Property Tax Protest in Texas 2023 PART 2

Okay, so clearly a lot of you are having some sticker shock with your property tax bill.
In this video I'm going to answer a lot of questions I've received from you all when you've been requesting comps to see if there are any to fight your market value assessment by the county appraisal district.
Overall changes in appraised value have gone up:
25% for Denton County
19% for Collin County
18% for Tarrant County
16% for Harris County in the Houston area
14.8% in Bexar County which is the San Antonio area and
13% for Dallas County
So no wonder people are freaking out.
So many of you have never filed for your homestead exemption. So many never knew you could protest this or how to do it. You've been overpaying for years!
Collin County reported they sent over 47,000 homestead applications but had only received 32% of them back. That is a ton of people paying more in taxes than they should. I want to help you save money!
I've received tons of questions and have been working to give thorough answers on each of them.
So, while I'm not an appraiser or a property tax professional, I do know real estate, I know sales comps, and I've protested my taxes before with success.
I want to help you as much as I can. So, this is Property Tax Protest in Texas 2023 Part 2.
CHAPTERS
00:00 Introduction
02:09 We just purchased last year in May after the build was completed. Are we able to protest using what we paid for the house? Also we had an appraisal done before purchasing, could we use that? I have never protested taxes before and am just wondering what I can do to lower my tax bill.
05:12 I protested last year as my square footage was wrong (we did new build complete 2020). The response was that the sqft "includes the brick". This is odd because our floor plans list 4161 vs 4363 on the CAD site. It seems odd and when I look up other houses, it seems that those two match.
07:54 New home purchased 12/21 for $447K. Same model 2023 new home comps are lower, yet 2023 assessed value is higher ($485K). Desirability rating decrease (how to include?)
10:48 I’m not sure how accurate the prices are in the Zillow app, but it was indicating that the value of my house at the end of 2022 was $550,000
12:48 My Last year’s appraised value is 219,167. Will I still be able to lower it?
14:00 If I lower my market value with the appraisal district, will that affect my ability to sell my home for more if I want to sell it later this year?
15:35 I bought last year and my assessment is at my purchase price. Can I still get it lowered?
17:35 Why is my form not showing me what I will actually pay in taxes?
19:31 We purchased our land years ago and just completed our house construction this year. The new value is outrageous. What can we do?
22:22 Is there any other way I can protest my value besides comps?

[@bekam3542]

Thank you for this info. Am trying to see how to try to protest mine, land valuation has increased by 200%

[@squaredealtax]

Protest deadline is May 15th each year.

[@Markuz.auruz1984]

Dude you’re awesome! You are a true resemblance of empathy… What is obvious to you is a breath of fresh air for others 🫶🏼

[@pn6152]

This is very valuable, appreciate it. 😀

[@livingindallasfortworth]

Thank you!

[@razblack]

if they raised your assessed value by 10% from last year.... you can guarantee that the amount you pay for your taxes will go up 10%. its' how it works.

[@Razkzid2034]

Great video very informative! I do have a question myself. We bought Oct 2022 and on 2023 filed for protest but didnt know much about protesting as a first time home buyer I didnt use my closing statement to bring the appraisal down to sales price. I still got a reduction but still far from sales price that year. This year can I use my closing docs and request to bring it closer to our sale price since last year I sort of over paid?

[@livingindallasfortworth]

I would bring it and explain that you weren't aware this could've been used as support in your last hearing. I'm not sure they'll use it but I always recommend people bring any evidence they possibly can. However, that closing statement is now for 2022 values. The appraisal district is looking for a value as of January 1, 2024. Where your 2022 closing statement might help is if you had been able to get your assessed value lowered to your purchase price for 2023, then your 10% cap would be lower this year.

[@johns1367]

Thank you for the invaluable information. We have a quick question. Our home was a new build last year and we closed on the home on March 30th. Would the homestead cap of 10% apply to our appraisal value for this year?

[@livingindallasfortworth]

The home will be reassessed as of January 1 of this year and your cap will apply after this year's assessment. Your exemption will apply as of your purchase date if you filed for a homestead exemption when you purchased.

[@houdavn]

Hi, are we able to use the county's appraisal for a home in the same neighborhood, same floorplan, (a

[@livingindallasfortworth]

Hi @HOUdavn, I would check on the appraisal district's website to get your current appraised value. The county may have sent it to your previous address if that's what you have registered with the appraisal district. Generally, the appraisal district will take a few of their own comps with a few of theirs. If your closing statement shows you purchased your home for less than what they've appraised it for, I would definitely use that as evidence in a protest. If you have evidence another house is similar to yours but is being appraised by the county for less (or sold for less), you could bring that up to the appraisal district too. Simply look up their address on the county's appraisal district website to see what their assessed value is. Keep in mind, if they have exemptions like a homestead exemption, disabled exemption, and/or military exemption, their payment amount will be different; so you'll want to make sure you're looking at the market value (not assessed value).

