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I just got my 2008 Property Tax appraisal, and not too happy with it. I would like to protest it. Since I was the first occupied resident in my neighborhood, I've been in-n-out of my neighboring homes (same model as mine) while it was being built. So I pretty much know what upgrades and paint colors my neighbors have installed before they moved in. While I'm comparing those same houses that's very similar to my mine, I noticed that my appraisal was higher than a few neighbors with more interior upgrades (skip trowel paint, granite counters, bigger tiled floors, wood floors vs. mine with corian counters, carpet floors, and smaller 12in tile) and upgraded outside elevation (stone accents, porch, more detailed front vs mine with just brick). Based on this info, do I have a case to fight to get my appraisal lowered? Has anyone protested before and lost? FYI, my taxes will go up an estimated $400 because of this appraisal.
Yes appraisals are protested all the time. The deadline is May 30. If you paid for the house less than the appraised value, you have grounds. You need to print the protest forrm from the central appraisal district you are in, DCAD or Collin CAD etc...
Get the settlement statement from when you purchased the house and have a Realtor send you comps on your house. Most of us provide this as a free service to people. Then you present it to the district. They may not come down all the way to the price you paid, but they will very likely come down. Also, note that they don't look at paint color or floor type when they assess a house, they have some kind of formula that I personally have never been able to understand and anyone that didn't write the formula trying to explain it would be pure speculation. You can have 2 identitical houses on the same street with the same finish and yet they have a different assessed value...
Be forewarned that you only have a 50/50 shot at best.
I protested the taxes on our duplex in East Dallas in 2000. The DCAD has DOUBLED our assessed value in one year which caused me to lose money on the tenant's side of the duplex since they were already locked in to a lease. I had a Realtor friend pull comps for me (unfortunately there weren't many sales), and I also printed pages off the DCAD's website showing ALL of our neighbors' properties were assessed lower than ours. I took all of this stuff down, and had my hearing.
At the hearing, there is a panel of 3-5 people who listen to your side. I showed them the sale comps, and pointed out the two properties that had sold had things that mine did not (spa, upgraded kitchen, etc.). I also showed them the neighborhood's assessments and pointed out that I was higher than everyone else. I showed that my property was not the largest lot, and that I did not have interior or exterior upgrades.
The panel then asked for repair estimates. (They want to see things WRONG with your property.) When I told them there was nothing actively wrong with my house, other than needing a large tree taken out in the back yard), they denied my protest. I told them thanks for their time, and I would never live in Dallas County again. We immediately placed our house on the market, and when it finally sold, it sold for $15,000 under the appraised value. At closing, I told the buyer to take her paperwork to DAD and show them the appraisal was too high, and they would reduce it.
Good luck, but if you're basing your proest on interior upgrades, not repairs and things actually wrong with your property, you probably won't win.
Go in before the end of May and talk to an appraiser. Get your Realtor to run your comps / sales in your neighborhood. They will want to use the high priced sales, you'll argue to use the lower priced sales.
They get real busy in May so hopefully they'll lower your value so they can move on to the next guy. If you get an appraiser who's stubborn tell him you want to gather more info and leave. Come back in another day and try again, hopefully you'll get someone who's a little more negotiable.
The new tax rates are lower so now they go after your value. By all means fight, fight fight. Can you Imagine if 50% of the people in the county showed up. It would bog them down for months.
In an earlier post, momof2 pointed out about about partial homes and if they r not compeltely built they r not liveable so the tax should only be for the land. well, i am in a similar situation where the appraisal came in based on a partial house. so the apprisal went up from simply the land value to an additional $70,000. I live in Collin county. is this something i can protest? or am i stuck with the partial value?
1. GO NOW and NOT before the ARB (Appraisal Review Board) like Christine mentions. THEY ARE HORRID and you will NOT win in front of them at all! I've been before the board before and it is NOT pleasant.
2. Yes, you can protest your appraised value and you can win. I've only not been successful once. The first year we bought our house they raised it to what we paid for it. They were NOT going to come down and that was also the year we proceeded to the ARB hearing. A few years ago I went down THREE TIMES during the informal hearing period and it was only on the 3rd try I got it down.
3. Don't worry about paint colors or such. They don't care and that doesn't matter. Nor does the finish out of the walls when it comes to the type of texture and such. On the stone elevation I was told a few years ago my house was worth and ADDITIONAL $14,000 (yes, that much) because I had a stone accent on the front of my house. I only got that removed when I proved that it was "standard and normal for this neighborhood". That is something that realtors don't even add to the listing price of a home IF it is "standard" for that area. If you saw how much stone I have it is not enough to be worth some $14,000! Even hardwood floors are the "norm" here and those w/o them don't get discounts even if all they have is ceramic tile and carpet.
