Who would take a job working for these pricks? Especially the person that is in charge of looking for, and reporting "improvements". I barely have forms set for a shop addition and this c*nt is already scouting from the county road. Do they have random citizens they pay finder's fees for tattle tailing? Theft at best.

I thought most of that was done via satellite. Doesn't surprise me that they would waste their time like that.

They use flyovers that take pictures. I briefly worked for one. And if you only knew how shady it is times it by 10. And yes they do sit in the office comparing pictures and they do drive by and take pictures at least every 3 years.

I know a guy that works for the local CAD. He was sitting in his truck last year talking pictures of my neighbors property and then my other neighbor next to him for 30 minutes. So…… they do get out and look around. Same guy wanted my son’s gate code 8 years ago when he built a new home. He didn’t give it to him either.

We bought our place and immediately got a letter from the CAD saying that they had come out, but our gate was locked! Imagine that. I emailed them back and told them that any time they wanted to look at the place to just call me. 'Didn't hear poop. I asked in person about it the next year and the Chief Appraiser sternly replied that they'd be coming out and that they have to reevaluate every place every 3 years. That was about 4 years ago and she's no longer there. I recently sat with her replacement, informally protesting/negotiating the taxes, and she looked at my Wildlife Val. report and said I was doing everything fine. There was no mention of coming out. They give a discount for paying in October, but, supposedly, didn't get the tax statements to the printer in time this year and I didn't receive it until November. They said there was nothing they could do. I bet they heard plenty of complaints on that one.

Did you have to pull any kind of permit? Septic, electrical, building? That’s generally how they figure it out.

Ours uses drones…..

Yep. Drones here too.

Complaining about someone actually doing their job?

I figured you would be the one the stick up for them. Big govt…..big insurance….such grand ideas.
Still doesn’t answer the question as to who would sign up for that job.

No….in the county and not required.

Yep I agree, I figured he would sticking up for them as well. AD have no transparency, spend, spend, spend...they will just raise taxes to cover the delta. If I worked for them I would probably get fired for speaking my opinion.

My daughter has been with TAD for 8 years now setting up protest appointments. Very stressful job. I worry about some nut job wreaking havoc at her building. She complains about the taxes on her own house too!

I’m glad I was here when the guy came out a few weeks ago. They had seen my deer blinds from the drone and weren’t sure if they were taxable structures. I drove him around on my Ranger and he marked them as hunting blinds on his report so they wouldn’t be taxed.

They picked up my chicken coop from satellite. Added $1,200. I wonder why they exempt deer blinds but tax chicken coops?

I don’t know. When he said they don’t do it I sure wasn’t going to bring it up again.

I just inherited some property w 2 old run down barns on it and they value the barns over 80k

Im just gonna bulldoze them rather than fight the idiots

I guess somes of you would rather pay a state income tax. Not I.

No, a state sales tax. Leave income and property alone!

Whatever it is, so be it. See the obstacles, impediments and pitfalls in life and figure out how to overcome them.

Yep. Make the hood rats pay through sales tax because they will never own a speck of dirt in their entire lives.

Everyone will have skin in the game.

Any govt should not have the ability to confiscate something that is already paid for. Especially when that something is your place of residence, and usually the highest priced, single thing you have in your name.

Sounds like the most fair way to me. Don’t penalize me because I did what I was supposed to and got a career and bought a house while these other people, not in all cases but in most, made bad life decisions and will never own a house or property so they get a free pass on paying taxes for all the services they use on a daily basis.

True story.

I believe the best way is a consumption tax and do away w property taxes

Agree 100%

Then abolish the IRS….

It is a bunch of Karens working their dream job.

There's no way my conscience would let me do that job effectively.

Most people form wrong one sided opinions about the appraisal district and their staff based one one thing, they are upset and don’t want to pay taxes.

From responses above I’m not convinced all the stupid pricks work at the appraisal district. It always funny how little so many of you know about how it works.

I guess you’re just way too condescending to enlighten us? Or you may be too busy turning in your neighbors for pouring a sidewalk?
I might add, what do or did you do for a living?

Don't deliver truth bombs with a 2X4 on this forum. Some are too "delicate" to take them.

I purchased my 1st commercial property in 1998. Almost every year, the appraisal went up and for that, I felt fortunate. I don't want to live in an area where property values erode. Others often told me to protest them and especially after I began to accumulate multiple properties. Even though in a rising value environment, the values listed were less than what I would sell them for and thus, I wasn't going to dispute them - that wouldn't be ethical and Daddy taught me not to lie, cheat or steal. A couple of years ago, I negotiated my largest purchase with a hard driver not known for selling bargains and then the very next appraisal came in at 15% above what I paid him three months prior. The gloves came off, I hired a service and my commercial properties now are all valued at what I am pretty sure are lower (much lower) than what I can get but, it was the appraisal district's call.

