Mistakes in Bexar County tax records.
Mistakes in the Bexar County Appraisal District’s records are not all that uncommon. Quite often while looking at public tax data, we find incorrect information. These mistakes could lead to trouble down the road for homeowners if they chose to sell their homes, particularly if they don’t notice them in a timely fashion. In Bexar County, our property tax (also know as ad valorem tax) data is available to the public via the Bexar Appraisal District website and your San Antonio real estate agent uses it to help determine many things (one of which should not be the fair market value of your home). Check out these two real life examples of what can happen with incorrect information in Bexar County Appraisal District (BCAD).
Case #1: Who owns the home?
In the first example of incorrect information, the homeowner is improperly listed. The Bexar County Appraisal District records show that the property transferred from the seller to the buyer and then back to the seller once again a few days later. The BCAD records clearly show the former seller as the owner of the home.
Solution? The homeowners will have to contact the Bexar County Appraisal District and get them to correct the owner’s information. Unfortunately, data entry is not top priority on the tax man’s list. We often see cases of bad data entry in the appraisal district’s property tax information.
On a side note, BCAD had also sent someone out to this client’s home and took some measurements. Bexar County has been increasing their research on homes recently; looking for mistakes, miscalculations, and home improvements or additions. The better their data collection, the more their tax appraised valuations will be inline with the true value of the home (ie, there are some homes that haven’t been checked in so long, their taxes are way out of line with what they should be).
Case #2: That doesn’t describe my home.
In the second example, the home described in the Bexar County Appraisal District does not match the home’s details. The client’s home is listed with the wrong amount of bedrooms and bathrooms, as well as being almost 1,000 square feet off the mark. As we base part of our pricing and determination of fair market value on square footage and recently sold home comparisons, this can make a huge difference – particularly to the buyer’s agent when they are running comps to see what they believe the value of the home to be. Imagine if homes in your area are selling for $80/square foot and data publicly available shows your home is 1,000 square feet less than it truly is. That’s $80,000 in value that would be missing from your home because of a data entry area.
Solution? We would use a form called a “Notice of Information From Other Sources” to show that the data is incorrect and we have supporting evidence of the correct information. We researched the problem and it looks like the builder initially entered the wrong information into the MLS and that information spread to BCAD. We will provide builder plans and other information to show that the home is indeed almost 1,000 square feet larger than the tax valuation shows it is.
Check your information on BCAD.
You should check your information and tax valuation on the Bexar County Appraisal District’s website at least once a year to be sure that the data is correct, as well as looking at any fluctuations in the tax valuation of your home. As Texas is a non-disclosure state, these fluctuations can at times seem arbitrary and flat out wrong. You have a right to protest your property taxes in San Antonio and Bexar County and it’s something a lot of homeowners don’t know.
image courtesy of Corey Leopold
I believe I was illegally evicted was taken to JP court Pricint 1 showed judge my deed (original) and deed of trust that were current and certified from county records. Plantiff had a Trustee deed that is fake. I was told I was FORCLOSED on. Records show trustee as Grantor and me and my wife as Grantor Transfering our home to Grantee which is a lie. when plantiff first took me to jp court they had no paper work to prove they were new owners. So judge reset and when we went back judge said my deed of trust was void because it was dated 2010 and plantiffs was 2017 and that was it. i told him i was being illegaly forclosed on by the plantiff and he told me well your in the wrong court then. We appealed but I showed up at wrong time. From the beggining I didnt know what was going on and when the clerk in civil office gave me paper saying i got a default judgement signed by presiding judge Paul Cannales I couldnt believe What was happening. I thought the court system would see the fraud that was going on because i turned in paper work 23 pages to the civil office. I couldnt afford an attorny and tried legal aid but they stalled and then told me they couldnt help me. I asked who was the attorny who reviewed my paper work and she told me Paul Hill whitch i looked up and it showed he was decease. Then I found out The attorny for plantiff was an attorny for that office. That attorny doesnt even come out on county records anymore. On 06/12/2017 Constable showed up with a crew and told us everything has to be taken out with in two hours or we would loose it to new owners and locks were going to be changed. So me my wife and four older kids were pulling everthing out of the house. Refrigerator, living rm set washer dryer bedroom sets everything. 2017CV02022