appraisal district

Removing Yourself From the Appraisal District Website

August 22, 2016 by khproperties Leave a Comment

Did you know that certain types of public officials and others can remove themselves from their local county appraisal district website here in Texas? People like police officers, investigators, judges, district attorneys and their employees are all included in this list as are victims of family violence. This can make looking up property information when listing a property a little difficult, but it is a small price to pay to keep these people out of harms way. Remember, in Texas, appraisal district information is public, so armed with some basic information and a little sleuthing ability, people with a vendetta against these people could locate this information with ease. By removing their records from the appraisal district website, the information gets much harder to find.

There are currently thirty one different eligible categories you may fall into in order to have your record kept confidential. In order to do so, you’ll need to fill out a Request for Confidentiality (Form 50-284) (PDF version from the Bexar County Appraisal District website) available from your local appraisal district or the Texas Comptroller website. The Texas Tax Code is where the ability to restrict this information from the public comes from and the form is a statewide form.

To request that your tax record be removed from the appraisal district website, you’ll need to fill out the form (requires basic information – who you are, where you live, property information, and what category you fall under that makes you eligible for confidentiality) and send it in to your local appraisal district’s offices. You can find your appraisal district’s information at the Texas Comptroller site where they maintain a list of all Texas county appraisal districts and their contact info.

If your request is approved, you will be removed from the appraisal district website and be a little safer.

image courtesy of Texas State Library and Archives Commission

Bexar County Appraisal District (BCAD) and Incorrect Information

March 1, 2013 by khproperties 1 Comment

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

Get Your Property Tax Exemptions Here

December 28, 2011 by khproperties 3 Comments

We are constantly updated homestead tax exemption information on our site – you may want to head over to the post “Homestead Tax Exemption for 2016” for the most up to date information. If you have purchased a new home in 2011, first off – congratulations! The joys of home ownership can be plentiful. While a home is a huge investment, there are ways that you can save yourself a bit of money if you know how. One of the most popular, yet surprisingly under-utilized methods of cutting back on expenses is to make sure you have filed for a property tax exemption, in particular the homestead tax exemption. The various exemptions are quite easy to apply for in Texas and while they require a bit of prep work, they shouldn’t take you too long to complete.

The most common of these exemptions is the homestead exemption, which may qualify you for up to $15,000 (the value on the homestead tax exemption was raised to $25,000 in 2015) on your school taxes. In order to qualify for this exemption, you must:

Own a home as of January 1
Use that home as a primary residence
Not claim another property as your homestead
Complete this form and submit to the Bexar County Appraisal District before April 30

Another popular exemption is the over 65 exemption , which can freeze your school taxes, provided no new improvements are made to your house. To be eligible you must:

Be over 65 years old (or turn 65 in the current tax year)
Own your residence and use it as your primary home
Complete a form and submit to the Bexar County Appraisal District before April 30

If you are 100% disabled and unable to work, you may apply for a disability exemption with a letter from the Social Security Administration and receive up to $10,000 in value exemptions to be applied towards school taxes. (If your home were valued through the appraisal district at $250,000, the school tax rate would only be applied on a value of $240,000). Other exemptions are available in conjunction with the Veterans Affairs office for veterans with at least 10% disability. Exemption benefits will depend on the percentage of disability you have, but they will apply to all tax units (not just school taxes).

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This year (2011) the Bexar County Appraisal District has enacted 2 new requirements for the filing of exemptions. When filing, you must now include:

A copy of your driver’s license or state-issued ID card
A copy of your vehicle registration receipt (if you do not own a vehicle, you will have to sign an affidavit stating that fact, and you may include a utility bill in its place)

Any agencies who may contact you offering to file the documentation on your behalf, for a fee, are fraudulent. Filing of these exemptions is completely free! As always, if you have questions, be sure to contact your favorite real estate expert for assistance.

image courtesy of Images_of_Money