Understand the system - if local taxes are to be paid via a property tax system, don't get on the people at the appraisal district for actually doing their jobs.

We ran a family business for 69 years, 120-150 employees. Plenty of interaction with all kinds of taxing entities. Be cordial, professional, legal and ethical, but do NOT coddle the tax man. Nobody made them take that job. 'Not a dam thing wrong with working to not pay more to the government than you absolutely have to.

Yeppers

Just think of all the money you could recoup from drug dealers and the cartel if you had a sales tax. They don't pay a dime of tax now. All the expensive stuff they buy with cash now would get taxed.

Being in the fire service, property taxes are a tough one for me to address because that is where we get our funding from. Property taxes do not go to the state. They go to your local taxing entities. In my county, the local school district is the biggest recipient of property tax. The county gets the next biggest cut, and the ESD (emergency services district which is the fire departments) get the least.

The school gets 2.5 times what the county gets, and they get 15 times what the fire departments get. For every $1.21 the school gets in taxes, the fire departments get $0.10. That is pretty sad.

I know where my property taxes go so I am not opposed to them, however, I am opposed to the way they are collected and the constant increase year after year. The appraisers can make up whatever number they want for property value. Many of them just go off Zillow or other real estate listings. Basing it off of market value is not a fair way do do it. If we are being honest, the market value of my property is $0 because it is not for sale.

A flat rate per square foot on buildings and a flat rate per acre would be the better way to do it instead of just making up numbers. For services provided, it cost the fire department the same to serve a 1500 sq ft dumpy trailer as it does a 1500 sq ft brand new brick home.

I don't mind paying my taxes especially for rural fire departments and law enforcement, some of the fire departments I see asking for donations, which is sad they lack funding, you only need them when you need them, then they are worth whatever taxes you have to pay. When you see public servants off for a "conference" at five-star resorts (Not talking about the workers now, usually just admin folks), it makes you question the distribution of tax monies. The money would probably be better spent in some courtesy and manners training for the appraisal employees, because customer service is not their strong suit.

We have talked about real estate taxes before it’s nothing new, nobody is gonna change anyone’s mind. I am a real estate appraiser and have been for over 15 years, not for the county, but I have done appraisals for and against them, also done work for the state feds municipalities local utility districts, banks, estates and individuals. I use to do a lot of eminent domain work, comical that as the property owners are fighting you tooth and nail that their property is worth so much and at the same time they are fighting the appraisal district that it isn’t worth a plug nickel. Haha. There is a joke in the appraisal field if everyone is mad at you you’re probably right. I may be biased but my dad worked for the local appraisal district for 42 years he’s a good man always has been always will be nothing dishonest about him. You can debate whether property taxes are the best way all you want I don’t know may be a better way and we might change but for right now this is how we do it. All the appraisal district does is estimate value, tax rates and collection of taxes is different people. I can say for a majority of the bank jobs that I do the appraisal district is significantly lower than what the properties are being bought and sold for. I don’t appraise many residences though but the car seems to be able to stay a lot closer to those with better sales info.

Easily the largest part of your tax bill is the school tax. People need to quit blindly supporting school bonds, quit building schools that are some architect and engineers wildest dream, and start holding developers financially responsible for the increased demand on all public utilities that they create and profit from.

It’s really difficult to provide customer service to people who hate you before you open your mouth because of something that is ‘t even their fault.

I’m also not saying don’t protest your taxes, I have do and will. But I don’t walk out calling them a bunch of dumb sob’s when they won’t value my home at $5 either.

I currently live in an appraisal district that has my home valued at a value I do not believe it would ever bring if sold, maybe I'm wrong and sitting on a real gold mine here. I had a nice roof put on my back porch and a nice in-ground pool built, the lady from the appraisal district was knocking at my front door 8am the day after the project was completed, standing there with her tape measure...I'd didn't even know county employees worked before 9am, a city employee told me these folks are there every week pulling permits, sorry for my opinion of them, but they act like vultures on a clean kill...

I don’t know anything about your home.

I built a shop last year they picked it up off aerial photos they don’t come out, they valued it at 1/3 what I paid to have it built and I wired it all myself.

