UPDATE: Word just in, TCAD has extended the deadline for submitting your appeal until June 1st due to the Memorial Day holiday.
In 2009, the GoodLife Team helped our customers, clients and friends reduce their home values over $1 million cumulatively — saving over $22,000 in real estate taxes! “I encourage everyone to appeal their taxes. When people don’t appeal, the taxing authority accepts that their value is correct. This affects all homeowners in a given area.” says Krisstina Wise. For that reason, we help people negotiate their values in order to do our part to help keep our real estate taxing authority in line with market value.
Check out our video on the appeal process for some quick tips and what to expect from both the Informal and Formal hearings (and what the difference is between the two). Then, keep reading to determine if you should appeal your county property valuation and how to proceed through the process:
Why is tax-assessed value different than market value?
The tax-assessed value is what your county believes your home or condo is worth. The county attempts to set their values at a market value. However, they do not evaluate comparables nor do they perform individual market analysis on every home. The county simply values your home according to the area, not the house. Meaning, the value may be too high or two low, depending on the size, location, amenities and condition of your specific home.
When should I receive my property valuation and how long do I have to appeal?
Travis county should begin mailing property valuations sometime after April 15th. Most homeowners receive their valuation on or around May 1st. Homeowners have until May 31st, or 30 days from the date they receive their valuation (whichever is later), to appeal.
This year, Travis County debuts an online protest system. This option will only be available for about 35,000 homeowners who should be receiving their appraisal notices within the next few weeks (as of May 6th). In the debut of this system, Travis County selected homes that meet specific criteria: under $300k in areas where all of the homes are of similar size, age and condition. For more information on the online system, refer to the recent article in the Austin American Statesman.
Should I appeal my property valuation?
If the market value on your home is lower than your tax-assessed value, then you should appeal. If the market value is higher, do nothing. How do you determine your market value? Use the GoodLife Team Market Snapshot to get an online evaluation of your home using real-time data from the Austin MLS. This tool is easy to use and we stand ready to answer any questions you may have regarding the data.
How do I appeal?
File Your Protest
Travis County has a protest form. However, you can type up or handwrite your protest and fax or mail it in. If you are going to write up your protest, be sure to include the following:
- Identify yourself as the homeowner
- Include the property address
- Indicate that you are dissatisfied with the decision made by the appraisal district
- Request the evidence packet for how they came up with your valuation – these are the comparable sales they are using for valuation purposes.
As mentioned above, some homeowners will be able to test out the new online protest system and may actually receive their settlement offer online.
Prepare to Wait
After you have filed, it can take several months for the Travis County Appraisal District to schedule your informal hearing.
Prepare to Present
The purpose of the informal hearing is for you to present your evidence and facts to support your claim that they have over-valued your Austin home or condo. We suggest the following as valuable evidence to compile for your hearing:
Comparable Market Analysis
A comparable market analysis looks at Market Value and shows recent sales for homes that are similar to yours in size, age, location and type of construction. Your GoodLife Team Market Snapshot that you used to determine if you should appeal may provide enough evidence to support your hearing. However, we also stand ready to provide you with a more in-depth market analysis prior to your hearing.
Documentation Regarding Your Home’s Condition
Do you have foundation issues? Plumbing problems? Anything that would adversely affect the Market Value of your home should be documented. Take photographs and bring them with you to your hearing.
Documentation Regarding Your Home’s Location
Once again, anything that would adversely affect the Market Value of your home is evidence that you can use in your appeal. If your home backs up to a busy street, consider printing off a Google map to document your location.
Recently Purchased Homes
If you purchased your home in the last several months, and the purchase price was lower than your appraised value, bring a copy of your settlement statement.
Present Your Evidence
There are a couple of things to keep in mind for the day of your hearing:
- The Appraisal District is responsible for setting appraised value. They have nothing to do with the tax rate. You are not going to the hearing to protest your tax rate or how much you are paying in taxes. You are only appealing the counties assessed value of your home.
- Be polite and courteous.
- Bring an extra copy of your supporting documentation to leave with the county
For more information on the process, contact the Travis Central Appraisal District at 512.834.9138 or visit their website at http://www.traviscad.org/. For information on the Williamson County appraisal and appeal process, visit http://www.wcad.org/ or call 512.930.3787.
If you found this article valuable or have any further questions, please post your thoughts here. We will get back to you right away. And, if you successfully appeal your appraised value, we want to hear about that too.
Thanks! It’s a Good Life!
Tags: county property taxes
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Good to know! Timing is perfect. Thanks!
You’re welcome, Chris! Use the market snapshot tool to do a quick market analysis for your neighborhood. If you need any help let us know.
