Before You Buy

[pineda]

( Link removed by Editor because we got a nastygram from Texas A&M )

Excellent source of information on property values all across the Lone Star State!

[dbigtex56]

Another worthwhile site is HomeOwners for Better Building.

This site lists complaints about specific builders; also the measures that some builders have taken to strip buyers of their legal rights. Buyer beware!

[CincoRanch-HoustonResident]

I never liked KB Home. I told my cousin who lives in Oak Park Trails not to get a KB Home. They don't build as well as other builders do like Trendmaker Homes or Lennar Corp.

[snickers]

Hey - as someone who is relocating to the area - thanks for the links!!!

[deepsouthtexas]

Here's an interesting website if you're considering buying a KB home.

Kbhomesucks.com

[SpaceCity]

This is my favorite:

KB Home subdivision built on Old Military Bombing Range

The Dallas Naval Air Station used a site that was known as the Five Point Outlying Field in the 1940

[jmancuso]

haha at that kbhomesuck site. i wouldn't touch a production home with a ten foot pole. gimmie a bungalo in the heights...

[pineda]

Homeowners feel pinch of property taxes

By: Lauren Hutton , Courier Staff 10/03/2004

William and Jane Hurst have lived in Conroe's Rivershire subdivision since 1994.

And as the area has grown, so has their home's appraised value, bringing with it a larger tax burden.

In fact, the taxes on an average home on the Hursts' street, Cambridge Circle, have risen 40 percent since 1996.

"I'm retired, and we're supposed to get some relief (through increased exemptions)," said William Hurst, 74. "I just suffer like everyone else."

However, the retired doctor does believe his home's appraised value matches the market value, as required by law. And he understands that the taxing entities have kept rates fairly steady.

But at least one taxpayer advocacy group and the governor of Texas believe home appraisals have become a backdoor scheme to squeeze more money out of homeowners.

The National Taxpayers Union, an advocate for lower taxes and government spending in Washington, D.C., has called the situation a national problem.

"The problem not only has to do with increasing appraisals," said Pete Sepp, the organization's vice president of communications. "With budget crunches, the homeowners are forced to make up the difference. At least with sales tax, a consumer can adjust by controlling spending."

Gov. Rick Perry has proposed a taxpayer appraisal relief plan that is expected to hit the state House floor in January. It would place a 3 percent cap on annual appraisal increases to protect individual homeowners from "skyrocketing appraisals and arbitrary increases," according to a press release on Perry's Web site.

"In previous tax reductions, appraisal values increased and ultimately helped to fill the void," according to the release. "The current cap of 10 percent allows for too much creep in the appraisal rate, leaving taxpayers with much higher property tax bills."

Rivershire residents pay Montgomery County, city of Conroe, Conroe Independent School District, Montgomery County Hospital District and North Harris Montgomery Community College District taxes.

In 1996, those taxes totaled $2.76 per $100 property valuation. Today, they total $2.84, a 2.8 percent increase.

However, the average appraised value (calculated with values from eight Cambridge Circle homes) rose 34 percent, increasing from $85,346 to $114,406 over that period.

Since 1996, the appraisals have pushed average annual taxes on Cambridge Circle homes from $2,355 to $3,290, a 40 percent increase, not including exemptions.

While elected officials from the county's taxing entities are quick to point out that they keep the tax rate level, lifelong Conroe resident Rigby Owen Jr. said they fail to talk about the increasing appraisal values that stick residents with higher tax bills even without a tax hike.

But Mark Castleschouldt, Montgomery County chief appraiser, said in keeping with the law that states appraisal value must equal the market value, there is nothing the appraisal district can do about an overwhelming tax bill.

"I can't even begin to guess why (market) values have increased," he said. "Maybe people want to live a more laid-back lifestyle. Maybe they want to live on the lake."

Castleschouldt said this year alone 25 percent of county property owners experienced increased appraisals, without counting new homes or vacant lots, which is a typical scenario over the past decade.

"We have some (homes) that are over, some that are under," Castleschouldt said. "But that is not untypical of a mass appraisal system."

Appraised values are subject to change each year under the county's mass appraisal system, which calls for re-appraising all county properties annually.

While officials can blame increasing market values for the appraisal increases, critics say taxing entities should adjust the tax rate accordingly.

State Sen. Tommy Williams, R-The Woodlands, introduced legislation in 1999 that would require taxing entities to notify the public through the newspaper and public postings if their tax bills go up, whether it is due to an increase in property values or an increase in appraised values.

"I want these taxing jurisdictions to know if they collect one penny more, they need to give notice," Williams said. "If a taxing jurisdiction takes all this new money they get as a windfall, they should lower taxes."

