Sean Elliott, Realtor, Vice President
sean@grisak.com
214.566.5930
There’s little doubt in our minds the high sale prices we’ve been seeing will directly affect how the Collin County Appraisal Office assesses the value of your home. Chances are, there’s going to be an increase in value and it might even be significant. The higher the value, the more taxes you’ll pay, so there might be a lot of surprised and disgruntled homeowners this year.
Every year, as a free service for our fellow Collin County homeowners, we offer to sit down with them for about 15 minutes, share the most advantageous sale comparables we can find for them on the MLS, and help them decide where it makes sense to contest their property valuation. We start scheduling those appointments the week after the notices go out from the CCAD to give you plenty of time to contest if you decide to go that route. Here’s a quick summary of what you can expect.
- Notices will go out mid April.
- People have 30 days after receiving the notice to dispute their proposed value.
- Sale comparables are only considered if they occurred between 2/1/21-1/31/22.
- The CCAD will choose about 5 comps (depending on availability) to determine value.
- Most disputes will be handled over the phone with a county appraiser so you need to have your comps ready when you call in. And yes, they have access to the MLS as well so you can look up the sales together.
- If a property owners did NOT have a homestead exemption for the ENTIRE year prior, their property values can increase by any amount. There is no cap.
- If someone DID have a homestead exemption for the ENTIRE prior year, their property values are capped at an increase of 10% max.
- If someone added an improvement visible from the sky (pool, extended patio, guest house, barn, etc) then they can be hit by the 10% max PLUS an additional value for the exterior improvement.
We’ve been helping Collin County residents for years and have some suggestions that should help if you decide to contest.
- Provide them with the lowest possible comps which sold between 2/1/21 and 1/31/22.
- Ask the CCAD assessor which comps they used to determine value and then ask if they will substitute some of the higher comps for the lower comps which you provided to them.
- Be professional, calm, and polite. Remember, they want to settle disputes quickly and fairly. You have rights to appeal their decision which will kick the dispute up to the next level. They would rather avoid that if at all possible, so chances are, they will work with you.
