Property Tax Protest Services

[barracuda]

I used AppealPropertyTax.com and they managed to get my appraisal down about $7k. They're web-based and don't respond to emails. They also don't provide any updates on your case other than a bill at the very end. So the only way to know they're working on your case is to check HCAD for a tax protest hearing date. But they did come through, and I felt the results were decent.

[Ross]

O'Connor got ours reduced by $20k this year. I'll probably drop them for next year and do it myself, as there's going to be lots of permits this year for repairs, none of which count as a remodel.

[Marksmu]

O'Connor got ours reduced by $20k this year. I'll probably drop them for next year and do it myself, as there's going to be lots of permits this year for repairs, none of which count as a remodel.

The biggest problem with Oconner, or any of these people is that they can use many different methods to lower your taxes, and take 50% of your savings...meanwhile HCAD, can, and often does come back at a later point in time and state there was an error made, and then they revalue your property in excess of the 10% homestead cap. They are allowed to break that cap if there was an error. None of these companies will ever send you back your money when their work is undone years later.

[pachanga]

Stay far away from O'connor!!

[LTAWACS]

Improvements can theoretically increase in value if their replacement cost increases dramatically. But that was a 2006-2008 phenomenon. It's over.

Are you sure about this?

[missjanel]

One year later and I just signed up with appealpropertytax.com. I hope to be more successful than I was using O'Connor last year. Will come back and update after it's over.

[TheNiche]

Are you sure about this?

As to whether improvements can increase in value, yes I am sure.

As to whether that phenomenon was fairly well confined to 2006-2008 and that the phenomenon is over, the answer is that in terms of the marketplace, I am confident in my statement. In terms of HCAD's computer-generated mass appraisals...well, those things are just horrible, rife with errors in their sales data and rampant internal inconsistencies.

[spiderman]

I have always protested my own property taxes but now that I no longer live in Houston it's just not feasible for me to do it myself. Can someone recommend a company that protests on your behalf. Obviously O'Connor being the largest. I'm just looking for suggestions from people who have actually used one of these services.

Thanks!

I handle my own protests, but I have heard a lot of positives about Jason Rodrigues of Harding and Carbone

[westguy76]

One year later and I just signed up with appealpropertytax.com. I hope to be more successful than I was using O'Connor last year. Will come back and update after it's over.

As I said I would last year I signed up to use this same company. I got no communication form them, and after the hearing they mailed me a letter indicating that they agreed with the CAD's assesment of my home's value. Cut and dry, no indication that they had fault on my behalf. I will be doing this one my own this year. Good luck

[TheNiche]

Just a reminder: don't forget to protest your property taxes. The deadline is tomorrow (May 31st). Whether you realize it or not, your government is probably ____ing you around. It's what they do. They do it well.

I handle my own protests, but I have heard a lot of positives about Jason Rodrigues of Harding and Carbone

That's interesting. I seem to recall that he used to be at O'Connor & Associates.

[RedScare]

I did my own, as I do every year. I knocked off 8% this year. Frankly, I think it is the rare case where you cannot do at least half as well as these protest services. Remember, as soon as you do half as well as they would, you've broken even with them. I think that in every year but one, I have saved more than they would have (one year I could not make the meeting, and got nothing). And, I am getting this from the informal hearing, not the ARB hearing. Comparing my appraisal with my neighbors, I must be doing something right.

[TheNiche]

I did my own, as I do every year. I knocked off 8% this year. Frankly, I think it is the rare case where you cannot do at least half as well as these protest services. Remember, as soon as you do half as well as they would, you've broken even with them. I think that in every year but one, I have saved more than they would have (one year I could not make the meeting, and got nothing). And, I am getting this from the informal hearing, not the ARB hearing. Comparing my appraisal with my neighbors, I must be doing something right.

I would tend to agree that if you have something worth fighting over, then do it yourself. Nobody knows more about your property and your neighborhood than you.

If you don't have a story to tell or if you it doesn't go your way and you want to litigate the value, then let them have at it.

One way or the other, always protest.

[relocating]

We now use AppealPropertyTax.com and have been very pleased with them. We used O'Connor for a couple of years, but got only minor reductions, while noticing that a neighbor who used AppealPropertyTax.com was getting much deeper reductions.

Moreover, O'Connor was charging us 50% of whatever they saved us, while AppealPropertyTax.com charges just 33%. Save me more on my taxes and charge me less to do it? I'm there!

We used appealpropertytax.com this year but we haven't heard a thing from them. We know is too early to have already finished the appeal, but we wanted to know if they received our paperwork. We have e-mailed and called repeatedly and no answer. How do you contact them?

I am worried they never received our paperwork and now it's too late to hire another appeal company.

[Fringe]

Just sent in my protest. Will go it alone. My question is: do you think they will lower my appraisal less than what I paid for the house? I bought it in 08 right before the market collapse and I believe it's worth less now than it was then.

[GettaClue]

We used appealpropertytax.com this year but we haven't heard a thing from them. We know is too early to have already finished the appeal, but we wanted to know if they received our paperwork. We have e-mailed and called repeatedly and no answer. How do you contact them?

I am worried they never received our paperwork and now it's too late to hire another appeal company.

Look up your property tax record on the HCAD site. If they got your paperwork, there will now be a clickable link near the top of your record which says "Fiduciary Information." Click on it and they should be listed as your Fiduciary Agent.

[relocating]

Look up your property tax record on the HCAD site. If they got your paperwork, there will now be a clickable link near the top of your record which says "Fiduciary Information." Click on it and they should be listed as your Fiduciary Agent.

Thanks a lot!!!!!!

