If you want to protest your property tax assessed value for 2011, The Dead line is close!

Harris County Appraisal District assesses property and that value sets your property tax amount. Reducing your property taxes is relatively simple but requires a modest commitment of time. you have an option to hire a property tax consultant. Basic steps to reducing the property tax assessment set by Harris County Appraisal District include appealing both market value and unequal appraisal annually. Then obtaining the HCAD evidence, preparing for the hearing(s) and attending the informal and/or appraisal review board hearing. Few property owners are aware of the option to obtain the HCAD evidence. This information is valuable in preparing for your property tax hearing. Here we focuses on the hearing process.
There are two options for the “administrative” hearing process at Harris County Appraisal District:

1) the informal hearing and
2) the appraisal review board (ARB) hearing.

Neither the property owner nor Harris County Appraisal District is required to attend the informal hearing. About 80% of property tax protests are resolved by agreement between the property owner/property tax consultant and the Harris County Appraisal District appraiser.
The second option, which typically occurs if you are not able to reach agreement with the Harris County Appraisal District appraiser, is the ARB hearing.
The property owners often receive some property tax relief at the ARB hearing.
Most Harris County Appraisal District appraisers are reluctant to make changes on unequal appraisal evidence. HCAD’s approach on unequal appraisal is in flux. However, if your appeal is on unequal appraisal, you will likely need to attend the ARB hearing. After you exchange and discuss evidence with the Harris County Appraisal District appraiser, he will likely make you an offer to settle the property tax protest. You can accept the offer or continue the appeal with the ARB hearing. In most cases the value offered informally will also be suggested by the Harris County Appraisal District appraiser at the ARB hearing. Property owners are often reluctant to attend the appraisal review board (ARB) hearing because they think they are wasting their time with such a small property. This is not true. Harris County ARB members are courteous, respectful and want the property owner to feel good about the ARB hearing. Players at the ARB hearings include the 3 ARB members, property owner (or property tax consultant) and the Harris County Appraisal District appraiser.

There may be some confusion regarding when the deadline is to file a residential tax protest with Harris County Appraisal District in 2011. An “early” deadline date of April 30, 2011 was announced for residential properties. However, homeowners have until May 31, 2011 to file a protest with Harris County Appraisal District, or 30 days after the date their appraisal notice was mailed – whichever is later. You may file in person or by mail but for most of us with internet access you can go file online. Just go to www.hcad.org/iFile for instructions for online protests. There is still 2 weeks to file a protest and you can do it yourself on-line just buy entering the iFile number that you can find on top of the green page letter that HCAD mails out to you.
If your 2011 preliminary market value may not have changed from 2010, so you may feel there is no need to file a protest in 2011. I strongly disagree with that. You may click on the link below and request comparables evidence for your protest. You don’t need a tax agent, but you do need the evidence to back up your claim that your assessed tax value is too high.
Feel Free to Call Sean Abri at 281-380-0438 if you have any question about the process. We Serve the needs of home buyers and home sellers in Houston, Texas. we Do appreciate your referrals and we treat them they way that makes you proud.