Home address: 5533 Blagg Rd

2021 Taxable Value: $379,540 

Recent Sales Price: $295,000 – Over-taxed by 29%

Half or more of Texas homeowners are paying more than their fair share of property taxes. Appraisal districts are flexible on market value appeals given the large number of houses they value and that are protested. Property owners can appeal both market value and unequal appraisal. Appraisal districts are generally very receptive to settling tax appeals at the informal hearing. 

Property owners are sometimes reluctant to protest their property taxes because the believe the appeal process is difficult. It is not difficult and 60 to 80% of owners who appeal are successful. 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. Protesting your property taxes annually is analogous to regularly changing the oil in your car.  Preventative maintenance avoids serious problems.