I found the record and the link. They did appeal my property taxes and apparently there's an informal hearing on June 22nd

Big sigh of relief!

[qwerty]

Sorry for the bump,

But is it too late to file a property tax protest for the 2013 year?

I'd like to bring down my property value by 20%, is that too much? Is there a formula on how you would determine a fair assessment of your property value?

[TheNiche]

Sorry for the bump,

But is it too late to file a property tax protest for the 2013 year?

I'd like to bring down my property value by 20%, is that too much? Is there a formula on how you would determine a fair assessment of your property value?

The taxes due in January 2013 are for the valuation as of January 1st, 2012. Although the protest deadline was May 31st, you can still write a letter to your appraisal district and respectfully request that they consider a reduction of your value, pursuant to 25.25(h) of the Texas Property Tax Code. Attach plenty of evidence and an explanation.

I don't know whether 20% is too much. It depends on your evidence.

[qwerty]

The taxes due in January 2013 are for the valuation as of January 1st, 2012. Although the protest deadline was May 31st, you can still write a letter to your appraisal district and respectfully request that they consider a reduction of your value, pursuant to 25.25(h) of the Texas Property Tax Code. Attach plenty of evidence and an explanation.

I don't know whether 20% is too much. It depends on your evidence.

What kind of evidence is considered good evidence to bring down the value? Should I just take pictures of any cracks, blemishes, and things needing repair on my property?

[TheNiche]

Yes, but don't sweat the small stuff. I think that it just distracts them. Focus on the roof, foundation, electrical, plumbing, mechanical, animal and insect infestations, recurring graffiti problems, etc. They don't tax landscaping (yet), so don't harp about your trees if they died last year.

If you purchased your property recently for less than the appraised value, then submit your closing statements. You might also ask a Realtor for sales comps in your area. Specify your purpose. If they think that you might want to sell your property, then they'll only show you the highest ones or perhaps the lowest ones except for those where they were the agent. They might do this anyway because most of them are nincompoops.

Lastly, you can argue inequity. Look at your neighbors' values, look at your values. See if they are more or less in alignment. Don't bother with this unless you've got a good argument, though. Petty arguments only distract them, or worse. And you're asking for a favor that they aren't obligated to give you.

[IHB2]

What kind of evidence is considered good evidence to bring down the value? Should I just take pictures of any cracks, blemishes, and things needing repair on my property?

go to the HCAD website and you will find downloadable instructions for what to submit for an online "i settle" or in-person Appraisal Review Board hearing.

you can also search your address (which also links all nearby addresses) for current and past 5 yrs appraised values.

1st thing you will need if you want to be taken seriously at an ARB hearing is a current appraisal, so plan on spending $300 or so just to play the game.

[TheNiche]

go to the HCAD website and you will find downloadable instructions for what to submit for an online "i settle" or in-person Appraisal Review Board hearing.

you can also search your address (which also links all nearby addresses) for current and past 5 yrs appraised values.

1st thing you will need if you want to be taken seriously at an ARB hearing is a current appraisal, so plan on spending $300 or so just to play the game.

No, at this point in the tax year, qwerty will need to write a letter to the appraisal district and beg for help. Qwerty should follow this up with phone calls spaced at about once a month in order to try and prod them into responding. They are under no obligation to communicate according to statutory requirements, to meet with him, to offer to settle at a new value, or to grant an ARB hearing.

As for the suggestion that an appraisal should be obtained, don't forget that an appraiser is less able to overtly cherry-pick information than a homeowner is. The appraisal might very nearly guarantee a reduction, but may also be a limiting factor where the amount of a reduction is concerned. (Also, the appraisal should not be current. It would have to be back-dated to January 1st, 2012.)

[IHB2]

No, at this point in the tax year, qwerty will need to write a letter to the appraisal district and beg for help. Qwerty should follow this up with phone calls spaced at about once a month in order to try and prod them into responding. They are under no obligation to communicate according to statutory requirements, to meet with him, to offer to settle at a new value, or to grant an ARB hearing.

As for the suggestion that an appraisal should be obtained, don't forget that an appraiser is less able to overtly cherry-pick information than a homeowner is. The appraisal might very nearly guarantee a reduction, but may also be a limiting factor where the amount of a reduction is concerned. (Also, the appraisal should not be current. It would have to be back-dated to January 1st, 2012.)

yes I know his options narrowed after May 31, but qwerty asked the most general question possible about evidence, suggesting he has not visted the HCAD site - the site has the docs that explain the process and what they expect to see from a protester. back-dating the appraisal is not a problem, but IMO the HCAD appraiser's cherry-picking of comps is a bigger problem for the protester than any info specific to the property in question, which is why I prefer to go to battle armed with my own appraiser's comps.

[TheNiche]

yes I know his options narrowed after May 31, but qwerty asked the most general question possible about evidence, suggesting he has not visted the HCAD site - the site has the docs that explain the process and what they expect to see from a protester. back-dating the appraisal is not a problem, but IMO the HCAD appraiser's cherry-picking of comps is a bigger problem for the protester than any info specific to the property in question, which is why I prefer to go to battle armed with my own appraiser's comps.

You don't have to be an appraiser to pick favorable comps. Just try to avoid foreclosures unless you can demonstrate a high foreclosure rate in the same neighborhood, then avoid mentioning sales that weren't listed with a broker or that obviously sold between related parties.

[Fringe]

Bumping an old thread since HCAD raised the appraisal of my Houston house by around 30%. Tried the online appeal but they only knocked off a couple of thousand dollars. Anyone have any new suggestions on a property tax appeal company?  Anyone try Jubally with sucess?