BEXAR COUNTY, Texas – Every year around April, Bexar County homeowners begin receiving their latest property appraisal notices in the mail.
The notices show the dollar amount county appraisers believe a home is worth, which is then used to calculate the property taxes homeowners owe each year.
KSAT Explains rode along with senior appraiser Lee Cantu and residential director Erich Strey, who are both with the Bexar County Appraisal District, as they gathered data to appraise properties in a neighborhood of new and existing homes in Converse.
Appraisals are based on a home’s characteristics as of Jan. 1 each year. Each home is not inspected individually.
Below is our Q&A with Cantu and Strey.
Bexar County Appraisal District Senior Appraiser Lee Cantu: I’ll take a photograph. That’s the first thing I do, and I’ll get in a measure (of) the walls of the interior of the property.
KSAT Explains: You can do that in new construction but not (in) existing homes?
Cantu: Correct. We make it a point that we don’t go inside of anybody’s home.
KSAT Explains: So, it’s a different process if you’re looking at a neighborhood like this that’s up and coming versus a more established neighborhood?
Cantu: It is, absolutely.
For homes that are occupied, an appraiser takes these factors into account to determine their value:
– previous years’ data on the home
– aerial photography taken by plane using a third-party company
– building permits on file
– sales data of homes
Cantu: Some of the bigger ticketed items — like detached garages, detached living areas, swimming pools — those are the types of things that we do absolutely want to go out and have a look at.
KSAT Explains: Do you all have teams that are monitoring year-round for new builds, add-ons, new construction, things like that?
Cantu: We do.
Things added to enhance a property, or make it larger, factor into its value, but it doesn’t change the value of a neighbor’s home.
At least, not directly.
KSAT Explains: If a bunch of homes in the neighborhood have done things like build a pool or build the detached garage — I mean, they really increase the value of their property — but other homes haven’t made those improvements, could they still see the value of their property rise because of the improvements happening around them?
Cantu: Not to their home in particular. We’re not comparing those properties that don’t have those items to the properties that do have them.
However, if factors like construction, remodels, rebuilds or even new, attractive businesses start driving up home sale prices in a neighborhood, that could increase a home appraisal, whether a house has undergone changes (sic) or not.
Bexar County Appraisal District residential director Erich Strey: That demand could start to change the shape of what those existing properties would be worth.
KSAT Explains: Let’s say there’s somebody who’s lived in an older home for a really long time in a neighborhood. They haven’t added on to it. They haven’t made a ton of improvements. Yet their value, their appraisal value, has risen. Is that where that homeowner can say, ‘Hey, I’m coming to you guys with what are the characteristics of my individual house,’ and you have that conversation with the homeowner?
Strey: Right. Absolutely. We send their value out based on, you know, what our model and our analysis were for that year. They have the right to appeal that.
Homeowners can file a protest if they disagree with their appraisal value.
The protest deadline is May 15.
Cantu: We encourage the taxpayers to protest because the reality is that houses that are sold generally, not always, but generally, are renovated to sell. So that doesn’t give us a true indication as to the homeowner’s property that’s lived in for 25 years has made no modification to it and has a lot of deferred maintenance within the frame of the house. We want them to protest it.
If a homeowner does file a protest, they should be ready to provide evidence.
Cantu: Provide us with photos of those types of deferred maintenance that’s going on within the interior of the property, like foundation movement that they can see any sort of estimates for costs to make necessary repairs.
In 2024, roughly 79% of protests resulted in a reduction in appraisal value.
Strey: The property tax code requires that we do mass appraisal. You know your home better than we know it.
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