Can't argue with the Tax Woman, or can I?

txdon · May 31, 2005

Can\'t argue with the Tax Woman, or can I?

I got the tax appraisal, and the property value went up 40%, ouch.
I was going to schedule a protest, but the directions said to call and maybe the protest could be handled on the phone. I called and argued that she was setting the value per acre of a large tract of land the same as a smaller tract of land.
She was prepared.
She name off several tracts of land (larger than 100 acres) that were selling for MORE per acre than smaller tracts(less than 30 acres). During her interviews with the buyers they stated that larger tracts of land (even the ones that are not easily divided) are hard to find because most everyone is only selling smaller tracts. HMMMM.

The Question: Is anyone else experiencing this reversal of land prices, that is larger acre tracts sell for more per acre than smaller tracts? /forums/images/graemlins/confused.gif

Just a wondering in Texas. /forums/images/graemlins/smirk.gif

Bob_Skurka · May 31, 2005

Re: Can\'t argue with the Tax Woman, or can I?

Don, I can't say how Texas works, but I have been taxed too high for years, complained and got it knocked down but never as much as I felt was appropriate. Last year I pulled all the tax assessments for every house in my area and found out my house was assessed about 30% higher than the next HIGHEST house and that I was easly 100% higher than the AVERAGE house in my area. Now my house not small, but it is not as big, nor as fancy as all that. Certainly not as big and fancy as some of the castles that seem to have been built in the past few years. So this year I hired a firm that works on contingency and they came out and assessed all my various properties based on Indiana statue, guess what, they said my house is WAY over assessed and began the process of filing the papers to get my taxes reduced and to get my back over-payments returned. And it looks like they will get me a good size reduction. Not sure about back payments, but I'd be happy if I was just taxed fairly. Now I don't begruge anyone for the mistake, I presume it is an honest mistake based on the bizarre property tax laws we HAD in Indiana that were recently found to be unconstitutional and now all of this stuff is coming to light over the past couple of years. I would suggest you look into finding a firm like I found (mine is regional only) and see if they can contest your property taxes based on the laws of your state.

txdon · May 31, 2005

Re: Can\'t argue with the Tax Woman, or can I?

Thanks, Bob, Apparently she personally went out to my place (yea, I gave her permission /forums/images/graemlins/crazy.gif) and she thought my cabin was "CUTE" I reminded her how SMALL it was and that there were snakes all over. I think the snakes helped. I was partially successful as she rolled back the appraised value of the cabin to last years value so I think I won. She might be high on the land but I'll leave it for a year until the Texas Department of Transportation decides where to put the Trans Texas Corridor. /forums/images/graemlins/grin.gif I was just in shock. The valuation is great if it is accurate and I would want to sell, but I don't.

texbaylea · May 31, 2005

Re: Can\'t argue with the Tax Woman, or can I?

TxDon

We have land in two separate parcels, one 10 acre and one 20 acre with improvements. The 10 acre one carries a higher per acre assessment. When I protested I did get some roll back but was told that 10 acre parcels were selling faster and easier so were going at the higher rate. It may have something to do with our being closer to a large population area.

Vernon

v8dave · May 31, 2005

Re: Can\'t argue with the Tax Woman, or can I?

( I got the tax appraisal, and the property value went up 40%, ouch.
.
.
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Just a wondering in Texas. /forums/images/graemlins/smirk.gif )

And that is the reason that we had a property tax revolt in California many moons ago. AKA Jarvis-Gann, Proposition 13.

Now, there are some things not fair about this but a land owner can't be taxed off their property by the local authorities. For instance a recent buyer pays more property tax than a long term resident. Same rules apply for for Corporations/Companies too.

Basic rules are: the property is taxed at 1% of the most recent sale value (or value in 70's when act was passed) and taxes can go up no more than 1% per year. Services rendered to the property can be added to the bill (sewer, fire protection, etc.) as can additional taxes that get a 2/3 voter approval in an election.

Alan L. · Jun 1, 2005

Re: Can\'t argue with the Tax Woman, or can I?

Go to the appraisal review board. They would most likely not agree with this BS. Every parcel of land I have seen around here is more expensive per acre, the smaller it is.

