BCA PROPERTY TAX SEMINAR 2013

Transcription

1 BCA PROPERTY TAX SEMINAR 2013 April 30, 2013

2 BCA Property Tax Seminar What it s About Bentwater Appraisals and Resales How to analyze and access your individual Appraisal The appraisal process generally used by MCAD What it s not About USA or Houston area real estate activity Lake Conroe water level USA economic downturn and its impact on real estate Personal War Stories dealing with MCAD

3 Bentwater Real Estate Activity Homes Sold ( Resales )* Interior Golf Course Waterfront Value of Homes Sold ($/SqFt)* Interior Golf Course Waterfront *Used Homes

4 My Property Tax Appraisal Value TAX = ( Assessed Value ) X ( TAX RATE ) MCAD Government

5 Assessed Value, $1M History of Assessed Value 2 Wedgewood Drive Tax Savings = $15, Appraisal

6 TEXAS PROPERTY TAX LAW MCAD is required by law The market value of property shall be determined by the application of generally accepted appraisal methods. The mass appraisal stds must comply with the Uniform Stds of Professional Appraisal Practice the owner may inspect and may obtain a copy of the data, schedules, formulas and all other information the chief appraiser plans to use

7 TEXAS PROPERTY TAX LAW MCAD is required by law If market data comparison method of appraisal is used, the chief appraiser shall use comparable sales data and shall adjust the comparable sales to the subject property In determining market value the chief appraiser shall analyze the effect on that value, and exclude from that value the value of intangible personal property Appraisal values can be protested on clerical errors and on the ground of unequal appraisal

8 MCAD Appraisal Process COMPS Your Home MCAD Model Your Appraisal

9 MCAD Process in Bentwater Bentwater viewed as multiple Markets - Interior, Golf Course and Waterfront Lots - There are 65 Neighborhoods or Markets MCAD, Texas Law, and Standard Real Estate Practices - Requires numerous, recent, and comparable resales to establish fair market value - ISSUE - Small markets (neighborhoods) promote widely variable appraisal values across Bentwater - Personnel property ( Club Memberships ) should be excluded from Appraisal

10 Two Questions to Answer Is my Appraisal Right? Is my Appraisal Fair?

11 Is My Appraisal Right? Does MCAD have the correct data for my home? My House MCAD Data

12 Is My MCAD Data Correct? Square Footage of all Improvements Right number of porches, bathrooms, etc Exterior/Interior Building Construction Fireplaces, swimming pools Docks Land Area

13 WHERE IS MY APPRAISAL? Go to the Montgomery County Appraisal District (MCAD) website at:

14 RECORDS

15 Search by Address

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19 Additional Data Neighborhood Land Appraisal Value Improvement Appraisal Value Assessed Value

20 Improvement Data Homestead Adjustment

21 Open up the Main Area Class

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23 Is My MCAD Data Correct? Square Footage of all Improvements Right number of porches, bathrooms, etc Exterior/Interior Building Construction Fireplaces, swimming pools Docks Land Area

24 Is My Appraisal Fair?

25 What is a Fair Appraisal Remember MCAD views you as being in one of 65 Neighborhoods Do You Stand Out versus Your Neighbors - Land Value - Appraisal $/SqFt (one versus two story) - Class How Do You Compare to Neighborhood Resales - Is there an adequate number of Resales - Are the Resales comparable to your home ( size, age, Class) - Are the Resales recent Is there Unequal Appraisal - Compare your appraisal ratio to that of comps - Compare your appraisal ratio to several neighbors

26 What is Unequal Appraisal Sec : the appraisal ratio of the property is equal to or less than the median level of appraisal of a reasonable and representative sample of other properties in the district Appraisal Ratio = (Comp Appraisal)/(Comp Sales Price) Appraisal Ratio = (Your $/sqft) versus (Neighbors $/sqft)

27 BCA Photo BCA Photo BCA Photo BCA Photo Home Board/Committees Safety/Security Property Tax Program Water Wise Program Classified Neighbor-to-Neighbor Favorites Membership Contact Us Property Tax Program Updates My Appraisal Neighborhoods Protest Form Tax Seminar MCAD Website Property taxes are determined by calculating ( Appraisal Value X tax rate ). The Property Tax Program is designed to help homeowners understand the basis of their property tax Appraisal Value as determined by the Montgomery County Appraisal District ( MCAD ), and with that information be able to develop a logical basis to protest their appraisal. The program attempts to mimic the appraisal process used by MCAD, where individual property values are determined by comparison against comparable homes ( comps ) that have recently sold in the neighborhood. The key to a fair appraisal is using home sales that are recent, that are in your neighborhood, and that are generally comparable to your home. The MCAD has divided Bentwater into 56 separate neighborhoods for the purpose of determining what home sales are used to calculate your Appraisal Value. It is therefore critical to have a good understanding of what is going on in your neighborhood what are the appraisal values for you and your neighbors, and most importantly, what homes have recently sold in your neighborhood. Armed with this information you can determine the fairness of your Appraisal Value and ultimately decide if you have a sound basis to go forward with a protest. Using the Neighborhoods data developed for your neighborhood, My Appraisal provides a step-by-step process that you can use to evaluate your MCAD Appraisal Value. The Program had many success stories in 2010 as discussed in Updates, but it was limited to the 16 neighborhoods where volunteers developed the Neighborhoods data. If we don t have the data for your neighborhood, it s because no one volunteered to develop it. You can help advance the impact of this effort by volunteering to develop the data for your neighborhood. Contact Us

