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HCAD Appraised Values 2017


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Property tax appraisals are out.  Generally, in the Heights, the appraisal for dirt on 2/3 lots (4,300 sq ft) went down from @350k to @261k.  Appraisals on full size 6600 sq ft lots stayed flat at 396k.  Appraisals on oversized lots (8,700) went up from 459k to 522k.  My appraisal was flat on my 6600 sq ft lot, but taxes will go up because of the cap on previous year's increases.  I have found it to be just about impossible to find comps to bring to HCAD to protest because there are very few sales of roughly original sized bungalows.  The few comps I have found are right in line with the current tax appraisal.  And I replaced my HVAC.  So, I can't use pics of my 15 year old HVAC unit anymore.

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  • 3 weeks later...

We live in one of three, essentially identical houses on 4400 s.f. lots.

 

Apparently our land is worth $60/sf, but our neighbor's is worth $45.

 

The value of our improvements went up 15% year-on-year (43% over 5 years), whereas our neighbor's went DOWN 13%.

 

 

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8 hours ago, Angostura said:

We live in one of three, essentially identical houses on 4400 s.f. lots.

 

Apparently our land is worth $60/sf, but our neighbor's is worth $45.

 

The value of our improvements went up 15% year-on-year (43% over 5 years), whereas our neighbor's went DOWN 13%.

 

 

Sounds like a winnable protest for unequal appraisal

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Noob here - when self-protesting what will make my protest successful? What data/evidence will HCAD want to see? I'm in Sunset Heights which has/continues to appreciate so protesting may be more of a challenge. I want to be prepared as possible without inundating/boring them with data. Thanks!

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I gave up on trying to self protest when I submitted several documents and pictures trying to lower my appraisal.  I was declined and decided to go with a company that specializes in challenging appraisals.  I only pay if they are successful and I don't have to take time off from work.

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Generally, it is all about the comps.  If you can find a few properties that are the same lot size and similar square footage that sold for less than your appraised value, you will have a shot at getting your appraised value reduced.  It is also very hit or miss depending on the HCAD employee.  I went before one guy who seemed like it was his last day.  He put up a little resistance, but then just about gave me 100% of the reduction I requested.  But then, I went in front of another guy who would not listen to a word I said.  

 

You can submit evidence of deferred maintenance (estimates to replace AC, roof, fix foundation, etc.).  But that usually does not get a big reduction.

 

Also, remember that the HCAD employees are not assigned to a particular area.  They will be hearing protests for the entire city.  So, be ready to come up with a bunch of BS when they show you properties that they think support HCAD's appraisal.   I have argued that one property was worth more because of schools, proximity to jogging trail, parks, restaurants, etc.  Likewise, if you bring comps that are lower because they are right off the highway or N. Shep, HCAD employees will not have a clue.

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  • 1 month later...

Something I found out while putting together info for our protest hearing:

 

HCAD's system looks for comps based on a neighborhood #. It turns out some of these "neighborhoods" overlap. For example:

 

8305.06: Bordered by 23rd, 16th, Yale and Nicholson

8305.10: Bordered by 20th, N. Main, Shepherd and 610.

 

Which of these neighborhoods HCAD codes your house into makes a BIG difference on valuation. We're coded as 8305.06. Our next door neighbor (same floorplan, same year, same builder, same finishes, same Grade and CDU in HCAD's system), is coded as 8305.10 and has an appraisal $175k less than ours.

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The neighborhood codes mean something to the CAD to separate comparables, not just only by geographic boundaries, so yes they can overlap.

 

From just looking at it, 8305.06 are original houses on the original standard size lot comps in a certain area and 8305.10 seem to be the new townhouses on smaller lots within a certain area.  If you find an industrial/commercial building within the same boundaries those will have another set of neighborhood codes as well.  If you are in a townhouse (and looking at their map viewer, I already found one on 21st St that appears to be wrongly coded) and are coded as in 8305.06, then I think that is probably wrongly coded, and it looks like both land (60/ft vs 45/ft) and improvement values are higher if your house is coded in 8305.06 (meaning that the district thinks the bigger lots and older homes are worth more per square foot)

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19 hours ago, JJxvi said:

The neighborhood codes mean something to the CAD to separate comparables, not just only by geographic boundaries, so yes they can overlap.

