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Posted (edited)

Someone learn me on why it’s a good thing to protest your Propery Tax. Do I use one of them companies or do it myself? I know paying less is good, but I kind of want my house value to go up. Yes, I know my house is only worth as much as someone is willing to pay for it. 

I remember I used to protest my taxes every year in my previous house but I guess I didn’t really see any savings other than paying those fucks money I would have paid to the county. 

 

Edited by Neonmoon
I’m dumb
Posted

We use one of the companies.  They work on a contingency basis.  If the protest is successful, they get a percentage of the valuation difference.  If the protest is not successful, they don't get shit.  For the last couple of years, they have saved me money earned some coin for themselves.

Not sure why you would want to have a higher tax obligation than necessary.  It doesn't affect the market value of your house and I would think it makes it less attractive than comps in your area if the tax obligation is an outlier to the high side.

Posted

The underpinning question is does your tax value impact what you can sell your house for?  If you get the county to lower their appraisal does it impact the actual appraisal?  In a soft market, I bet it does.  A buyer could say "your house is much lower on TCAD" and maybe use it to negotiate.  In a hot market, no seller would pay attention.

Posted

The tax value really has little to no impact on sales price.  I can show you houses on the tax rolls that will sell for twice what they are on the tax roll for.  There are also houses where the owners have never protested that couldn't sell for 80% of the tax value.  The timing of the market really doesn't matter either.  Most people just look at it as they will protest the taxes the next year and use their closing statement and pay less on taxes.

Posted

Appraisal District values are a joke. If anyone tried to negoatate an actual sale price based on HCAD value I would laugh in their face. Alternatively, I might explain that appraisal district values are notoriously inaccurate for the simple fact that no appraiser from the appraisal district has ever even driven by my house, let alone set foot inside it, or even looked at a single photo. The appraisal district has a handful of data points about my house: age, house size, lot size, bedrooms, bathroom, pool, etc. They load some comp data into a computer model and it spits out a value for your house. It’s the same way Zillow determines their value estimates. This is not a real appraisal. Of course even a real appraisal is often a joke. 

Bernard

Posted
22 hours ago, UTPhil2006 said:

There's a good thread on this in Daily Texan forum

new to the new site. where is the Daily Texan forum?

  • 2 months later...
Posted (edited)

The verdict finally came in:
th?id=OIP._tBuTYwB2LELb-kMzV39XgHaFV
 

Quote

Dear phd,

This email confirms the 2018 Property Tax Protest for [my address, 1600 Pennsylvania Ave., Wash., D.C.] has been finalized.
We successfully argued the lowest possible tax value, achieving a reduction of $60,385. 

Not sure if this means I'll pay less in my tax bill, I guess they figure that out later.  Not bad though.  My best in 5 years of DIY was $-55K.
I used Five Stone.

Edited by phdhorn
  • 7 years later...
Posted

Protesting your property tax is not about lowering your home’s market value, it is about making sure the county has the right number on file for tax purposes. The appraised value the county uses is not the same as what buyers are willing to pay, so protesting does not hurt your resale value.

If you feel the county’s assessment is too high, protesting can put real money back in your pocket. Sometimes the savings are small, other times they add up over years. Whether you use a company or do it yourself depends on your comfort level. Doing it yourself is free other than your time, and most appraisal districts have a simple process. Companies usually take a percentage of whatever savings they get you, so if you do not want the hassle, that can be worth it.

Even if you only save a few hundred a year, that is money you keep rather than giving away.

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