Pull sales if it’s not worth what they have it at then protest it. If it’s hard to find data to protest it with chances are it’s not over values. Sold my first home for more than double what we paid for it. Even as an appraiser I was skeptical but my broker had sales to back it up and it sold. Also how far off value do you think they are? It takes a significant. Laud reduction to move the needle on your tax bill.

I used to have to deal with the CAD there fairly often. Sometimes things could be removed/added with just a phone call. Other times I'd have to raise all kinds of racket to get things lowered. Ladies in the office were nice...except the lady that was the temporary accessor. She was a pill. Hopefully for your sake she's retired/been fired by now.

I’ll be honest here…

I just don’t want to pay any property taxes

We’ve sent enough to Ukraine to cover mine for life…

Your property taxes don't go to the feds, or even the state. They stay right in your county

Did you not understand what I was saying or did you just want to make that statement?

I am not sure what part of your property taxes were sent to Ukraine.

Don't get me wrong, I am not a fan of taxes either but your property taxes do not leave your county.

I am paying Property taxes Friday afternoon.

I feel like I should pay taxes on what I paid for it, that’s what they know it’s worth. When I sell it then it’s worth that. If they want me to pay something different they should have a check to pay me, if not go pound sand.

Paid mine on Friday also.

I think many of us understand the need for taxes to pay for schools, roads and various services. I would also like to see taxes moved to a consumption/sales tax. The more you want....the more you pay. That way everyone shares the tax burden for the services we all receive.

The biggest heartburn I have is being taxed on an unrealized gain. Most of us purchase a home that falls within our budget. Mortgage, taxes, upkeep, etc. Your salary may not keep pace with the increase in your property tax.

For example. Guy A purchases a house for $200K. They did so because they know they can afford the mortgage and taxes for a $200K home. Just because that house or similar houses are selling for $300K a few years later doesn't mean that Guy A should now pay taxes for $300K. Guy A's income may not have went up a single dime, but he is now going to have to pay tax on the unrealized gain. I don't think it's right that Guy A or others on a fixed income can be taxed out of their home because they can no longer afford the higher property tax bill.

If you buy a house for $200K...you should only be required to pay a $200K tax bill for the entire time you own that house. If the house is sold 5 years later and is now valued at $300K, the new buyer will be responsible for taxes at a set rate of $300K. That way, the new buyer only purchases a house they know they can afford.

They're mostly all nepotism appointments here locally.

I dispute 20-30 properties a year for my family, past clients, and self. Pretty sure they have a picture of my face somewhere with some darts in it. If you don't fight their increases, they'll stick it to you every chance they get.

So if someone has a bunch of obnoxious dogs that bark all the time will that lower the property values and taxes for the other nearby property owners? Asking for a friend.

One would think with 24k new houses on the books for Wise county that taxes would actually go down. Not happening. Plus they will claim they HAVE to have a school bond to build a new school. Where does the influx of revenue go? Most of it still goes to the ISD. It isn't like the county/city is building new roads.
I am all for JimTX's idea.....or get rid of it all together. And yes, I think it is perfectly reasonable to not want to pay taxes.

Feel like only property owners paying property taxes is a big misconception, yes the property owner winds up writing a check, but that check comes from the rent paid.

Still not saying property taxes are the best way, but they are what we have now. If the guy with 200k home and fixed income was using his head he would know that property taxes have been around for longer here than most of us he should have planned ahead. My guess is the same person would be complaining about other taxes when he had to pay 15% sales tax on a $4-5 a pound brisket that use to be $0.70 a pound. I think I would pay more in taxes on a consumption tax.

Lol why would they go down? Now the city county and school has serve utilities and schools and maintain roads etc to 75k more people plus the business etc. that will come. The developer from those 24k homes and the old rancher that sold the land are walking away with pockets full of money and the city/municipality etc is paying the bill.

Old ranchers hardly making a killing on land, half the time it's their dipshit kids selling off their life's work and dreams for pennies on the dollar so they can go on vacation to Europe for a week.

Developers are the scum of the earth, down there with used car salesmen and 99% of realtors and lawyers.

Mine have never saw a school bond that they could not pass up. They have big signs they put up all over town urging voters to vote for new bond issue(seems like every 2yrs)......its for the chirren after all.

All that money and teachers still have to buy their own class supplies....too much waste in the bureaucracy IMHO.

