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Old 07-11-2012, 09:59 AM
 
Location: Houston, TX
2,052 posts, read 5,887,394 times
Reputation: 1298

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Quote:
Originally Posted by crone View Post
It looks to me like the people in my neighborhood who hired somebody did better than homeowners. Don't do O'Connor or at least check the contract. It locks you in for the rest of your life.
I think they all do that. It is not for "life" but only until you change it. I had O'Connor for a couple of years and changed to Appeal Property Tax, and O'Connnor sent me a letter asking me if I was sure I wanted to change. To save 20% on fees, yes I was. We got our value dropped about 1% this year after having the same amount for the past 3 years. Saves me a whole $53 in taxes this year!
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Old 07-11-2012, 10:05 AM
 
834 posts, read 2,688,939 times
Reputation: 527
Not wanting to do the appeal myself, I ended up using Appeal Property Tax. Gave them my address and they did everything. In fact, I thought my deadline had passed because my note in the mail said deadline was May 7th. I spoke to someone there and she said it should still be May 30th like everyone else. The reduced the appraisal amount a bit over $21,000 (2%).
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Old 07-11-2012, 12:10 PM
 
Location: Westbury
3,283 posts, read 6,064,900 times
Reputation: 2952
I have my hearing Friday. Was successful doing it on my own last year so I am planning on doing it on my own again
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Old 07-11-2012, 01:32 PM
 
Location: Houston, TX
47 posts, read 96,914 times
Reputation: 37
Testmo, good luck!! I hope you will update us after your hearing.

Trbstang and Houston_2010, you mean appealpropertytax.com right? I'm not sure if they are taking clients for 2012 taxes.

A friend recommended O'Connor, but I'm a little uneasy since they had the lawsuit in 2009. Maybe they are much better now. Their website is fairly informative, so that is nice.

Has anyone used Texas Protax Houston? On their website they claim "Texas Protax achieved over 25% greater reductions in property value than all other Houston tax agents combined." And they have a raft of PDFs which supposedly back up that claim. (I haven't taken the time to read them yet.) I kind of dislike Texas Protax Houston because they send me unsolicited mail... but they somehow had the recent purchase price of my house and indicate they may be able to "negotiate your equal and uniform assessed value to the range of $____ or lower." The number they had in the blank is about 2% less than the purchase price in this case. So that is appealing, as is their 35% of tax savings fee.

Anyway, time to get on the horn and see who sounds most helpful, if I am helpable
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Old 07-11-2012, 02:03 PM
 
Location: Houston, TX
2,052 posts, read 5,887,394 times
Reputation: 1298
Yes, that is who I used. Since the deadline has passed for the 2012 appeal, if you were to sign up now it would be for the 2013 appraisal. O'Connor is OK, but they do charge more money than others. I changed because my neighbor used Appeal Property Tax and got a nice reduction (10%). I did a quick comparison of 7 "comps" in my neighborhood, and my current sqft value ($70.52) is the second lowest of 2800-3200 sqft homes, so I think they did a decent job.
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Old 07-11-2012, 05:16 PM
 
Location: TX
2,031 posts, read 3,542,803 times
Reputation: 2200
Quote:
Originally Posted by HoustonRonnie View Post
Bettencourt's going for my hearing on Friday. I'll return and report.

Ronnie
You're protesting Ronnie? I thought you've only been in your house for two years or so, in a brand new neighborhood? Seems like values shouldn't have changed that much since you bought your place.
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Old 07-11-2012, 06:33 PM
 
834 posts, read 2,688,939 times
Reputation: 527
Quote:
Originally Posted by jiffener View Post
Testmo, good luck!! I hope you will update us after your hearing.

Trbstang and Houston_2010, you mean appealpropertytax.com right? I'm not sure if they are taking clients for 2012 taxes.

A friend recommended O'Connor, but I'm a little uneasy since they had the lawsuit in 2009. Maybe they are much better now. Their website is fairly informative, so that is nice.

Has anyone used Texas Protax Houston? On their website they claim "Texas Protax achieved over 25% greater reductions in property value than all other Houston tax agents combined." And they have a raft of PDFs which supposedly back up that claim. (I haven't taken the time to read them yet.) I kind of dislike Texas Protax Houston because they send me unsolicited mail... but they somehow had the recent purchase price of my house and indicate they may be able to "negotiate your equal and uniform assessed value to the range of $____ or lower." The number they had in the blank is about 2% less than the purchase price in this case. So that is appealing, as is their 35% of tax savings fee.

Anyway, time to get on the horn and see who sounds most helpful, if I am helpable
Yes, AppealPropertytax.com. It's mostly web-based company. They email you agreement and invoice when finished. If you want to talk to them look in their website for one of their tabs that has their phone number. They do have an office on Kirby Drive. Give them a call before signing up to see if they can help you this year. Good luck!
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Old 07-14-2012, 10:46 PM
 
Location: Houston, TX
47 posts, read 96,914 times
Reputation: 37
Updates??
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Old 07-15-2012, 12:05 PM
 
Location: Houston, TX
47 posts, read 96,914 times
Reputation: 37
Testmo, Ronnie, you guys out celebrating or at your over valued homes licking your wounds?
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Old 07-15-2012, 08:22 PM
 
Location: with my mom
66 posts, read 118,093 times
Reputation: 58
I protested my appraisal. I went straight to the board since some people who waited to negotiate wtih the assessor had been waiting 4 hrs. I had to wait "only" 2 hrs. In the end they reduced it 3%, but considering homes are either sitting unsold for 3-5 mths or inferior homes are selling for a lot less, it's a joke. 3% is better than nothing, I guess....


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