Typical appeal
Most tax appeals have a reasonable to good resolution. Between the informal hearing and the appraisal review board, there are two opportunities for reasonable people to review evidence.
Atypical Case
George is a friend who purchased a house for $350,000. The house was a little different. The house was marketed for 2 years (this occurred 5 years ago). The house had been listed for $500,000, but there were no takers at that price. The price was gradually lowered to $350,000.
The sale occurred early in the year of the appeal deadline. An appeal was filed. The informal appraiser “did not understand” how a house listed at $500,000 could sell at $350,000. The appraisal review board also got stuck on the disparity between the initial list price and the sales price. So after the informal and appraisal review hearings, the house was valued at $485,000, just a token reduction.
People and System Freeze
Periodically, appraisers and appraisal review boards are discombobulated by large requests for reduction that seem reasonable, but they don’t quire understand. The fallback in these cases is to suspend analysis and revert to the noticed value or close to it.
What Can You Do?
Simply give a short presentation to the next Appraisal District Board of Directors. Most board of directors meet monthly. Call the appraisal district for the dates. Be polite, clear and respectful of everyone involved. The appraisal district staff will usually come see you immediately after your short presentation (usually limited to 3 minutes). You can then work with an experienced appraiser who is not afraid of exercising judgment. This almost always works, for legitimate errors that can’t be remedied through the normal channels.
Questions?
Call us at 713 290 9700 or visit us online(www.poconnor.com ) if you have questions. Even if you are not a client, we will help you if we can. We are a service business
Comments