LOL is math hard for you? I know you and your family make money because of big govt, while most here make money in spite of big govt, but jeez.
You can't girl math the fact that the added income to the county/city will be over $168 million on 24k homes on a $7k average. Just because there is more ppl on the roads doesn't mean they are building more. The schools will still NEED a bond to do anything...not to mention many of the "urban exodus" folk are retirement age....so no children in school. The builder/developers have to put in the utilities before they subdivide...
You're still putting lipstick on a pig....just paying more for it. In other words, outside of the county filling some pot holes, there isn't much I see benefitting me or my neighbors.

Resorting to name calling, so are you out of factual info? I don’t make money from big govt. I make money for people who need my service. Several of the last jobs I did were ranches for grandparents retiring and getting out of the rat race for a place to enjoy with their kids and grand kids. But sounds like you already know everything about me and can cure the worlds problems so long as you don’t pay taxes so get after it.

I'd be happy to. Then I only have to pay tax no what I actually make. My property tax went up 57% from 2021 - 2024 (and yes that is challenging it - TWICE!!)

I didn't name call. Don't be offended. I listed factual info in my last post. Keeping up is hard I guess.

It takes a lot to offend me. Girl math ain’t gonna do it. You listed bs.

I do but "they" keep changing the rules of the game.

[quote=JimTX]

The biggest heartburn I have is being taxed on an unrealized gain. Most of us purchase a home that falls within our budget. Mortgage, taxes, upkeep, etc. Your salary may not keep pace with the increase in your property tax. "


Totally agree. This is also why the retired fixed income property owners are in a bind. It would be nice if the property appraisals were frozen along with the tax rates at age 65.
I've posted before on here - the state comptroller is half the problem in this property tax scam. For that I blame Abbott. The protest / appeal system is slanted against the property owner who must gamble with more $ to get past your local jerks.

In your experience, How were portable structures viewed by the local appraisal district?

Depending on your area, it may have increased, but at this point there is no reason for it to be higher. The market in the second half of 2024 stunk up the place. I simply ask them to provide me with the comparable properties that have sold and then I make fun of their appraisers for an hour on Skype while I educate them on how to deduct for the differences and why they can't compare my property to one that had twice as much square footage just because it was across the street.

I speak to them with respect, but I do let them know that they are in no shape or form educated on the market when they don't even know how to do comps.

The last time I protested here at home in Kendall County, their "evidence" was what they were trying to raise other places around me to and calling those "comps." Not what they were actually valued at, or what they've actually recently sold for, just what the CAD was wishing for. That's smoke-and-mirrors flim-flam and unethical as hell. They were just seeing who they could buffalo. They're not all angels.

Exactly, we file an intent to protest every year just to see their "comp's". It's insane. They will send us properties at least 10 miles away from ours, always significantly more sq footage, usually larger parcels of land, and more out buildings. Then they'll "adjust" to arrive at a value. All that when in my neighborhood there are multiple properties extremely similar to mine that would require little to no "adjustment" to make it truly comparable. It's all so they can scam me because I I have formally protested and they cannot explain to me in any understandable way how they "adjust" to arrive at a value. That little aspect alone goes against the tax code as it is written. Everything they do must be able to be explained to me in clear "understandable" verbiage, and they can't do that. So right there, they are not following the intent of the tax code as written.

It's all a means of legal theft from the citizens and I, for one, will not do anything that aids a thief in stealing from me.

Yep. Happens all the time.

I feel bad for the older folks that aren't savvy and just want to pay their fair share. They think they're doing right, but the city just robs them blind.

I get almost zero in return is my issue. No water, no fire department, county roads are so bad I fix them myself and the SO is so understaffed they wouldn’t be much help if I needed them. I have no idea what they spend the taxes on but it’s sure not basic services.

I am several counties away from you and in the exact same situation.

Count me in too and I'm several counties away from the both of ya

All CAD’s are frauds and crooks. They hire realtors and appraisers, then use their MLS access to access the sold values. Texas is a non disclosure state, meaning YOU DO NOT HAVE TO DISCLOSE THE PRICE YOU PAID FOR THE REAL ESTATE YOU BOUGHT.

Where’s the “appraisal” if they just look at sales prices on MLS? It’s the CAD’s job to go around looking at properties and comparing it to other properties to determine value, not to get on MLS and look at the sold price.

Hell, if you live in McClennan County I feel bad for y’all. That’s the worst CAD I’ve ever dealt with. They still think I own property there and sent me a notice that I haven’t paid taxes and will be facing legal remedies for them to get paid. I’ve told them and sent them proof that I sold the property in Sept of 23. The poor owner is going to lose her house. They are so inept down there it’s not even funny.

They don't even do that 90% of the time.

