Property tax question

[Sticks&Strings]

We just built a new home. Before the house was finished they came and measured the exterior and assessed me my taxes. The issue is, they have the square footage inflated a good amount. The house is about 3700 sqft and they are showing north of 5000 sqft. I hired a company out of Houston to protest it. They are a big firm so not sure how good they really do, but they said my protest was denied.

So my question is, can I still go to the tax office with my blue prints and protest the footage, not the rate? It seems criminal for them to be able to over charge me.

[jaspermac]

Call up there and talk to a field appraiser. They are humans. The value should be broke down by living area, porch, garage etc. with a different value for each

[M16]

Absolutely. I did last year about this time and got my taxes reduced around 50%. I showed them the invoice from the builder. They had my house valued at double of what I paid. Since I was never given a notice of appraised value they dropped it to the build price.

[miket]

I don't know as far as whether you can after a protest, but here on my place they pulled off an acre for my shop because I use it for my business. They called it commercial so no homestead exemption. I measured the footprint of the shop, all areas where material is stored and where the forklift drives and drew it up and sent it to them, stating it's .42acres. They accepted it and changed it.

I would try to make contact with them directly as stated above. IMO, thats not a protest of the appraised value, it's a protest of the information they have to base the value on, which is incorrect

[brokeno]

Take your blueprint or have them come out and remeasure. Don’t ever let them inside your house if you have nice things or post things you don’t want them to see on Facebook. I was on the appraisal protest board for 3 years and they do look at things posted on Facebook.

[friscopaint]

I would immediately contact them, some can be very helpful, some would rather never see a person.....all but one I've dealt with at Grayson has been nice.

[TKRanch]

So, if you just built it and they are putting it on the roll now it is for 2025 year. If they got the square feet wrong, now is the time to simply go in and address it face to face with them. There will likely be a bit of a difference because your sq ft will be the "inside" number and they will be just a bit higher because they measure from the outside, but that is mass appraisal and they do that to all buildings. As far as hiring an AGENT, I tell folks to do it yourself. I know it can be a pain in the ***, but nobody is closer to it than you. Agents simply work the system and don't know squat about YOUR property and often times the agent assigned is not even in the same city as many of the agent companies have merged and it is a mess. Pain in the A** as it may be, it is the largest investment most people have and it should be worth it to get educated and take the time to handle it yourself. I work for an appraisal district as an appraiser and I know of what I speak. Good luck.

[Preacher Man]

That’s a relatively easy fix. Contact them and let them know. The best way to show them proof is to have a local appraiser come measure the house and produce a sketch and sketch only. You can show the CAD a copy of your plans and they will usually accept that, however, I don’t recommend that option first because builder plans sometimes show more elaborate details that the CAD will use against you.

Appraisers do this kind of thing all the time and will know what you need

[M16]

What was the difference in the build cost and the appraised value?

[Stuck]

What was the difference in the build cost and the appraised value?

If you contract a home yourself you may be out of pocket $200k in costs but could turn around and sell it for $325k, but why do I have the feeling you know this?

County waaaaaaay over appraised my camphouse. No one told them it was there, but they found it. Put a price tag on it like it was house, no running water, generator for electricity and they didn’t even miss the 8x8 storage shed. Had to go argue that one down.

[tps7742]

Just go talk with them and have an informed conversation with the evidence material you have.

[friscopaint]

What was the difference in the build cost and the appraised value?

Oh I can tell you........I took in exactly what I paid on venue plus what my income taxes said I paid on depreciation on claimed build and they still said no it's worth more.....we went back and forth and finally came up to something in the middle....amazing how I wouldn't claim more on depreciation on my taxes but the guy in a cubicle in Sherman Texas somehow knows better.......said well it's air conditioned so it's worth X amount more, said the AC cost me $14,000 said that didn't matter it made the whole square footage worth more, it's total insanity.......I can't go to IRS and say I need to adjust depreciation because some guy 30 miles away said I was wrong on what I paid......only thing California ever got right was Prop 13, told wife I wish I had 60mm mortar and drop a round or 2 right in that building......

[friscopaint]

Oh, don't go in being mad and with an attitude, be nice and polite and just act "dumb" and ask for a correction on the misunderstanding on measurements.....it was tough, I wanted to go mortar or RPG before and after.......