Notice of Appraised Value received, Now What?

Notice of Appraised Value received, Now What??

Recently those of us in Texas received our 2016 Notice of Appraised Value as required by Texas Law, but what do we do with this information?  What does it mean?  Should I be excited that the value of my home went up in value and sad that it went down in value?  Help me, I'm so confused!

So let's talk about what appraised value really means in Texas - it's all about your taxes!  The higher the appraised value the more taxes you will pay (unless you have a homestead exemption, disability exemption , Over 65 exemption or Ag exemption to name a few).

Per Texas Law your assessed value of your home may only go up 10% each year for taxing purposes if you have a homestead exemption but they can increase your assessed value much, much more should you not have that homestead exemption.

Unfortunately our notice of appraised value has a section called MARKET VALUE and so many owners feel that's what they will get should they decide to sell. NOT TRUE....in fact that section with MARKET VALUE means nothing on the open market.  The value of your property when you decide to sell is based on comparable properties in your area which have sold in the last 180 days as determined by a licensed appraiser for a lender.  So your property could be higher or lower than what that tax bill shows as MARKET VALUE.

Still confused as to what it means for your particular property? Call us (512-467-6191) so we can help you decide " do I protest my value or leave it alone"?  We can help you feel more comfortable in making that decision once we discuss with you what you are seeing on that 2016 NOTICE OF APPRAISED VALUE document that you are holding in your hand.

The deadline for filing a paper protest in Travis County is May 31, 2016.  For those in other Texas Counties that date to file may be different.

As always, Home and Hearth Realty is ready to answer questions about real estate by calling us or emailing us at gwynn@homeandhearthrealty.com.