The Appraisal District Board of Directors is in charge of managing and overseeing appeals that are made to the appraisal office. If you protest your property’s appraised amount, that appeal goes to this board of directors. They will review your case and see what can be done to either adjust the appraised value or to confirm that the appraised value is accurate. There are many myths and misconceptions when it comes to property taxes and appeals at the Texas appraisal districts in terms of their role and tax protesting experience.
Common Myths When Dealing with the Board of Directors
“I protested the proposed taxes on my property last year and won, so should I protest them again this year if they increased the value again?”
Yes, in order to avoid paying too much in taxes, your property taxes should be appealed each year. The appeal is only good for the year you filed it in- so even if you got the reduction last year, it has no bearing on this year’s proposed taxes.
“Will the actual value of the property decrease if the proposed property taxes are protested?”
No, the market value of your home or property and the assessed value are independent and one does not directly impact the other in most cases.
“It is not worth the time and effort to appeal the proposed taxes with the fort bend county appraisal district if their assessed value of the property or lower than the market value.”
This is not always the case! You are taxed on the assessed value that is shown on the proposed tax notice. If you protest the proposed amount and get it lowered even further, you could still end up paying less in taxes.
“Protesting my assessed value of my home or property will lower how big of a loan I can qualify for.”
Not true at all since in most cases, bank loans are typically determined based off the market value and not the appraised value, and your own personal credit score will often count for more than even the value of your property.
“I do not have the time to attend the meeting to protest the proposed taxes, so I am stuck paying them and cannot appeal.”
That is not true because there are many Property Tax Companies in Houston that will help you through the process. They will file the appeal on your behalf and some will even attend the meetings and represent you before the Appraisal District Board of Directors.
“The Appraisal District Board of Directors at the fort bend county tax appraisal district does not want to grant anyone lower taxes and it is very hard to win a case so it is often easier and better to just pay the taxes and not file an appeal.”
It can be challenging to win a case, but if you have a skilled representative on your side and you have gathered evidence for your case, you do stand a good chance of winning the appeal. The boards of directors are not bullies; they simply operate to make sure people are taxed fairly and according to the regulations set forth. It is always worth a try to see if you can get lower taxes for the year.
Contact O’Connor today if you have any question regarding the role of the Appraisal District Board of Directors.
If you would like to find out if your property is over-assessed, visit the Free Fairness Checker. You only need to enter your property address and you will find out if you are being taxed fairly or not. If you aren’t happy with the results, go ahead and file an appeal yourself or sign-up online so we can protest your property taxes for you.
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