The MLS gives them access to the information and they can look it up on their own. The issue is that they have no clue what to do and take the laziest route possible. They'll compare a property with highway frontage to one 10 miles in, they'll pull sales data from 4 years ago, etc. I had one lady have a melt down during our conference call because I asked why they were letting their interns do comps and it turned out it was one of the people in the meeting that had been sitting quietly.

"I've been working for the CAD for 5 years!" Yeah? And how much experience do you have with the market as far as sales? Are you a licensed appraiser in the State of Texas? Where did you get the data? Why did you use this particular comp that was purchased 2 years ago cash and then seized by the government when the buyer was indicted for drug trafficking? What about depreciation on the construction materials? Do you know how much that costs? What's the cost to replace my roof per square? Why has this other house sat on the market for 15 months at that same price?

Like I said, I treat them with respect, but I refuse to let them railroad me over a Zestimate.

I have had good dealings with the Henderson County CAD appraisers for the seven years I've lived here. They backed way down twice when I came in with solid information and showed them they were wrong. Now, I don't fight it because my taxes were frozen at a low amount when I hit 65.

I like it when the appraisal climbs because that is such a powerful property tax reduction tool for me to use if I decide to move. Remember that you take the PERCENTAGE reduction with you. I am currently paying around 28% of the "unfrozen" tax amount and I can foresee that dropping to 15% or 20% in the future. That means I will only pay 15% or 20% of the normal property tax bill on another home. If I decide to scale down, I could end up with a "chump change" annual property tax bill. Conversely, I could upgrade and not have the taxes kill me.

Remember that all Texas counties must freeze the school portion. But it is up to the individual county if they want to freeze more or all of the bill. I chose my county carefully with that in mind.

If I sell my current home that has a Homestead Exemption, can I apply for it on my new home? In the same year?

I believe it will be prorated and still applied to both homes.

We bought this home in 21 and man has our taxes and exemptions been screwed up. It took 3 years for them to get it right, what a mess. But now things are good and the checks have been cut to make it right.

It's funny how the appraisal district values our home at 700K, a buyer values it at 250K and the bill of sale was 400K.

Edit: It’s actually not funny.

Yes. Once you purchase the new home, you will need to change your address on your DL and fill out the form to take to the CAD.

In order to get credit, you will need to apply before the cutoff (varies by county) and it has to be for I believe at least 60% of the year. (I.E. you can't apply for it in September, etc.) Usually, your home will have the HS exemption from the previous owners, so the tax bill won't go up. If it's new construction, the prior year is usually taxed at the land value, since the home wasn't built yet.

Your mileage may vary depending on the scenario, of course.

They're the same people who want to be an HOA nazi.

That’s not correct. When you purchase an existing home, even if it has HS exemption in place, this is the opportunity for the CAD to make a large adjustment, then your HS exemption will kick in from that point forward.

My house is in HS, because of that its taxable amount is $575,000 vs its appraised amount of $830,000. If I sold tomorrow, and the new owner put in place a new HS exemption, it would be based upon the new appraised value, which will be much higher than $575,000. And you can apply for HS anytime once you have updated your DL, the old rules of having to wait until January were removed a few years ago, it just won’t go into effect until a certain date, this was to protect homeowners who forget to file for the exemption a year later.

Funny not funny thing about homestead exemptions;

My FIL passed on 2021, leaving my MIL to downsize considerably as the land could not be taken care of properly. I had moved her money around to where it is doing very well, and it made sense to finance the new house she was buying. This was when interest rates were sub 3%. There was no penalty here due to the stepped up basis....in essence, the older property's equity was tax free to her.
However, in order to finance she needed a co-signer as she had not worked in some time. My wife went ahead and co-signed and is listed as 50% owner on the deed. Since my wife is also listed on our homestead property, my MIL could only homestead 50% of the new property. Lessen learned...although I don't think it is right.

We bought here in 2015, gated, controlled entry city (Yes, it is), POA even owns the streets here, got a letter warning about one trashcan being visible from the street about the fourth day we were here...I never did receive a welcome letter.

The appraisal system is broken. Want to know why look at values for similar houses in your neighborhood. When i do that in my neighborhood i can pick out the owners who have sucessfully protested and won versus the ones that dont protest. Ideally it should be based on what you paid or the house with increases based on an inflation factor or maybe per SF plus add ons like shops.

So what was incorrect about what I said?

CAD is not going to adjust your property taxes until they do the yearly appraisal, which is for the following tax year, when your new HS exemption would now exist. No one said anything about the property staying at the same value if it sold for more.