise a new home to force you to bring in your closing documents. You can refuse and fight but it's too much for me to explain here.

Get comps from a RE agent and go fight the appraisal.

[ddavid1101]

Update: Went to informal hearing 2 weeks ago. There was an error on sqft on record. it shows 3K vs 2682. After adjustment, reassessment is just shy from purchase price just under 429K. The lady there was overly nice. I'm from NYC and was thinking I had to go in strong and argue for my life as if I was at the DMV in NYC or haggle a car salesman.

I also noticed that other people there 9/10 where homeowners that have little to no documentation. I had printed out about 100 pages in supporting documents from plot surveys comparing my home to my comparables, Comp reports provided by my agent, builder site details, HUD, builder contract including start price etc, floor plans and pictures, excel print out of 2017 appraisals for homes in the same development (6).

Anyways, she wouldnt go any lower and said that for her, its the law to follow purchase price but said that if I wanted to, I can file as its not fair or equal to other properties and request a hearing. This was after I showed her:

1) a comp report fo the exact same home sold on 3/29/17 at 152/sqft
2) an average excluding my home of the 2017 appraised value / sqft which was at 150/sqft (there were only 6 homes sold all in Dec)
3) the average sales price of the last 3 homes (in Q1 2017) / sqft which was 152/sqft

I filed online and we will see when the hearing happens. Do you guys know what law/rule she's trying to refer to? Is there such a law in writing I can review? I think I have a good case as i'm using their own numbers against them along with other methods coming up to the same conclusion.

Let me know your thoughts on my approach.