Home address: 1208 W Lone Star Ave

2021 Taxable Value: $135,611

Recent Sales Price: $103,500 – Over-taxed by 31%

Most homeowners who do not appeal annually pay excess property taxes. Protest market value, get a few comparable sales as evidence and you are very likely to reduce your property taxes. Unequal appraisal is a powerful tool to reduce property taxes, but many homeowners are not aware of it and don’t use it. Appraisal districts are generally very receptive to settling tax appeals at the informal hearing. 

Some homeowners believe “you can’t fight city hall.”  But property owners win 60 to 80% of property tax appeals. Appraisal districts use mass appraisal to value property, basically a math model.  Overall results are OK.  However, many homes are too high or low. 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.