4. Find homes just LIKE yours based on size of house, condition (pay attention to this as someone w/ foundation problems CAN get theirs lowered by showing estimates for repair), size of lot and year built. If you live in a neighborhood w/ tract housing where there are several your floorplan than those are your best bets. HOWEVER, it is VERY possible they could have a different square footage than you even though they are the same. Pay attention to that. Double check your square footage and if it is much lower than what the DCAD has on their site pay to get an appraiser to come out and remeasure for you and give you an appraisal. If their appraisal is lower than what the DCAD has you can use that as well as ammunition. If yours is a 1 story don't use a 2 story in comparison and vice versa. Pay attention to the ones w/ pools and those w/o a pool. If one has a pool just like yours in size and condition and it is lower on DCAD use that to show them. TAKE PICTURES of the houses your using in comparison along w/ a picture of yours (front elevation unless the others backyard is HUGE and/or backs to a greenbelt/golf course). Pay attention to lot sizes as well as a larger lot will have a premium (I get hit w/ this one but I do love my yard). When it comes to price per square foot and this IS something they do go by down at DCAD a smaller home is going to have a higher price per square foot.
Here is something you can do and what I have done. If you live in a small community w/ 100 or so homes then make a listing of EVERY HOME in your neighbohrood (if you are in a larger community than find the ones closest to your house size/lot/condition). Use columns as I have found that easiest. Here is a rundown of what to make note of and then every year the only thing that needs to change is the appraised value. OH, and make note of the DCAD appraised value NOW and then again in the Fall after protests have been done and see who got theirs down and make note of that.
Columns:
1. Address
2. Square Footage
3. Pool (yes or no)
4. Lot size
5. Condition
6. 2006 Appraised Value
7. 2007 Appraised Value
8. 2008 Appraised Value
9. 2009 Appraised Value
10. 2010 Appraised Value
Go back at least two years if possible on COMPLETED houses. Your trying to get a feel and show the increases over a time period much more than just 1 year.
I think they know me down there now. I'm not going this year for my personal residential property but my parents are as they got theirs higher than what they paid for it at the end of 2007. I am going to go visit the fine folks down in the commercial dept though. woo-hoo
You can go down and do an informal hearing as many times as you want between now and the end of May. I'd MUCH rather do this than go before the ARB. As I said in another post think of the only people that have time to sit on such a board day in and day out. How do you RELATE and compare to them........... You don't. When we walked into that room a few years ago to protest TWO residential properties (one right at $200K and the other at $500K) I looked at my husband and said, "we're toast. We don't stand a chance of getting one penny lowered on these properties". Do your best to avoid them.
Be forewarned that you only have a 50/50 shot at best.
I protested the taxes on our duplex in East Dallas in 2000. The DCAD has DOUBLED our assessed value in one year which caused me to lose money on the tenant's side of the duplex since they were already locked in to a lease. I had a Realtor friend pull comps for me (unfortunately there weren't many sales), and I also printed pages off the DCAD's website showing ALL of our neighbors' properties were assessed lower than ours. I took all of this stuff down, and had my hearing.
At the hearing, there is a panel of 3-5 people who listen to your side. I showed them the sale comps, and pointed out the two properties that had sold had things that mine did not (spa, upgraded kitchen, etc.). I also showed them the neighborhood's assessments and pointed out that I was higher than everyone else. I showed that my property was not the largest lot, and that I did not have interior or exterior upgrades.
The panel then asked for repair estimates. (They want to see things WRONG with your property.) When I told them there was nothing actively wrong with my house, other than needing a large tree taken out in the back yard), they denied my protest. I told them thanks for their time, and I would never live in Dallas County again. We immediately placed our house on the market, and when it finally sold, it sold for $15,000 under the appraised value. At closing, I told the buyer to take her paperwork to DAD and show them the appraisal was too high, and they would reduce it.
Good luck, but if you're basing your proest on interior upgrades, not repairs and things actually wrong with your property, you probably won't win.
I have a friend from Austin that had the same experience with some of his properties. He presented a good case, they ask no questions. They all looked at each other, smiled and said appeal denied. The chances are slim. I am told that they don't make their decisions based on facts but rather how they feel that day, what the person presenting the appeal looks like, etc..
I am not looking forward to next year and a possible appeal. This year for some strange reason our whole neighborhood was appraised very low, much lower that what everyone paid for their homes. It is a very new neighborhood, only 2-3 years old. Who would have thought? My guess is that next year we will pay the price.
I protested the appraisal of my new home last year, and won! No lawyer. Just had the realtor who sold me the house pull up a bunch of comps and help me build my argument ($X/sq ft, etc.). I went in-- and when it was my turn-- they made the change in less than 10 minutes! The worse thing that can happen is that they keep you where you're at. Might as well try!
The year after I closed, I took my closing document (HUD 1) showing the sales price but did not show it to them. I had enough lower comps that they actually gave me a value below what I paid for the house.
My documents were held in reserve in case they tried to value my home above what I paid.
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