Collin County Homeowners Question Appraisal Rates

Some Collin County homeowners said they are questioning their homes' appraisal notices in light of the national housing downturn.

[TmE]

All that needs to be done is file a protest. If you show prices that homes have sold in the neighborhood that average below the appraisal they should reduce the appraisal.

[OHagan 200]

Have you filed before? Are they dicks about it or are they pretty reasonable? There's no way my home is worth what they're claiming.

[KA Stevens - Lville]

OHagan - No they are pretty good. Especially if there are any repairs needed around the property - take pictures and get 3 or 4 comps of recently sold homes in your area from a Realtor (just call one in a local office - or yours if you still know them)

The Devil is in the details though - if you have work needing to be done (roof, concrete, siding, floors, walls, tile, etc - list it all and get a ball park estimate for the work and have all of that with you.

I have been in twice - wanting to keep the current appraisal and both times we actually got it lowered - once it was substantially lowered.

Good Luck.

[McKinneyHomeowne r]

My 2 year old townhouse was appraised $4,000 more than it was worth last year. But with the housing crisis the way that it is the 5 houses in the neighborhood that were for sale last year did not even sell at the 2007 appraised values. People were practically trying to give them away and with this hyke in appraised value it is only going to get harder. I am going to try to ride it out and sell as soon as the market levels off.

[Kelly Lennon]

I cannot agree more; that there is a real and obvious problem with the manner inwhich property values are calculated here in Collin County. According to my appraisal notice from this week, my home has increased in taxable value by over 23% in 5 years. We all know that there is no possible way that this home is actually increasing in value at that rate. My taxable value increased for 2007 by 15,000.00 in one year, BUT for 2008 the value decreased by 7500.00. No one at the Appraisers office seems at all interested in our concerns, and we are forced to pay (my home's taxes are close to 9000.00 for 2008 alone) or get sued. This makes me very sad, and I am quite certain that taxes are a strong DETERANT and barrier to home ownership. Makes me want to either move to another state or just rent. This is not the American way!!

[No Tax w_o the Facts]

By law, the county should be compeled to provide the underlying study and calculations that went in to figuring the 2008 appraised value. The value of my two acres, according to CCAD, increased by 43% from 2007 to 2008. Go figure.

[DougV]

I too have protested with the Collin tax office. The home across the street (same floor plan and lot size) sold for more then $40,000 less then the evaluation of my house.

[Katy]

My husband has protested our appraisals every year since we moved in and has gotten it lower every year. The other poster is correct, though - you need the paperwork to back it up. We live in a newer community, and my husband finds the values that homes in our floor plan sold for in the last year, and if that's not available, then he finds similiar square footage/floorplans in surrounding neighborhoods to compare it to. You do have to take the time to go there, argue your case, but if you're prepared, they have been reasonable every time! Good luck!

[Brown Sugar]

Katy wrote:

My husband has protested our appraisals every year since we moved in and has gotten it lower every year. The other poster is correct, though - you need the paperwork to back it up. We live in a newer community, and my husband finds the values that homes in our floor plan sold for in the last year, and if that's not available, then he finds similiar square footage/floorplans in surrounding neighborhoods to compare it to. You do have to take the time to go there, argue your case, but if you're prepared, they have been reasonable every time! Good luck!

Law abiding taxpayers should not be required to do this much foot work. The appraisal district should get it right first time around. My appraisal increased by nearly $12k. Been thru this so many times in every district where I had property. This is the absolutely the worst, most unfair, tax on the books anywhere in the U.S.

[EricDallas]

You know school taxes on my 100k house in Texas is almost $4,ooo. My dads house in maryland is appraised at $385,ooo and is only $800 No exemptions. My friends house in Georgia is $600 for all the taxes, on a $75,000 appraisal with no exemptions.

You can file a protest if you think you are being screwed , but we should be looking at the wasting our schools are doing. Our kids certainly are not benefiting.

[Bud]

What is the sense to fighting it, all you are going to do is to draw attention to your home and they are going to nail you every chance they get. I noticed the increase on my taxes, but I just feel I will set myself up to all of their crap if I appeal it.

[OHagan 200]

Hey Eric, ask your dad what his state income tax is.

[JCG]

Did you get it lowered when the comp house sold for $40K less?

[Amy G]

Is there a website that will give you actual sales price records for homes? I can find all the appraisal information for homes, but not actual sales prices.
Any help is appreciated.

[DivaSoul]

Amy:
Go to Zillow.com to find out actual sales prices for homes. How do I find the appraisal info for homes? Thx!

[Sean]

DivaSoul wrote:

Amy:
Go to Zillow.com to find out actual sales prices for homes. How do I find the appraisal info for homes? Thx!

Go to collincad.org

[Margarita]

How can I find homes that have sold in my area?

[Margarita]

Not, Lubbock tx.... Nevada Tx

[Garry]

Zillow is notoriously inaccurate - it really makes a wild guess. I used to work for a Real Estate Company (in their IT department) and we used to boggle at the wierd numbers Zillow put out.

The previous statement of getting comps from a realtor for your home is an excellent idea and will bolster your case a lot better than numbers from a site like Zillow.:)