Providing a “market snapshot” is a great idea because it may help some people realize that the assessment is more accurate than they thought… and not worth the hassle to protest.
How is that “on-line protest system” working out? Any reports?
Doug … Thanks for your thoughts. And yes, we offer the snapshot so that people can get a reasonable idea of the value before spending the time to produce a complete analysis and protest. The Online Protest is brand new…not enough time to formulate an interpretation either way–but looking forward to seeing how it ends up working.
Stay in touch!
It is great to see a firm willing to help folks out, especially at a time when business is slow for you. Keep up the good work! And thanks for your help.
Is June 1st the postmark deadline date? Or delivery deadline?
Maria,
June 1st was the postmark deadline, not delivery. Hopefully you got yours in the mail in time!
If I appeal based on the house’s inferior conditions (e.g., plumbing problems), will it become part of the official records and affect my house’s resale value (even after the problems are fixed)?
Wendy,
This is a great question that brings up an even more fundamental question as well: Does the property tax valuation (which includes the inferior conditions) affect the resale value of the home?
In short, No. The value of your home in today’s market is determined by what a willing buyer will pay for the home. At The GoodLife Team, we use recent comparable sales to help us measure or estimate what a buyer will pay for the home, and never rely on the tax records to help valuate the home.
Also, the details of the home’s inferior status is not even shared online with the public, and is kept in the records at TCAD (Travis Central Appraisal District).
So, not to worry. Protest away, and let us know if we can help.
Garry
I successfully appealed my appraisal in 2009 by getting the appraisal district to use the average price per square foot for the 71 sales they used to determine the value of my home. As a result, I got them to lower my appraisal from where they wanted to set it in 2009 by $17,000 at the informal hearing. This year, however, I was not so lucky, and now I have to go to the formal hearing. The appraiser and her boss refused to agree with my argument that TCAD should use the average price per square foot for all the home sales in their database. I told them since that’s what they did last year, they had established a precedent and should value my home at no more than the average price per square foot. They kept saying “the smaller the home, the higher the price per square foot. That’s just the way it is.”
If I also lose at the full appraisal board hearing, is it worth it to sue TCAD in district court to get my value lowered? I would think that as long as I could show they used the average price per square foot in 2009 to determine the appraised value of my home, the court would agree that they should use the same method to determine my appraised value for 2010.
My entire back yard is also xeriscaped with pea gravel and trees and shrubs, with no grass. So I think that would reduce the marketability of my home since most people, especially those with kids, want a back yard with grass so their kids and pets can play there.
Joey,
Thank you for this very thoughtful and provoking post. Let me address a few points that you bring forth:
TCAD appraisers said, “the smaller the home, the higher the price per square foot. That’s just the way it is.”
As a general rule, this is very true. The reason this holds true is that there is a value placed on the land in the neighborhood (most lots of similar size in a neighborhood are assessed equally) and then the value of the home is added to this number. For argument’s sake, let’s pretend the land is worth $200,000 and a home is 3,000 square feet and is worth $300,000. The total value of the property is $500,000 and $166/square foot. Now, let’s take a neighbor’s home that is 1,500 square feet and worth $150,000. The total property value is $350,000 and $233 per square foot. Therefore, in this instance, the value of each home cannot be determined by price per square foot alone.
“If I also lose at the full appraisal board hearing, is it worth it to sue TCAD in district court to get my value lowered?”
Fortunately, I have never had to pursue this action and would highly recommend that you speak with one of our preferred real estate attorneys to get an assessment.
Unfortunately, each appraiser has the latitude to make an assessed value of your property based on the information they have and what you provide them. Clearly, from your experience, they are not using a standardized process for the valuations, and I think that is something that should be discussed.
I hope this explanation helps, and am happy to discuss further. Additionally, if you would like very detailed analyses of your neighborhood and our professional assessment of value, please call us at 512.892.9473 and we are happy to help.
Hi, Joey.. thank you for the valuable insight great information! I am in the process of either buying a home or building a custom home and have a couple of questions on how the taxes would be assessed..
How does TCAD determine appraised value on new construction properties?
Also, if you purchase a property that is appraised for say, $750K but you pay $1M will your new appraised value reset to $1M once the sale is recorded?
Thanks !
SO
Scott,
TCAD bases their assessment for the year on the current status of the property when they make the assessment. In other words, if the property is a lot or under construction, it will be assessed at that value for the entire year. Only when the home is complete will it be assessed at the improved value.
If you purchase a property that is appraised below the sales price, it is likely that the assessed value will be reset at the sales price…assuming that TCAD is given the data from either you or someone in the neighborhood protesting their taxes.
I hope this helps, and if you have specific requests for help, please give us a call at 512.892.9473.
This is a great idea! Good post. Too many people assume that there taxes are always right….