Submitted by Traci Riley

It’s every homeowner in Harris County’s favorite time of year: property tax appraisal notice time. Property taxes in Texas are a hot topic in the news and at the forefront for many homeowners in Timbergrove. In 2017, after Hurricane Harvey, Harris County Appraisal District held the values of many homes the same. Especially in areas that flooded. That was not the case for the 2018 appraisal values.

If you’ve misplaced your property tax appraisal notice, you can find details for your home and comparable properties at www.hcad.org. You can search by address or owner name to find your home. Once in the system, the property tax bill is a wealth of information to show just how all those property tax dollars are being distributed.

If you’re new to the homeowner game or just looking for ideas to effectively protest your taxes as a private citizen, join us at the next TMCC meeting for more details. Property tax time is never fun and for many; the the Harris Count Appraisal District appeals process — in which homeowners can protest the appraised value of their home in hopes of decreasing tax liability — can be intimidating.

If you’ve never protested your taxes, now is a great time to learn how. Paying property tax increases without protest effects the value of all homes around you and typically causes increases for you and neighbors. Strength in numbers is a helpful tool in protesting for neighborhoods with our age homes. Even for newer homes, nothing is perfect and with the right homework and preparation, you can make your case.

We’ll have local residents and real estate professionals on hand to give us a breakdown of what works and what doesn’t. The deadline for protesting property taxes in 2019 is May 15, the day after our next TMCC quarterly meeting.

Bring a copy of your property tax statement and we will have opportunities for one on one support after our question and answer portion of the meeting. We look forward to seeing you there.