28 2011 Neighborhood Appraisal Data The neighborhoods listed below have 2011 Preliminary Appraisal data and resales for If you do not see your neighborhood listed, it has not been completed and you might want to consider volunteering to work up the data for your neighborhood. You will also note that accessing the data sheets is restricted to BCA members only. Click here to login and view the Neighborhood data sheets Interior Golf Course Waterfront /91/92.3

29 Neighborhood Preliminary 2013 Appraisal ADDRESS CL SqFt LAND IMPROVE $/SqFt $/SqFt $/Sqft $/sqft* 4 WILLOW $30,000 $230, WILLOW $31,700 $340, WILLOW $31,000 $220, WILLOW $32,000 $210, WILLOW $45,000 $280, WILLOW $31,000 $180, WILLOW $32,000 $180, WILLOW $31,000 $220, Neighborhood Avg = Neighborhood Avg = 86 RESALES *Excludes Bentwater Club Membership

30 Neighborhood Preliminary 2013 Appraisal ADDRESS CL SqFt LAND IMPROVE $/SqFt $/SqFt $/Sqft $/sqft* 4 WILLOW $30,000 $230, WILLOW $31,700 $340, WILLOW $31,000 $220, WILLOW $32,000 $210, WILLOW $45,000 $280, WILLOW $31,000 $180, WILLOW $32,000 $180, WILLOW $31,000 $220, Neighborhood Avg = Neighborhood Avg = 86 RESALES *Excludes Club Membership Do You Stand Out versus Your Neighbors?

31 Neighborhood Preliminary 2013 Appraisal ADDRESS CL SqFt LAND IMPROVE $/SqFt $/SqFt $/Sqft $/sqft* 4 WILLOW $30,000 $230, WILLOW $31,700 $340, WILLOW $31,000 $220, WILLOW $32,000 $210, WILLOW $45,000 $280, WILLOW $31,000 $180, WILLOW $32,000 $180, WILLOW $31,000 $220, Neighborhood Avg = Neighborhood Avg = 86 RESALES *Excludes Club Membership Unequal Appraisal - Is Your Appraisal Ratio the Same as the Resales?

32 Bentwater Club Membership Texas Law SEC Intangible personal property means a claim, interest, right, or other that has value but cannot be seen, felt, weighed, measured, or otherwise perceived by the senses.. SEC (2) In determining the market value of real property, the chief appraiser shall exclude from that value the value of intangible personal property Bentwater Law To hold Title to property in Bentwater, you must have a Bentwater Club Membership

33 Bentwater Club Membership MCAD Position Lack information to exclude Membership from appraisals BCA Approach Requested info from Bentwater, stonewalled Provide membership info with resales on BCA website Bentwater residents request MCAD to exclude from comps Longer term, include in sales contract

34 Reasons to Protest your Appraisal Incorrect Property Data - SqFt of Improvements and Land - Add-ons Unequal Appraisal ($/sqft) - You stand out among neighbors - Ratio of Appraisal/Resales Inappropriate Comps - Not enough comps, old comps - Class, Age and /or size of comps - New build and foreclosures - You have better comps

35 CASE STUDY 2012 Preliminary Appraisals for Neighborhood Average Appraisal increased 50% to $145/sqft - Five recent comps ranging $92-185/sqft - New construction used as comps Approach to the Issue - Obtained overview of Neighborhood data on BCA website - Neighbors share the results of informal visits to MCAD - Neighbors argument - unfair comp selection - Some successes, but most proceed to formal protest

36 CASE STUDY Options Pursued - Informal visit to MCAD to obtain data and confirm comps - Be prepared with your argument going into the informal visit - Lacking success, don t settle, go to formal protest - Following protest, additional options are: Arbitration Law Suit - Cost $250 - Expensive - Need appraisal - Time consuming - Fairly quick

37 Bentwater Neighborhood Appraisals 2013 vs 2012 Increased Decreased Unchanged /91/ /91/

38 What To Do Next Request Information from MCAD Verify correct neighborhood, address, and data Comps ( resales being used ) Use the BCA process to analyze your Appraisal The BCA website ( ) Use My Appraisal to learn how to use the process Find your Neighborhood Data Is your Appraisal fair? What s my argument? Work with your neighbors

39 Is My Appraisal Fair? What does the data tell you - Does your appraisal fit the Neighborhood? - Look for unequal appraisal - Are the comps current, are there three? - Are the comps in your Class, size range, structure and age? Develop your argument - How do you compare against the Neighborhood average? - How does your Neighborhood compare against the Bentwater average? - Do you have better comps in/out your Neighborhood? - Did MCAD adjust comps for Club Membership? - Work with your neighbors, your chances are better