SO YOU'VE BEEN "HAD" BY YOUR TEXAS COUNTY CENTRAL APPRAISAL DISTRICT?

WHAT NOW?

Texas real property taxpayers appear to have little understanding of the logic behind our Central Appraisal District system. And I've concluded that at least some of the Chief Appraisers of CADs don't understand them either.

I wrote a voluminous piece on this some time back. Here it is for review.

That piece has brought any number of telephone calls and emails from taxpayers who went before the Appraisal Review Board at their Central Appraisal District to protest the new appraisal of their home. Each lost as a result of the smoke and mirrors presentation of the CAD's appraiser that he/she presented to the ARB.

The taxpayer didn't know how to argue against it, and the ARB members, interestingly, rabidly showed they had no understanding of how the Texas Central Appraisal system works.

In each case, the appraisal district's appraiser used as his/her evidence for raising the value of the protester's property, a handful of current sales in the neighborhood. Current sales are only evidence if every other like property's value was likewise raised equally.

More often than not, the district will try to use current sales to show why the protesting taxpayer's argument is invalid. Most of the time, this "evidence" isn't applicable because the neighbors' appraisals were not also raised. This is the smoke and mirror's presentation I mentioned.

NOTE THIS: The appraisal district has only one function, and it has two parts. Part one is to, through research, determine the fair value of every piece of property in the county, and then to assign them. Part two is to make sure that the value assigned to each taxpayer's property follows the logic of the values assigned to the property of his neighbors.

EXAMPLE: So if everyone on your block lives in a similar home, and those homes are all on the tax rolls at $100,000, then one of your neighbors sells his for $135,000, the Central Appraisal District cannot raise the value of yours to $135,000 without raising the value of the homes of everyone of your neighbors'.

And further, and interestingly, it is illegal for the CAD to immediately raise the value of the home that just sold for $135,000 to $135,000. That violation is known as "chasing the sale." Our state doesn't allow that.

So what should you do if you protest and the appraiser brings out current sales as his evidence? You point out that it is immaterial to the issue. Your protest is that your house has been assigned a value that cannot be justified when compared to those assigned your neighbors. Then you give your reasons.

If the ARB rules against you, you have a great course of appeal. The state Comptroller's office has trained and appointed several hundred Arbitrators. You can find the list and their qualifications on the Comptroller's web site. You do not need an attorney; in fact the arbitration process was specifically established so that most property owners would have a place to appeal a decision without the need for attorney and court costs.

You can file for Arbitration. The fee cannot exceed $500. The arbitrator will hear your case and rule. The arbitrator's ruling is final and cannot be challenged. If you, the taxpayer, win, the CAD must pay the entire fee.

I am one of those originally appointed arbitrators. Prior to that, I served two terms on an ARB. That's why I have a pretty good knowledge of the ins and outs of appraisal district mechanics. But my purpose here is not to solicit arbitrations. My purpose is to give readers a dependable piece on how the CAD system works.

If you are going before one of the ARBs to protest your appraisal, print this out and hand it to the chairman before you begin your presentation. If there is disagreement to methodology, stay to complete your hearing, but be prepared to file for arbitration.

Copyright 2008 - William S. Cherry

All rights reserved.

WILLIAM S. CHERRY, REALTORS

DALLAS

1 800-314-7110