[@anisleidysrivero79]

Do you recommend using a company/agency/ expert to help with the protest process?

[@livingindallasfortworth]

I have not used one personally, nor do I have enough positive feedback from reliable sources to be able to provide a good reference.

[@cristinamtz100]

Hi, if I can’t find any recent sales comps, you said I could look at the total market value of similar homes in my area. Would I be looking at the 2022 total market values or the new 2023 proposed values for my protest?

[@livingindallasfortworth]

Hi Cristina - I would look at the new 2023 proposed values for your protest.

[@cristinamtz100]

@@livingindallasfortworth thank you!

[@bekam3542]

How is the land market value taken into consideration when figuring out your property taxes.

[@livingindallasfortworth]

My understanding is that you would have to look at the land values around you to see if those have changed as well. If you go to your appraisal district website and search for properties similar to yours, the website has it broken down into improvement value versus land value. If yours is elevated and everyone else's isn't, then you should be able to take those as evidence to support lowering your land value. Keep in mind, land values per acre or per square foot and land sizes have an inverse relationship. So as land size goes up, the price per acre/square foot goes down. So you'll want to make sure you're comparing your land size to other lots similar in size to yours. If you have questions, you can call the appraisal district and ask what they consider to be comparable in size.

[@melissaramirez2310]

Wow so good

[@livingindallasfortworth]

Thank you 😋!

[@kcalderon03]

Is a homestead exemption typically a one time thing to file?

[@livingindallasfortworth]

It used to be, but the appraiser in your district will review your homestead exemption at least once every five years to make sure your property still qualifies. Here's a good resource: www.protitletx.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/03/Providence-Title-Homestead-Exemption.pdf

[@kcalderon03]

@@livingindallasfortworth Thank you!

[@Aura.B.]

Hola, no hablo ingles pero estoy tratando de hacer una protesta, ya que este año me aumento 60 k el valor de mi propiedad, por desgracia no hicimos el cambio de que vivimos aqui, asi que no se si eso hizo que aumentara tanto el valor. Que me recomiendas hacer? Ojala pudieces responder. Lo agradeceria.

[@livingindallasfortworth]

¿Dónde está localizada usted? Debería de aplicar para el Homestead exemption lo más pronto posible para el año que viene. Si gusta llamarme, mi nombre es Dalia Serna 469-651-3115 y mi correo electrónico es [e-mail].

[@surajbista8463]

What are documents/ evidence needed in order to protest property tax . Please?

[@livingindallasfortworth]

@@surajbista8463 Hi Suraj - you should contact your local appraisal district to find out from them. Generally speaking, if you can provide sales comps to show sales lower than your assessed value, pictures of how your property doesn't match the comps, damage or work that needs to be done to your home that may negatively affect the value, bids from professionals showing the cost of work that needs to be done, etc.

[@roxanneholder4219]

Can you explain a Homestead Cap Loss?

[@livingindallasfortworth]

Hi Roxanne, Here's the definition from the Collin County Appraisal District: Your residence homestead is protected from future appraisal value increase in excess of 10% per year from the date of the last appraisal plus the value of any new improvements. Source: www.collincad.org/faqs/25-homestead/136-homesteadcaploss

[@mjt4651]

# 1 Tip for fighting Texas Property Taxes… Vote out every politician that does not support a property tax reduction……Demand Texas publish sold prices for everyone to see, and demand Texas lawmakers stop giving major tax breaks to large corporate entities…BUYER BEWARE….no state income tax..BUT….Texas is rated the 6 highest state for property taxes😂

[@SpatioTemporalEntity]

What actual evidence do you rely on that proves property taxes apply to home owners not exercising a privilege within the municipality/county? I.e. a registered business Do you have the right to own, enjoy and dispose of property? Can a right be taxed?

[@dawnpettit9353]

Taxes being misapplied to non commercial property, your shelter, a substantive right is unlawful and unconstitutional. Find the case filed in PA federal court Faggiolo v County of Delaware…active case. You’ll need a Pacer account. Post an email and I’ll try to send you the complaint. See you state Statutes definitions….you are not a taxpayer, person, nor have you incorporated with the state to perform a privilege ( earning income) creating a situs giving the county sufficient contact with your property to impose a tax. Start your research. I have a case out line for Florida citing laws, codes and case law. Stop protesting the amount of the assessment…challenge the authority.

[@ponga782]

Some will try to tax on replacement cost..I don't think this is right