2016 HCAD values are out (Roma, Fairfield: transplants, home, neighborhoods)

[AliefPropOwner]

Its unhinged and out of control

[crone]

Originally Posted by AliefPropOwner

Its unhinged and out of control

Contact your elected officials. They make the laws.

[dkag]

Originally Posted by museumdad

Yes, we once had an increase occur after a protest. We were able to get it down eventually, but that required litigation (which then meant that we needed to hire a company).

What happened? Was it just an error on their part or did they decide to raise it based on the evidence you brought?

[kreeyax]

Originally Posted by Hangster

Texas is a non disclosure state. There is no way HCAD could get a hold of that appraisal unless you give it to them.

I've said this before, but the HCAD appraisal lady who came to my house shortly after purchasing it knew the exact price I paid. I saw it written down on her note pad. HCAD KNOWS what you paid for your house. And I did not return any of their surveys. Which is probably why they sent someone to my house. Granted that was the purchase price and not the appraisal. But they know!!

[fnh]

And as I've said before, the law mandates that property taxes be levied on the market value of your home, and what better determining factor than the price you actually paid? Of course HCAD knows the sales price, it is incredibly naive to think they don't when any realtor has access to it. The only reason Texas is a non-disclosure state is because the realtor lobby wanted to control price information to protect their business.

[detachable arm]

Hell, I know what price you paid for your house if you just give me your address. A Redfin.com account is free and has the price, some financing details, repair allowances, and a few other unimportant things. Non disclosure state means nothing.

There is another site that shows which neighbors own their homes outright, have 1 loan, 2 loans, or 2 loans with a HELOC.

My gut feeling is lots of people in here are mortgaged up to their eyeballs or they wouldn't be complaining about taxes which are comparatively low as a whole. If you're not professional enough to work 1 Saturday OT this year to cover your unexpected tax increase you need to move out, and into a place that is more your level. That also tells me you can't afford to maintain your house properly. Low taxes, poor maintenance = running down your entire area.

[SuperPollito]

Originally Posted by detachable arm

My gut feeling is lots of people in here are mortgaged up to their eyeballs or they wouldn't be complaining about taxes which are comparatively low as a whole.

They are only "comparatively low" if you are comparing within Texas. I am from Tennessee and the property tax rate there is ~3%, but that percentage only applies against the first 25% of assessed value of the property. That is a huge difference in property tax effective rates.

I am honestly surprised that a red state like Texas has such an archaic tax structure.

[Hangster]

Originally Posted by detachable arm

Hell, I know what price you paid for your house if you just give me your address. A Redfin.com account is free and has the price, some financing details, repair allowances, and a few other unimportant things. Non disclosure state means nothing.

This is not true, Redfin lists the last sold price of my current home as "Unknown" and we purchased over 2 years ago. Also, the listed Sold price of our previous home is also incorrect! Just because Redfin lists a number does not mean that is is correct. In addition, they also list the sold price of our previous home before that as "Unknown" as well. So that's 3 out of 3 that Redfin got wrong or does not have the data for on my property searches. 100% wrong on my searches is not a good percentage.

[Hangster]

Originally Posted by SuperPollito

They are only "comparatively low" if you are comparing within Texas. I am from Tennessee and the property tax rate there is ~3%, but that percentage only applies against the first 25% of assessed value of the property. That is a huge difference in property tax effective rates.

I am honestly surprised that a red state like Texas has such an archaic tax structure.

You have to also understand why that is the case, and it is because Texas does not have a State Income Tax.

I think Tennessee has no income tax but does have a 6% tax on interest and dividends.

States without income tax must make up for the tax revenue somehow.

[marksmu]

Originally Posted by Hangster

That is a possibility, but I am not sure how often that happens and if they have the resources to do that given the number of home sales that occur every year. Case in point, I have purchased 3 homes and on all of them, the initial appraised value from HCAD has always been considerably lower than what I have paid for them, as are the HCAD appraised values of the neighbors as well. Also, each time I protest, I was also able to get the appraised value lowered as well. It does help to have access to all the recent sales info to use as comps.

They have been doing it regularly the last 2 years, especially on new construction. New construction gets an astronomically high appraisal in hopes that you bring in your closing statement to prove your true value...They get full price, and you leave feeling like you beat the man.

They over appraised my house by more than 40% last year....the county knew exactly how big the house was from my building permits, and they still faked an additional 900 square feet, and created an imaginary 3rd floor b/c I have dormer windows...I had to take in my floor plans, and all of my builder draws showing what it actually cost to have it reduced last year.

Its getting out of hand, and the appraisals are all being standardized to the point that there is very little conflicting data any longer. All the lots are priced the same per sqft. All the houses are very close.

Your best bet these days is damage that your house has that lowers the improvement values....