I purchased 11 of my acres from one guy and the adjacent 13 from anther guy. One year when I protested the value, once the appraisal lady realized they were now one 24 acre property, she changed the tax record to tax them together and reduced the value quite a bit just on that basis. And then I got another reduction by the board due to her over-valuation.

This is really getting ridiculous. They up it every year, figuring many taxpayers won't take the time to go to arbitration. I have a rent house I paid $116K for 2 years ago and they just upped the value from $114K to $135K. I tried to sell it for $119K less than a year ago due to problems replacing the tenant. Couldn't sell it for that either, but finally got a tenant that signed a 2-year lease. But the rent is only $1065 a month, so the value is more like the $110K figure based on the rent. Where they got the $135K I have no idea. Needless to say I'm headed for arbitration on 6/20/05.

Bird · Jun 1, 2005

Re: Can\'t argue with the Tax Woman, or can I?

I'll wish you luck, Alan. Several years ago, I had a house on which they increased the valuation to $94k. I had it listed for sale at the time for $89k and expected to have to negotiate downward at that. I went to the appeal board and got the appraisal lowered to $89k, but I eventually sold it for $77k.

BB_TX · Jun 1, 2005

Re: Can\'t argue with the Tax Woman, or can I?

Don - They raised mine by 60% last year. On the appraisal district web site, I found that all the land surrounding mine was appraised at considerably less per acre than mine, regardless of size. I filed a protest and went before the board. When I tried to argue the appraisal based on surrounding properties, they said I could not do that because I had checked the box protesting market value instead of value compared to nearby properties. /forums/images/graemlins/mad.gif They said recent land sales justified the increase and since I had not checked the other box, I could not argue that point.
I am going to try again this year. I went to the appraisal office last week and found out every property owner surrounding and near my property. Then I went on the web site and found the per acre appraised value of each. All are lower, and some much lower, than mine. I went on the terraserver web site and printed a large copy of the aerial photo of the area of my property, marked each tract of land, the owner, and the per acre appraised value. This year I will check the box to protest due to mine being above all surrounding properties and see if I have any luck.

MossRoad · Jun 1, 2005

Re: Can\'t argue with the Tax Woman, or can I?

Bob,
People like you that are over taxed and won't just pay and shut up is why poeple like us over here in St. Joe County had massive tax increases that last few years /forums/images/graemlins/smile.gif /forums/images/graemlins/laugh.gif /forums/images/graemlins/tongue.gif Remember that case in Lake County(I think) was the catylist for tax re-assesment. The guy was getting over taxed, took it to court, the whole tax system was found to be unconstitutional. So they started basing property taxes on FAIR MARKET VALUE (imaginge that) and just about every body with an old house in a nice neighborhood had massive tax increases. Fortunately, our taxes went down, too( fair house in fair neighborhood /forums/images/graemlins/wink.gif).

So next time, just do the rest of us a favor and over pay your property taxes so we can maintain our way of life. Thanks. /forums/images/graemlins/grin.gif /forums/images/graemlins/grin.gif /forums/images/graemlins/grin.gif

Bob_Skurka · Jun 1, 2005

Re: Can\'t argue with the Tax Woman, or can I?

 Remember that case in Lake County(I think) was the catylist for tax re-assesment. The guy was getting over taxed, took it to court, the whole tax system was found to be unconstitutional. 

Sure I remember that, I live in Lake County!!!

I remember when I bought my first house, I was fresh out of college and determined not to ever pay rent, so I bought a starter home. I got my property tax bill and asked my accountant if I had to pay that amount every month. He said, NO, that is for the ENTIRE YEAR. I couldn't believe how LOW THE TAX WAS, in fact it was so low that it was blatantly unfair to have them THAT low. But that was our system. It was bad for new houses, bad for businesses, and great for people who owned older homes. The system was in fact so bad that it has driven many businesses out of our state because businesses bore such a high burden propotionately that it could bankrupt them. The property taxes on my 6 acre property with 60,000 sq ft warehouse were in the low-mid 6 figures each year!!! I know some businesses that paid over 1-Million dollars a year in property taxes and were forced to leave the state! So yes I remember that lawsuit. I remember it fondly! And I don't mind paying high taxes on my home, but I don't want to pay 30% higher than a larger house down the road or 100% more than many of the other homes around me. Fair is fair. Charge a fair tax and I think that everyone will be better off. I think it is fair to say that that is all "txdon" is asking for in his original post on this thread.