While the reporting requirements never made it to law, Williams said he plans to "drop it in the hopper" next legislative session.

Precinct 3 Commissioner Ed Chance, whose precinct has experienced exploding growth along with higher values, said in theory he agreed that the tax rate should be lowered with the increased appraisal values.

"But realistically, I do not see it (lowering the tax rate) happening and providing the same level of service," Chance said.

Montgomery County Commissioners Court unanimously deemed this year's 1.3-cent tax increase necessary to stock three new libraries paid for by a voter-approved bond.

Precinct 1 Commissioner Mike Meador said he looks at the increasing appraised values as an increase on his largest investment - his home.

The county is not the only one in the state experiencing an increased burden. Williams said he saw an "outrageous increase" in appraised values in the portion of northwest Harris County before it spread to Montgomery County.

In some parts of the country, Sepp said, local officials are not only raising taxes, they are leaning on the assessors to be as inclusive as possible.

But talking to homeowners who have protested the appraisal increases in Montgomery County proves that the value is not set in stone.

For example, Luis Gamboa, who has lived with his family in The Woodlands for four years, said this year was the first time his property appraisal went up.

However, he managed to reduce his appraised value 23 percent after proving that the appraiser accounted for more square footage than existed and a higher price per square foot than the market demanded.

"They (appraisal district employees) were really helpful," Gamboa said. "And it only took about 20 minutes."

The house originally was appraised at $207,000 this year but was lowered to $168,070 after the meeting.

Castleschouldt said, like in Gamboa's case, the district handles most complaints informally.

"Everyone who files a complaint will have the opportunity to sit down with staff," he said. "If we can't reach an agreement, it goes to the ARB (Appraisal Review Board)."

In 2003, 33 percent of home, business and other property owners who were mailed a notice indicating a change in appraised value protested. Seven percent went before the ARB.

If a property owner is still not satisfied with the result of the ARB hearing, he or she can take the case to court. But Williams said another problem presents itself with this process.

"People have to go to a district court to protest an ARB ruling, which means they have to hire an attorney," he said. "That's why small businesses and residents don't do that."

Williams said he would like residents to have an opportunity to protest in front of justices of the peace where a homeowner can represent himself or herself.

Michelle Flory, a six-year Prudential Gary Greene Realtor in The Woodlands, said she has been getting a lot of phone calls from people who have seen their appraisals go up by as much as 10 percent, which is the cap for evaluations in a year.

"The thing I can't believe is that they (appraisal district employees) just don't have a clue as to the real value," she said. "There's a lot of people that would say the values are not going up (in The Woodlands)."

Although she has seen home values increase, Flory said they surely have not gone up 10 percent in one year.

"It's unfortunate in some ways," she said. "It seems like the county is assessing homes with one arm behind their back because they just don't have the (market) information.

"I feel like they are doing it without proper information."

Woodlands resident Jo Ann Rizk, of West Bristol Oaks Circle, said it is people like her who are driving up the value of homes in the area.

"Every time you buy (a home), they re-evaluate," said Rizk, who moved into the Village of Alden Bridge with her family a year and a half ago. "You're served immediately with a tax hike when you buy.

"It's just going to continue to go up."

An analysis of eight homes on Rizk's taxing block, which includes Bristol Oaks Circle and Little Mill Place, showed that the average home appraisal has increased 29.5 percent and taxes have gone up 22 percent since 1996. The average home appraisal jumped from $140,428 to $181,883.

The total tax rate, which includes Montgomery County, CISD, MCHD, NHMCCD and Municipal Utility District 47 taxes, plus The Woodlands Associations fees, actually has dropped from $3.52 per $100 property valuation to $3.33 since 1996.

However, the average tax bill increased from $4,942 to $6,049 without factoring in exemptions.

Castleschouldt said the appraisal process begins with district staff actually measuring the house and identifying physical characteristics, such as the type of house and year it was built.

The staff then classifies the house with similar homes in the area. They collect sales data from Realtors, buyers and sellers. Next, they analyze sales and put the home in an evaluation schedule.

Flory said another reason for appraisal increases could be because of Perry's proposed legislation on capping appraisal hikes.

"My thought is that they are trying to take advantage of it this year," Flory said.

The appraisal cap would be lifted when property is sold, under Perry's plan. And the value of the property would return to full market value for the new owner.

New property on the tax rolls for the first time would not be subject to the cap until the following year.

Opponents claim that Perry's cap proposal would make taxation unfair.

One reason is that some homeowners in neighborhoods with sharply rising property values would have their appraisals capped at considerably less than market value, making less valuable houses pick up the slack or forcing taxing entities to raise the tax rate.

