Home address: 4800 Bayberry St

2021 Taxable Value: $602,262

Recent Sales Price: $482,000 – Overtaxed by 25%

Texas property owners can avoid paying excess property taxes by taking several basic steps. One option to reduce your property taxes is to protest the market value. Unequal appraisal appeals are valid when the assessment is below market value. Winning a property tax protest is easy. Getting property owners to appeal is hard.  Only 10% of Texan homeowners appeal their property taxes. 

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. It is impossible for 2,272 Texas appraisal district appraisers to track physical condition and value for over 20 million properties. Most tax protests are settled at the informal level so appraisers can return to measuring and valuing new construction. Property owners have a duty and responsibility to appraise property taxes annually.  It is not prudent or reasonable to rely on the appraisal district’s estimate.