Tax Protest Info (Austin: hardwood floors, for sale, appliances) - Texas (TX) - City-Data Forum

Dr.Mom · 07-12-2011, 07:47 AM

My DH just found out that one of the properties we're looking at has protested their 2011 taxes and had an informal hearing on 7/6. Is there any way that he could find out what the basis of their protest was? I'm not sure if that would be online or not. He lives for this kind of stuff, so any info would make him very happy.
TIA!

Trainwreck20 · 07-12-2011, 08:26 AM

They probably just have comparable property sales data and are protesting their appraisal. It really isn't very exciting stuff, but I suppose that the hearing was public record. Not sure where that would be, I am guessing not online and you might even have to do a freedom of information request.

mark311 · 07-12-2011, 08:38 AM

It's not worth his time investigating this in my opinion. The county will generally try to appraise your house for more than what it's worth so you have to pay higher property taxes. If your home has gone up at all during this economic downturn then it's worth protesting and it's a very simple process that could save you hundreds of dollars. The basis of the protest is almost always just to keep your appraisal in line with what comparable properties are currently selling for.

Dr.Mom · 07-12-2011, 08:50 AM

Thanks guys. I guess we'll just have to wonder. I would think that his basis for the appeal is that the property is in such poor shape. Ironically, he's trying to sell it for much more than the TCAD value.

CptnRn · 07-12-2011, 09:15 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Dr.Mom

Thanks guys. I guess we'll just have to wonder. I would think that his basis for the appeal is that the property is in such poor shape. Ironically, he's trying to sell it for much more than the TCAD value.

That is not at all uncommon for the for sale price of property to be higher then the TCAD value.

Dr.Mom · 07-12-2011, 09:38 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by CptnRn

That is not at all uncommon for the for sale price of property to be higher then the TCAD value.

Oh definitely. It's just that we've seen places going for closer to their TCAD value lately. I would think that it's counterintuitive to say to TCAD, "My place is a dump. Look at these pics, it's falling down so you should lower my taxes. By the way, I'm trying to unload it for much more than you assessed."

atxcio · 07-12-2011, 09:42 AM

Informal hearings aren't publicly available, but formal ones are. If you want to get the audio from a formal hearing, you can go to the TCAD office with the property ID# and they'll put it on a CD for you. I think it costs a little bit for the CD, but just material costs... like $5 or less.

If your DH lives for this kind of stuff (I do too), he may want to go to TCAD anyway and see if there has ever been a formal protest hearing for the house. They will look go back several years and look. If there is something that has been used in a formal about the house, it may be in one of those past hearings.

I think you have to go to the office to actually get the recordings; however, if you want to save the trip in case there is no data there, call the TCAD office first. Ask for the research department. They will probably be able to look up and see if there was ever a formal hearing on the home -- they've always been pretty helpful over the phone.

Dr.Mom · 07-12-2011, 01:31 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by atxcio

Informal hearings aren't publicly available, but formal ones are. If you want to get the audio from a formal hearing, you can go to the TCAD office with the property ID# and they'll put it on a CD for you. I think it costs a little bit for the CD, but just material costs... like $5 or less.

If your DH lives for this kind of stuff (I do too), he may want to go to TCAD anyway and see if there has ever been a formal protest hearing for the house. They will look go back several years and look. If there is something that has been used in a formal about the house, it may be in one of those past hearings.

I think you have to go to the office to actually get the recordings; however, if you want to save the trip in case there is no data there, call the TCAD office first. Ask for the research department. They will probably be able to look up and see if there was ever a formal hearing on the home -- they've always been pretty helpful over the phone.

Thanks so much! Repped you for your help. I'll forward your response on to DH. I'm not positive, but I think that he believes the house to have some foundation issues and is trying to uncover that. Frankly, it's all a moot point until we can sell our place here in PA. Man, when he protested our property taxes here, he brought in a whole binder of information. I think the panel was so overwhelmed and he was such a PIA, they just gave him what he wanted. Hope they're ready for him in Austin...

CarnivalGal · 07-12-2011, 02:49 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Dr.Mom

Oh definitely. It's just that we've seen places going for closer to their TCAD value lately. I would think that it's counterintuitive to say to TCAD, "My place is a dump. Look at these pics, it's falling down so you should lower my taxes. By the way, I'm trying to unload it for much more than you assessed."

A lot of people do that. Maybe it's based upon his appraisal this year in relation to last year. If they county jacked up the appraisal, he may be protesting the fact that it's not worth more (or that much more) than last year.

TCAD also doesn't know about a lot of improvements that the house has. If someone re-does all the bathrooms, puts in new granite counter tops, new appliances, and throws in hardwood floors, of course the market value of their house is going to go up, maybe significantly. But TCAD isn't going to know about any of that so their value won't reflect the changes. In other words, the TCAD value and market value are not going to be the same in most cases.

Dr.Mom · 07-12-2011, 06:31 PM

Oh! Now I see it. After your post, mm57553, I clicked on the Show History tab on the TCAD page for the property. It shows that his TCAD value went from $492k (2010) to $795k (2011). Yikes!
I can see why he's steaming, but quite honestly, the current TCAD value looks to be much more on the mark for the property. I think the guy got away with being significantly underassessed for a number of years. Guess he's still gotta try though. Well, good luck to him!