 

From just looking at it, 8305.06 are original houses on the original standard size lot comps in a certain area and 8305.10 seem to be the new townhouses on smaller lots within a certain area.  If you find an industrial/commercial building within the same boundaries those will have another set of neighborhood codes as well.  If you are in a townhouse (and looking at their map viewer, I already found one on 21st St that appears to be wrongly coded) and are coded as in 8305.06, then I think that is probably wrongly coded, and it looks like both land (60/ft vs 45/ft) and improvement values are higher if your house is coded in 8305.06 (meaning that the district thinks the bigger lots and older homes are worth more per square foot)

 

This explains why there are so few "true" comps in the neighborhood we're coded to, despite the type of house we're in (3/2.5, 2-story, detached garage) being ubiquitous in our part of the Heights. I stopped counting when I got past 100 within a 5-block radius.

 

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  • 2 weeks later...
  • 2 weeks later...

Some questions re HCAD’s land value (market/appraised) calculation.

I understand that land value is set for an area, and not subject to appeal.

1. Anyone familiar with the algorithm used to calculate land value/sq ft?

2. What is the area over which the algorithm is applied? (neighborhood code, neighborhood group, market area, key map).

3. Is it usual that the same land value/sq ft is applied within a close geographic area, irrespective of the property location/amenities/best use?  For example, land value per sq ft set the same for: a business center/gas station at the intersection of 2 major roads; unimproved vacant land on a small side street; land with and without: city sewer, natural gas access, road access – all within a few blocks of each other.

Thanks in advance for any insights.

 

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35 minutes ago, frostback said:

 

Some questions re HCAD’s land value (market/appraised) calculation.

I understand that land value is set for an area, and not subject to appeal.

1. Anyone familiar with the algorithm used to calculate land value/sq ft?

2. What is the area over which the algorithm is applied? (neighborhood code, neighborhood group, market area, key map).

3. Is it usual that the same land value/sq ft is applied within a close geographic area, irrespective of the property location/amenities/best use?  For example, land value per sq ft set the same for: a business center/gas station at the intersection of 2 major roads; unimproved vacant land on a small side street; land with and without: city sewer, natural gas access, road access – all within a few blocks of each other.

Thanks in advance for any insights.

 

 

Land vslue seems to be by HCAD neighborhood. I made a lot of noise years back when the land value for one half of a city block in Midtown was $5 per sq ft for a commercial property,  while the townhouses on the other half had a land value of  $20 per foot. Each half of the block was in a fife rent neighborhood. I made the argument that dividing a block didn't make sense, and the next year, the commercial property had the same land value as the townhouses. 

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  • 2 weeks later...
On 5/22/2017 at 5:59 PM, JJxvi said:

The neighborhood codes mean something to the CAD to separate comparables, not just only by geographic boundaries, so yes they can overlap.

 

From just looking at it, 8305.06 are original houses on the original standard size lot comps in a certain area and 8305.10 seem to be the new townhouses on smaller lots within a certain area.  If you find an industrial/commercial building within the same boundaries those will have another set of neighborhood codes as well.  If you are in a townhouse (and looking at their map viewer, I already found one on 21st St that appears to be wrongly coded) and are coded as in 8305.06, then I think that is probably wrongly coded, and it looks like both land (60/ft vs 45/ft) and improvement values are higher if your house is coded in 8305.06 (meaning that the district thinks the bigger lots and older homes are worth more per square foot)

 

Based on my experience at the ARB, where you're coded means a lot more than proximity and similarity. I showed 10 comparables that were closer and more similar (square footage, land area, year built, build quality, etc.) than HCAD's, which supported a reduction of $200k in appraised value. HCAD's only counter-argument was that my comps were in a different neighborhood. The ARB went with HCAD.

 

What your property is coded (neighborhood code, CDU, Grade, etc.) seems to matter a lot more than actual facts.

 

 

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Well, you have to get down into the weeds with them and ask the right questions (and even then sometimes a board just isnt going to listen).  I would have asked in particular a couple questions.  #1 what is the difference between the two neighborhood codes.   Likely this would have resulted in a bullshit response they made up on the spot or an "I dont know, but they are different"  which would have helped you combat the harsh "fact" they they just told to the ARB to make your comps no good  #2 I would have asked why are two identical townhomes (in the example I looked up the other day, not sure what your situation was) adjacent to each other with the same year built, in different neighborhoods? There likely is no possible reasonable answer to that question. You either got to drill down and make the appraiser realize their codes are FUBAR to get him to change your code at the informal or alternatively you got to make the ARB see that their neighborhood code is ridiculous and likely beyond comprehension even of the appraiser in their hearing.

