Property tax protest problem (Houston, Howe: lawyer, house, closing)

[sazza]

My husband and I bought our first Houston home back in mid-April. I just found out that the Appraisal Office has decided our property should go up by $40,000 for tax purposes. The problem is that the Office said they sent out a notice about this at the end of April. But it was addressed to the previous owner and we never received it. The Appraisal Office now says it is too late for us to lodge a protest and have a hearing because this has to be lodged up to one month after they send out the notice.

First, we don't think it is fair as we never got a notice and they had addressed it to someone else. But can we do something about it? Has anyone had a similar experience?

[davidt1]

Originally Posted by sazza

My husband and I bought our first Houston home back in mid-April. I just found out that the Appraisal Office has decided our property should go up by $40,000 for tax purposes. The problem is that the Office said they sent out a notice about this at the end of April. But it was addressed to the previous owner and we never received it. The Appraisal Office now says it is too late for us to lodge a protest and have a hearing because this has to be lodged up to one month after they send out the notice.

First, we don't think it is fair as we never got a notice and they had addressed it to someone else. But can we do something about it? Has anyone had a similar experience?

Get a good attorney and start class action law suit against them.

[tstone]

Don't you need a group of people to start a class action suit? Who else has had this problem?

[davidt1]

Originally Posted by tstone

Don't you need a group of people to start a class action suit? Who else has had this problem?

The misplaced mail is only a sign of a larger problem -- that the property tax system is broken and it allows tax officials to unfairly and arbitrarily tax people any way they see fit -- a good lawyer would argue. I am pretty sure you will find plenty of people in Houston who think they have been screwed by the property tax system there. Here is the thing about government agencies: They think they are untouchable. Sometimes the only way to get them to do the right thing is through the court.

[ayannaaaliyah]

I don't really think that there is anything you can do about it, and if you hire a lawyer, it'll probably cost more in the long run than to just suck it up. My understanding is that it's up to YOU are still ultimately responsible for notifying them that you are the new owner. When I purchased my house I went online and pulled off their Request to Correct Name or Address on a Real Property Account form and sent it in myself. Needless to say I had to do it 2x before they got it right.

[charris911]

There is not much you can do. The law says that the appraisal district sending out notices in first-class mail is sufficient (it does not matter if you did not receive it or did not receive first-class service). Start collecting your evidence now, and be ready for next years appraisal hearing. An attorney will cost you more than anything you would save. Also, check the on-line appraisal district website, often...

[Poltracker]

I agree with others, not much you can do about the appraisel now. However; you do need to check with your closing company about the prorated taxes paid by the sellers at closing. They may need to chuck up a few more $$$ if the tax estimates were incorrect on the closing paperwork.

[davidt1]

No wonder they are able to make people pay absurd property taxes there. What will it be next year? 4%? Keep taking it up the as$. Fine with me.

[sazza]

Thanks for the comments. Sadly, I think you are probably correct that there is nothing that can be done. We were told we can file some sort of form to say we never received the notice and hope that the Appraisal Office feels like being nice to us. As we are from overseas, we did not know about property tax appraisals and appeals and to watch out for a notice, until too late. Our realtor only told us that we should expect a tax bill around October.

We are worried that if we cough up for this year, this will mean acceptance of the value and presumably the Appraisal Office can raise the value again next year. What is absurd is that they have valued our home at $60,000 more than we paid for it!!!

As to getting the previous owner to pay his proper share, our closing company said that the tax office will just come after us, and if we didn't pay the previous owner's share, a lien would be placed on the home. I don't know why the previous owner didn't let us know about the notice, if he did get it (he had all mail in his name forwarded to his new address) but I guess he knows it's not his problem.

Getting a lawyer would probably cost us more in legal fees so I guess if pleading with the Appraisal Office doesn't work, we have to pay up. You're right davidt1, what a mess property taxes are!

[ayannaaaliyah]

Originally Posted by sazza

We are worried that if we cough up for this year, this will mean acceptance of the value and presumably the Appraisal Office can raise the value again next year. What is absurd is that they have valued our home at $60,000 more than we paid for it!!!

I would still send them a "certified" letter saying that you are disputing the amount of the appraisal and also outline how you never received the tax bill, also include who you spoke to initially or at the very least include the dates of your phone calls to them. Even though this is not going to help you this year, it may assist with the appraisal next year, in that you are stuck paying but you don't agree. Also you need to have a valid reason why you think the property is over-valued. I would suggest that you look at the values of the nearby properties to see if there's in fact went up. If the property is in Houston (Harris County) you can go to Harris County Appraisal District.

They increased my appraisal also and I filed a protest and still haven't received a hearing date