Home address: 1203 E 23Rd St
2021 Tax Assessment: $578,353
Recent Sales Price: $318,000 – Over-taxed by 82%
Property tax assessments not carefully reviewed lead to paying more than your share of property taxes. Either comparable sales or condition issues at your home are useful for a market value appeal of property taxes. Unequal appraisal appeals compare the level of assessment of your house to comparable houses, typically on a per square foot basis. It is difficult to persuade property owners to protest their property taxes. But 60 to 80% of those who do are successful.
Some property owners do not appeal due to a concern the appraisal district will want to inspect their house. However, the appraisal district is MUCH too busy during the appeal season to even think about asking to inspect a property. Assessors do not visit houses because of appeals. One reason it is difficult for appraisal districts to correctly value homes is they are not homogenous. Some have been remodeled and some haven’t. Tax protests are resolved at the informal hearing since the result is within a “reasonable range of value”. Appraisal is not an exact science and valuations are only an educated opinion of value, not a fact. Property owners have a duty and responsibility to appraisal property taxes annually. It is not prudent or reasonable to rely on the appraisal district’s estimate.
