Why are property taxes so HIGH in Texas??

[thejackalope]

Originally Posted by Trainwreck20

I guess my confusion is why your HSE did not keep the taxes down. Even if your appraised value went up to 300k, the assessed value should have been some fraction of that.

Not sure why your would refinance to 'get it in sync'? Our house is worth almost twice what we paid for it years ago, but there is no reason to refi it.

If you sell it, ofc, then the HSE protection goes away for the next owner, at least long enough for the assessed value to jump.

What does the homestead exemption have to do with anything? Unlike many other states like Hawaii, it is very very small in Texas and virtually meaningless.

[Novacek]

Originally Posted by thejackalope

+10% property tax every year compounds to 259%... So if your house value triples, no you won't pay 3x the property tax, "only" 2.6x. LOL, great.

Yes, if you max out the 10% exemption each and every year for 10 years straight (which basically never happens outside of maybe Rainey).

And if the taxing entities aren't forced to drop the tax rate (which they'll have to if everyone else's values go up as well, so never).

Then yes, 2.6 x, in 10 years. Not triple within a decade.

[Novacek]

Originally Posted by thejackalope

What does the homestead exemption have to do with anything? Unlike many other states like Hawaii, it is very very small in Texas and virtually meaningless.

Because with the homestead exemption comes the homestead cap.

[Trainwreck20]

Originally Posted by thejackalope

What does the homestead exemption have to do with anything? Unlike many other states like Hawaii, it is very very small in Texas and virtually meaningless.

It limits the assessed increase to +10% per year, which can be very important, especially when there are short-term 'bumps' in values. Also, what is rarely mentioned is that sometimes your taxes go down on property (such as 2008-2009), which also resets your HSE +10% baseline. Heck, for many years our house value stayed almost the same and only recently began to skyrocket. Lots of years with relatively low taxes while getting increase pay.

[HappyTexan]

Originally Posted by Trainwreck20

I guess my confusion is why your HSE did not keep the taxes down. Even if your appraised value went up to 300k, the assessed value should have been some fraction of that.

Not sure why your would refinance to 'get it in sync'? Our house is worth almost twice what we paid for it years ago, but there is no reason to refi it.

If you sell it, ofc, then the HSE protection goes away for the next owner, at least long enough for the assessed value to jump.

I refinanced because the rates were low. I was able to use the closing papers to get my assessed value lowered by $80K. County never even tried to argue it. They lowered my values by $80K.
Previous to that I lost to the county.

[HappyTexan]

Originally Posted by Novacek

Yes, if you max out the 10% exemption each and every year for 10 years straight (which basically never happens outside of maybe Rainey).

And if the taxing entities aren't forced to drop the tax rate (which they'll have to if everyone else's values go up as well, so never).

Then yes, 2.6 x, in 10 years. Not triple within a decade.

2.6 is close enough to "triple" if you aren't doing exact figures.

I was out in the middle of nowhere until sprawl started coming my way.
And I only started off with 3 taxing entities..county, ISD and ESD.
I think it was up to 5 entities when I sold.

[Novacek]

Originally Posted by HappyTexan

2.6 is close enough to "triple" if you aren't doing exact figures.

I was out in the middle of nowhere until sprawl started coming my way.
And I only started off with 3 taxing entities..county, ISD and ESD.
I think it was up to 5 entities when I sold.

So you were annexed?

So that has nothing to do with the issue (and the post you responded to) concerning increases in _valuation_. Your taxes would have seen a big jump even if the value had gone _down_.

[HappyTexan]

Originally Posted by Novacek

So you were annexed?

So that has nothing to do with the issue (and the post you responded to) concerning increases in _valuation_. Your taxes would have seen a big jump even if the value had gone _down_.

No I was never annexed. The ETJ though was creeping further east as fields turned into subdivisions.

The Travis County Healthcare District was created sometime in the mid 2000's if I recall.

[truelies]

I think the "hidden costs" means LID and MUD, which can be additional 1-2% to house value.