After a couple of years with no increase, received the bad news by snail mail.

One could posit that the increase only makes sense, as the county is providing more servicss (?), or the county costs have risen. In those same three years, this county has added hundreds of high density condos and zero lot homes. You would think those additions and taxes would add to the county coffers and more than cover any increased costs.

However, population has remained about the same, at 334K residents. Maybe the new homes and residents balance those leaving the county for greener pastures?

My county is getting the brunt of those leaving the Richmond area and other counties from NOVA/DC/MD. The ability to work from home has driven an increase in new home builds , condos, and subdivisions. As I type this, I'm watching guys build a house on a postage stamp lot in between 2 existing houses across the road from me.

So far our board hasn't increased the tax rate but they made damn sure to collect more taxes by increasing assessed values across the board. Here is an example of what has happened since 2019.

Median household income 2019: $42,793 2024: $80,343
Median sales price for home 2019: $245,000 2024: $365,000


The assessed value for my 15 year old home that is 1,266 sq ft. which sits on 5 acres in 2019: $208,900 2024 Assessment: $349,100

Is there an appeal process? I was able to easily appeal mine on line and they knocked off about $1500

I received noticed on my apartment building the assessor is required to send when they have increased the value 10% or more from the previous year.
The building houses 26 apartments. It's now taking almost the total gross yearly rent of 3 apartments just to pay county property tax, every year!

It was a conscious decision to live in a conservative county adjacent to the county that contains Houston (i.e. Harris County that votes Democrat and spends public money like drunken sailors). So far, my county commissioners have been sane:

Population increase of ~20% the 8.5 years I've lived here so plenty of taxpayers to share paying for county services.

Haven't increased gov't spending by 20%.

Property valuations have increased so they decreased the county tax rate.

Texas has state law on max appraisal value increase so I'm taxed on net appraised value which is appraised value - value limitation.

Texas requires municipal utility districts (MUD) be formed so that existing homeowners don't have to pay for the water, sewer, electric, etc for new developments. We get a separate MUD tax, and once the MUD is built out the tax rate begins decreasing.

The end result is 2020 to 2024 my net appraised value increased 22%, but the amount I paid in property tax + MUD tax decreased 19%. Part of that is that the first 4 years I lived here (when only new houses were being sold) I successfully protested my appraisal value every, and got the valuation as low as possible before people started selling used houses (i.e. easier for appraisal district to benchmark) and to COVID price boom occurred. My neighbors who didn't begin protesting appraisals until after the COVID price boom aren't in the same position I'm in.

A lot of people in Texas aren't having the same experience as my county.

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Ego is the anesthesia that deadens the pain of stupidity

DISCLAIMER: These are the author's own personal views and do not represent the views of the author's employer.

My state is passing a bill for 50% property tax reduction for all residents. It's been through it's second reading & I'm sure it'll get watered down some but I'll sure take it!

quote:

Originally posted by tatortodd:

A lot of people in Texas aren't having the same experience as my county.

You are correct. Not the story here in North Texas. For years my county raises property taxes the max allowable by law, per year, which is 10%. 10+ years in a row of this. The state, as you know, but many don’t, gave all state residents a cut in property tax 2 years ago IIRC. For me it meant about $1600 or so off my annual property tax. But then the county goes right back to 10% increases each year so that state cut we got, was really just a 2 year break. Within 2 years, it’s right back to what it was before, and additional 10% increases every year.

Texas, to me, has become unaffordable. Millions of people flooded in here, moved here, and I do mean millions. DFW population has exploded. My rural twisty farm roads 45 minutes north of Dallas, don’t exist anymore. It’s all suburban development. Subdivisions going in, stores, fast food restaurants, gas stations. All the way to the Oklahoma border. Van Alstyne, a small town I used to ride my bikes through on the weekends, population used to be 3000, will be 30,000 within just a few years.

