As I completed the "Notice of Protest" for our Texas property taxes, I realized that we are given an opportunity to contact the appraisal district first, so I did that.
The appraiser called me the next morning at 6:25 (HELLO! Can you say "two-hour time difference"?). Apparently, they couldn't care less how much our exact models are selling for, even though they have never comped with other similar homes. They just compare two-story brick structures with two-story brick structures (which describes almost every house in the state of Texas).
However, they didn't know that it was a rental (because people who live in Texas frequently receive their mail in another state). Since this is the case, our appraised value was automatically reduced by 5%, which would be $193,197 (not retroactive to the date of acquisition, by the way). But I hemmed and hawed about the decline in property values across the country, so, for the sole purpose of getting me off her back, she placed the value at $185,500, saving us over $400 a year from their previous appraised value of $203,365. She said that sales were strong in McKinney and that homes have not declined there as they have in other areas. Great.
At least our cash flow is safe---for now.
About Me
- Carol
- Whine Country Temecula
- Juggling one husband, seven children, twenty-four chickens, three dogs, two rentals, and one business . . . while trying to find the time to write about it all.