Thus, high-dollar homes with large increases in market values would realize the biggest dollar savings, while a greater increase in the tax burden would fall on residential properties that did not realize higher market values.

Perry's reform also calls for mandatory disclosure of sales price information when every home or business is sold. Currently, 35 other states have this as law for the purpose of closing the gap between the market and appraised values.

County Judge Alan B. Sadler said, unlike most city and county officials, he does back Perry's plan.

"You have to cut the rise of the government at the source," he said.

As for appraisal increases, Sadler said it is all about how you look at the numbers.

In 2003, the certified taxable value increased $1.599 billion, or 8.37 percent, from 2002.

That value was $20.705 billion in 2003 and $19.106 billion in 2002.

Of that 8.37 percent increase, Sadler said, only 1.48 percent was attributed to existing residential properties. That is $284 million, or 17.79 percent, of the entire increase in certified taxable value.

"The vast majority of this increase is attributed to new property, residential and commercial," he said. It makes up 58 percent of the total increase.

County commissioners also pointed to increased relief to seniors and the disabled through exemptions that they passed this year.

After this tax year, property owners who are 65 and over or disabled will benefit from frozen county taxes and an exemption increase from $25,000 to $35,000.

The city of Conroe also passed the freeze for seniors and the disabled.

Reader Opinions:

Name: Sue Harrison

Date: Oct, 04 2004

I can no longer sit quiet and hope that the County Judge and Commissioners will do the right thing and reduce their spending so that my tax rate will go down!

When I read this article I could not believe what "politians" the county judge and commissioners are!

Judge Sadler is against capping the appraisal increase from 10 to 3%!

Instead he says county government growth has to stop the rise of governement at the source!

Let's examine what he has done to stop the rise of government at the source since he is the leader of Montgomery County:

1. Visit downtown Conroe and observe the county buildings that Judge Saldler has lead the County to build! There is hardly enough room for the public sector to do business.

2. Check his parking garage that is for county employees only! If you, the taxpaying citizen, who are paying for the parking garage have business in downtown Conroe good luck finding a parking area! When I go to work in downtown Houston I have to pay to park, why can't county employees pay to park?

3. Judge Sadler just spent over $100,000.00 for a study to compare the salaries of Montgomery County to other counties and guess what? He presided over giving himself and county commissioners a big old raise!

4. It is well known that Judge Sadler sends congratulation letters to all county high school graduates on county letterhead and at county expense . . . is that cutting the rise of government at the source Judge?

5. County spending and tax revenues have sky rocketed during Judge Sadler's tenure but he says to cap the spending at the source! Is he planning on doing this anytime soon?

6. Now he is proudly building a new election cental office in downtown Conroe while the citizens cannot afford their homes because of his spending and taxing.

Judge Sadler talks the talk but does not walk the walk.

The county commissioners say that to continue to provide services they need to spend more of our tax dollars! Well as far as I'm concerned all I want is the county roads to be without pot holes and county traffic lights to be timed and all of them are doing a "horrible" job in this area! The services they speak of are just more government spending to get votes!

Montgomery County citizens it is time we say enough to Judge Sadler and the Commissioners!

[pineda]

Something else to consider if you want to protest your tax valuation of your home/property:

If you are successful in getting your home's appraised value lowered, and then decide to sell your home, anyone can pull up your home's value at www.hcad.org and see that the "current market value according to HCAD" has been changed. This means even though all the homes around you may be selling/listing at higher prices than yours, you can no longer justify the high price you're asking, and people will expect/demand a lower price to match the HCAD valuation.

[rps324]

haha at that kbhomesuck site. i wouldn't touch a production home with a ten foot pole. gimmie a bungalo in the heights...

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

Amen!

[hydepark]

Another worthwhile site is HomeOwners for Better Building.

This site lists complaints about specific builders; also the measures that some builders have taken to strip buyers of their legal rights. Buyer beware!

Homeowners for Better Building, HOBB.ORG, is a wealth of information for anyone looking to buy a home!

[hydepark]

Homeowners for Better Building, HOBB.ORG, is a wealth of information for anyone looking to buy a home!

I do not understand why more realators do not inform their clients about bad builders and the arbitration clause in all new home contracts.

I also do not understand why realators would list properties with know defects, especially mold that could have devestating effects on their clients health.

[hydepark]

I do not understand why more realators do not inform their clients about bad builders and the arbitration clause in all new home contracts.

I also do not understand why realators would list properties with know defects, especially mold that could have devestating effects on their clients health.

There is a wonderful and informative article in the Texas Monthly, this month on torte reform and the arbitration process. It is a must read...