2016 HCAD values are out (Fairfield, Howe: house, neighborhood, buy)

[trbstang]

Jacked my market value up 15% from 262K to 302K. %^&*! This is the first time I think the value is greater than what I could reasonably get for the house. I might be selling sooner than I expected.

[smuggy_mba]

Originally Posted by trbstang

Jacked my market value up 15% from 262K to 302K. %^&*! This is the first time I think the value is greater than what I could reasonably get for the house. I might be selling sooner than I expected.

Down 40K...yayy!!

$1200.00 savings for this year

[gwarnecke]

Successfully protested last year. No change this year .

[Cabot]

Ours went up $20K from last year which was down $30k from the year before. In the 6 years we have been here, it has gone up one year and down the next. It also lists our upper story as being a 'finished attic'. Lord knows where that comes from as it is most definitely a two story house with 4 bedrooms and 2 baths upstairs.

[westres1]

up 40,000!

[crone]

Originally Posted by Cabot

Ours went up $20K from last year which was down $30k from the year before. In the 6 years we have been here, it has gone up one year and down the next. It also lists our upper story as being a 'finished attic'. Lord knows where that comes from as it is most definitely a two story house with 4 bedrooms and 2 baths upstairs.

Do not tell them anything about your attic.

[huma281]

Same as last year, although my home is about 35-40k over valued. I protested the wrong property last year, not making the same mistake this year!

[Cabot]

Originally Posted by crone

Do not tell them anything about your attic.

Absolutely not!!

[fnh]

Market value unchanged, appraised value up the maximum ten percent. We are still being 'caught up'.

[Noregrets11]

As a soon to be buyer, new to TX, this is scary. I looked up the houses we've been eyeballing, and both had increases in values that have gone up tremendously over the last 4 years. One house looks like this:

2013- $198k (assuming 3%, $5950)
2016- $318k ($9540 @ 3%)

At a 3% tax rate, that's a $3600k increase from 2013-2016, which equates to a tax obligation increase of $300/month. How the heck do I plan for this? Do I buy a house extremely under what I can afford, so that, 5 years from now I'll still be able to afford a $300-500 per month hike in the taxes?

Will the major appraisal increases stop soon? (Is it good for them to stop?) Maybe the worst is over, and increases should be minimal from now on? We're looking in the Fairfield area of Cypress, if that helps.

The banks say we can "afford" in the upper $400s, but we know better than that, so we've been looking in the lower $300s......now I'm wondering if we really need to be looking in the $200s. :/