Protesting Property Value

What do you do if you disagree with the county appraisal district’s appraisal of your property? The following information may help you and or your customers.

If you disagree with the county appraisal district’s appraisal of your property and you live in Texas, you must file a written protest each year to the county's appraisal review board. The appraisal review board is an independent group that settles disputes between property owners and the appraisal district. You must file the protest before June 1 or no later than 30 days after the appraisal district sends you a notice of your appraised value as stated by the county.

When you present your protest, you may appear in person, send someone to present the protest for you, or send a sworn affidavit (notarized) with the evidence to back up your protest. You should submit the affidavit to the appraisal review board before the hearing begins. It is very important that the appraisal review board receives your affidavit before the date of your hearing or you may not have the opportunity to present the evidence. You may download and print an affidavit from the Texas State Comptroller’s web. Submitting your evidence by affidavit, although perfectly legal, may not be as effective as actually being present at the protest hearing.

For your appraisal review board hearing, you may want to bring photographs of your property. If there are defects in the property, bring a notarized statement from a repair company or independent appraiser. You should also gather sales of similar properties in your area. Sales that occurred closest to January 1 are the best to use. Ask the county appraisal district for sales it used to appraise your property. Obtaining a notarized statement from a realtor giving an opinion of your property’s value is also good evidence to present to the appraisal review board.

Believe it or not, the law says that for most protests the county appraisal district has the burden of proving the property is correctly appraised. The county appraisal district also has the burden of showing the property is appraised equally with similar properties. If the county appraisal district fails to prove the property is correctly appraised, the law says that the appraisal review board should make a determination in the property owner’s favor.

You have the right to appeal appraisal review board’s decision to district court. You have 45 days after receiving the board’s written order to file a petition for review with the court or seek resolution through arbitration. Property owners should talk with an attorney before deciding to file suit against the county appraisal district.

You may be interested to know that appraisal review board members are appointed by the board of directors of the appraisal district. They cannot work for or have any financial interests with the appraisal district or taxing units. The law does not restrict a person from serving on the appraisal review board solely on their profession or general sources of income. In many Texas counties, because of their knowledge of property transactions, REALTORS often make up some of the members of the review boards. However, appraisal review board members must abstain from participating in any protest hearing that might give the appearance of a conflict of interest between the member's personal interests and his or her public obligations. Besides serving on review boards, REALTORS and real estate fee appraisers are now the two professions eligible to serve as arbitrators under the new laws allowing property owners to request binding arbitration as an alternative to filing suit after an unfavorable ruling from the review board. Arbitrators can be paid up to $450 per arbitration hearing. You can get more information about becoming an arbitrator from the Texas State Comptroller's Property Tax Division.

Agents and property owners who have questions about the property tax laws may also call the staff at the property Tax Division at 1-800-252-9121.

The author sellsAustin TX Real Estateand the co-author sells real estate in Lakeway