Spent $30,000 on my shop they increased my value about $12,000.

On homesteaded property the tax liability is limited to a 10% increase per year the market value is whatever they determine it to be.

That’s exactly my problem. So I’m sitting on my hands too.

I have a home, 2 rent houses and rural acreage. I got the WTF valuation on the rural property that went out of sight. Lucky I have a wildlife exemption there. Still waiting on the other 3. On the rent houses, there is no homestead exemption. Those usually hurt. And, renters can afford only so much. No way to raise the rent to cover the extra expenses.

Yup. I have a friend that’s having to sell 2 rentals because they raised his taxes almost $100k. That put his monthly tax bill at almost $900 per house and they are valued around $300k in the current market. He hired a company and contested and the county told him no. He couldn’t pass the added expense onto the renters per the lease agreement, and he’s now in the red every month on each property. So he’s forced to sell. It’s going to be a tough sell when buyers see what the taxes are.

My homeowners insurance recently doubled. Luckily my agent called me, after I ignored all his emails.
Switched, saved a little money. But still something to watch every year as well.

I bought 10 acres in Kaufman County a few decades ago. Property line was in the middle of the road. Went to put it in ag to raise hay. They turned me down and moved the property line 15 feet reducing the acreage. Minimum for ag is 10 acres. It's not a new thing, this money grubbing.

Went though something similar with a client looking to buy a house. It sat on 12.5 acres with 2.2 acres being a shared driveway with 5 other people but the property for sale owned that land. Asked the county about this to make 100% sure they would stay ag exempt and he said no because that road was its own parcel and was actually 3.3 acres making the parcel with the house 9.2 acres. In the deed restrictions it stated that no animals could be ran on that 3.3 acre parcel.

Got to be damn careful

Honeybees can give you an ag exemption with as little as 5 acres.

The 10% cap only applies to the value of the property and past improvements. If you build or add on that value will be added to the appraisal without regard to the 10% cap. Example, you have a lot with a $50,000 house, and you completely remodel and add o to the house spending $200,000. The next appraisal will reflect that increased value. If you spend $200,000 and act as your own contractor and do a lot of the work, that value can be substantially more.

That's a new thing. Thirty years ago it didn't apply. And I'm not sure but I was told that each county can set acreage limits. I sold the property a few years ago so now it doesn't matter to me. But as Wade illustrated they stay up late figuring out ways to get in your pocket.

Long story short, we bought our house in August and received our property tax notice in April the next year. It was below what we paid for the house. Next year, we received the new property tax notice and the value from the year prior was way higher than what we paid for it, and also what the previous year’s value was. I called and asked why the previous year’s value wouldn’t have been (or at least somewhere in the ballpark of) what we paid for it, since that seems like a good fair market value. And I also asked why that year’s notice was showing the previous year’s way above what I received.

The answer was, they sent an updated one (like yours) after they sent the original. I was outraged. They actually offered me a decrease from the previous year, but it was still higher than the first one they sent the first year (and we never received the second one they allegedly sent the first year and I didn’t press them on it). No explanation, and I’m still pissed about it.

Property tax reform should be the most pressing issue in the state. I don’t have the answer, but the way it’s conducted currently is ridiculous, unfair, and broken.

What's the next logical step after "Tax Assessor"? Mayor? 'Don't think many make that leap, but the ego seems to be there. I've never understood why anyone would want that position. Oh, there's power, but always for a short time.

+1

OConner charges half of what they save you after you have talked to the woman behind the glass. They go talk to the big boys.

Highway robbery.

There might be a winning fight in this. If you bought the property with a legal description describing the property going to the centerline of the road then you own to the centerline in 'fee'. Even if it is being used by the public. If there hasn't ever been a dedication or conveyance of that strip of roadway then you still own it. Sometimes that works in your benefit and sometimes it doesn't. In your case it would benefit you to have the added acreage for the minimum requirement of the exemption. For others, they are paying on unusable property. A good land surveyor, when a property is being sold or bought, will identify the net and gross acreage of the property in regards to adjacent roadways.

If you are interested in digging deeper into the legal aspects of this I suggest you read 'Decisions' (2nd Edition) by Ken Gold. Look at Chapter 9-Traveled Ways. It goes into detail about roadways and your rights regarding them in Texas.

Should be easy then...submit the appraisal and they will likely lower the value to that number, or hire someone to do it.

You can explain it to him but you can't understand it for him That was a pretty crap appraisal as I saw it and we pretty much argreed on where it should have gone granted it worked. County appraiser people do not think logically. No offense to underwriters but tax people are 50x worse when it comes to these issues.