Much like the five stages of grief, there are the five stages of dealing with property tax appraisal grief. The stages of tax grief are: Anticipation, Denial, Anger (lots of anger), Action, and Bargaining. Acceptance is part of real grief, but for our purposes, we’re leaving it off. Do you have to accept your taxes as is? The answer is no. You could call this stage of grief protest or action because, fortunately, there are options for homeowners.
According to new survey data released from Ownwell, a property tax appeal service, 78% of U.S. homeowners have never protested their property taxes. Even more surprising? Over half of that group didn’t even know they could protest or appeal their appraisal.
If you decide to protest your appraisal, you can do it yourself or hire a firm that will fight your appraisal for you. This week, we’re going to cover what to look for in a firm to appeal your appraisal.
Hiring a Firm to Appeal Your Appraisal
While homeowners may be revved up right now and file an intent to protest, they will need to make sure they follow through.
“You need to have an honest assessment about what you are willing to do,” said Glenn Goodrich, owner of propertytax.io, a property value software and protest service. “You need to answer ‘Am I willing to fight this all the way through? Am I willing to do the work?’”
“You need to protest with a purpose,” Goodrich said. “You need to bring something to the table to get a reduction” in the appraisal. If your schedule is busy and you do not believe you will have time to build a good case, then perhaps hiring a firm to handle the process for you is the way to go.
There are certain things to look for in anyone you hire, however.
“Avoid companies that promise savings,” Goodrich said. You should also look for a company that “charges a percentage of the savings, not one that charges a flat fee. How accessible is it to talk to agents? How long have they been in business?”
You also want to avoid companies that charge for services that are free to a homeowner. For instance, a new Texas law requires appraisal districts to verify homestead exemptions every five years, so it’s possible the homestead exemption was dropped and homeowners are unaware.
The Dallas Central Appraisal District website recommends that property owners not “hire any company to file your Homestead Exemption application as you can do it free of charge.”
There are many homeowners who are considering all their options.
DCAD Still Playing Catch Up After 2022 Hack
Goodrich said his team is answering a lot of inquiries from North Texas homeowners.
“We’re super busy,” Goodrich said. While he has not been able to do a full assessment of which neighborhoods have seen the biggest increases this year, he said his firm has “seen increases in the Park Cities, Lake Highlands, and parts of Richardson.”
The Anger stage for Dallas homeowners was even stronger this year since most saw an increase in the previous year.
“Values last year went up by 20% in value,” Goodrich said. “They’ve been playing catch-up from when DCAD was hacked.”
The ransomware attack on the appraisal district occurred on Nov. 8, 2022 and lasted until Jan. 19, 2023 when a ransom of $170,000 was paid. As a result, DCAD was hampered in appraising properties and posting the numbers for public consumption.
“The fall of 2022 was the peak of the market,” Goodrich said. “They’re catching up in some places.”
That is little comfort for those with a stinging property appraisal, but now you have a homework assignment. Look at your schedule and be honest with yourself about how much time you will be able to spend appealing your appraisal.
If you don’t have a lot of time, then you have some tips on how to find a firm to handle the appeal for you. If you decide to handle the appeal yourself, then look for the next column on the nitty gritty of what you should appeal.