 

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7 minutes ago, JJxvi said:

Well, you have to get down into the weeds with them and ask the right questions (and even then sometimes a board just isnt going to listen).  I would have asked in particular a couple questions.  #1 what is the difference between the two neighborhood codes.   Likely this would have resulted in a bullshit response they made up on the spot or an "I dont know, but they are different"  which would have helped you combat the harsh "fact" they they just told to the ARB to make your comps no good  #2 I would have asked why are two identical townhomes (in the example I looked up the other day, not sure what your situation was) adjacent to each other with the same year built, in different neighborhoods? There likely is no possible reasonable answer to that question. You either got to drill down and make the appraiser realize their codes are FUBAR to get him to change your code at the informal or alternatively you got to make the ARB see that their neighborhood code is ridiculous and likely beyond comprehension even of the appraiser in their hearing.

 

 

These are exactly the two questions I asked. The HCAD rep said that neighborhood codes were based on characteristics of the house, year built, etc. When I further drilled down and asked why virtually all the houses similar to ours within a few blocks were coded in a different neighborhood, and why their equity comps were all from a single development 7 blocks away, 7 years newer, she had no additional answer. 

 

When confronted with our next door neighbors' house, built by the same builder, at the same time, with the same floorplan, square footage, lot size and finishes, but was coded into a different neighborhood (with an appraisal $200k lower) she simply said that "the appraisal district has no further evidence to present" and clammed up.

 

My understanding is that, in the case of unequal appraisal, the burden of proof is on the appraisal district. I presented internal and external photos of comparable properties demonstrating that my comps were, in fact, comparable in size, style, quality, etc. The ARB, however, seemed completely immune to any evidence that wasn't part of HCAD's package. Which is to say that the ARB starts with the assumption that HCAD's assessment of neighborhood, build quality, and condition are correct, and are pretty much immune to evidence to the contrary. At least, that's what I concluded based on the behavior of my particular panel.

 

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Yeah, sounds like a bad panel who had no interest in working out the problem in their head.  What time of day was your hearing?

 

Based on the value you're giving you probably have enough on the line and a convincing enough argument to give binding arbitration a go. 

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5 hours ago, JJxvi said:

Yeah, sounds like a bad panel who had no interest in working out the problem in their head.  What time of day was your hearing?

 

Based on the value you're giving you probably have enough on the line and a convincing enough argument to give binding arbitration a go. 

 

It was 8AM.

 

You can't argue unequal appraisal in binding arbitration; I'd have to go to district court.

 

If I got my full ask, it'd be $130k under my current taxable value (we're capped, but not THAT capped). I'll get legal advice regarding whether it's worthwhile to pursue further.

 

 

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BTW these are the neighborhood descriptions from the CAD...its like I assumed it was earlier in the thread.

 

http://pdata.hcad.org/Desc/2017/code_nh_numbers.txt

 

Neighborhood, Group, Description   
8305.06, 1639, HOUSTON HEIGHTS (N' 16TH ST)

So these are the original regular size residential homes on lots in the Heights in a certain boundary area.

 

Neighborhood, Group, Description 
8305.10, 1644, HOUSTON HEIGHTS T/H (N OF 2OTH)

T/H = townhomes in a certain boundary.  If you have a townhome in 8305.06 its not about E&U, its about they are appraising your property wrong, IMO.

 

You will also notice that nieghborhoods with townhomes in the description in the area are all grouped into Group 1644 even in further flung areas.  You should not be in 8305.06 if you live in a townhome.

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I mean I agree it does seem to get sketchy because the argument will always be taken towards bringing up the fact that "all the other townhomes are this" and that does sound like an E&U argument.  Either way, good luck, hope you can get it fixed.

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I understand what you're saying.

 

However: you can only appeal on one of two grounds: unequal appraisal, or market value. While we're over-appraised w/r/t market value in our current neighborhood code, the houses in 8305.1 are probably under-appraised. A market-based appeal would lower our appraisal, but only to about where it's capped at anyway.

 

Also, we're not, strictly speaking, in a townhouse. It's a house on a sub-divided lot, but our land area is at the upper end of the range for these kinds of houses. What's frustrating is that of the other two pretty-much-identical houses that were built together with ours, one is in 8305.06 like ours, but the other is in 8305.10, and pays thousands less in taxes.

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