https://www.kxii.com/2024/08/2...ty-is-preparing-now/

Once there is no open land left in Van Alstyne, they’ll just keep making subdivisions all the way to the OK border. Property taxes are extremely high and now TX has Florida like cost for homeowners insurance. For years I’d pay $1k a year for homeowners. It would go up slightly over time, a manageable amount. It went to $2k a year, then $1k extra at every renewal for the last 3 years. It’s at $5400 a year now. If I combine that with my property tax, I pay over $1000 a month for both. That’s not even my mortgage. I’ve bought acreage in another state already and I’ll be saving and planning for the next few years to get the fuck out of Texas, and I’m a native. I was born here. I’m now being driven out by Kalifornians and H1B Visas. Long term Texas is not sustainable for me unless I want to live like a peasant and give all my money to the county and insurance company to own a home here. These Kalifornia pieces of shit have all flooded in here and brought the Kalifornia cost of living with them. As a native and resident of 50+ years, Texas is ruined. With no open land here and overcrowding to rival Los Angeles, there is little to nothing to do outdoors and I need the outdoors. Jogging down some sidewalk doesn’t cut it. At least LA has the beach, you can drive to mountains and have good weather. 100 degree heat all summer and high humidity with this cost of living now doesn’t cut it any longer.

Oh I’ve protested my annual property tax bill every year. This year will be the 20th year in a row. I used to win a lot doing it myself. That doesn’t exist anymore so I have to pay a firm to fight it for me every year. They are successful every 1 in 3, or every other year. And I use an insurance broker for all insurance policies. They hunt and go through every possibility, every company, for every policy I have.

quote:

Originally posted by Prefontaine:

I use an insurance broker for all insurance policies. They hunt and go through every possibility, every company, for every policy I have.

There are a couple of good companies for HomeOwner Insurance, that your broker probably won't check because these two companies sell directly to the client, they do not use agents or brokers. You can check both of them on their websites.

Amica is a well-established, highly regarded, company.

Kin Insurance is a relative newcomer. I have placed my homeowner insurance with them for the past few years. Their policies are more flexible than most, in that most companies dictate the insured "value" of your home. Kin allows you to specify a lower value, thereby lowering your premium costs. For years, I have argued with insurance companies that base my premium on the market value of my home, as if I would be a first-time buyer. My argument is that a fire, or most other disasters, would still leave me owning the land even if the house is totally destroyed, so why should I pay for the cost of re-aquiring land that I already own? Kin allows me to make this adjustment to the total value of the policy, thereby reducing the premium that I pay.

quote:

Originally posted by V-Tail:
There are a couple of good companies for HomeOwner Insurance, that your broker probably won't check because these two companies sell directly to the client, they do not use agents or brokers. You can check both of them on their websites.

Amica is a well-established, highly regarded, company.

Kin Insurance is a relative newcomer. I have placed my homeowner insurance with them for the past few years. Their policies are more flexible than most, in that most companies dictate the insured "value" of your home. Kin allows you to specify a lower value, thereby lowering your premium costs. For years, I have argued with insurance companies that base my premium on the market value of my home, as if I would be a first-time buyer. My argument is that a fire, or most other disasters, would still leave me owning the land even if the house is totally destroyed, so why should I pay for the cost of re-aquiring land that I already own? Kin allows me to make this adjustment to the total value of the policy, thereby reducing the premium that I pay.

My home is insured for exactly what it would cost to replace it in the event of a fire or total outage. It has to be because I’ve already bought land out of state and I’m not staying long term. This place is burnt ground. I’ve done the independent evaluations. Insurance is all tied together. Oh I can save some $ on homeowners, cool, but then my automobile policy goes up. I’m well versed in this space. I have 5 policies that cover home, auto, etc. People are paying more than I am actually for homeowners.

I’ve heard of Kin but I’m not going with any newcomer joint. Ain’t risking it right now. Once they have been established 5 years in my state, where evals can be done, how they handle claims, etc, would be a possibility then. But I’m not planning on even being here in 5 years. My land out of state, homeowners insurance will be $1500-1600 a year once my building is on it. I’m out of here one way or the other. Just don’t know when yet.

Our county here in Missouri has implemented a program for senior home owners. Your taxes are frozen at their current level, never to be increased. You simply have to go down to the county auditor, show them ID, fill out a small form and you are done. Took us less than five minutes.

Pretty cool.

quote:

Originally posted by Bassamatic:

Our county here in Missouri has implemented a program for senior home owners. Your taxes are frozen at their current level, never to be increased.

Outstanding!