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Featured Replies

17 hours ago, ONE YARD said:

i wish we just had a simple sales / income tax combo. 

Cletus doesn’t want an income tax.  He’s perfectly happy to receive the socialism that Austin pays him.   Half my property taxes go to Cletus.  

  • Popular Post
12 minutes ago, closetojumping said:

 

 

I'll be honest, I'll feel like I've been reading your posts for years and never had you set up as either being female or gay in your posting style/behaviors/comments. It's always interesting to find out more about someone you've "known" on the Internet for years, I guess. Sorry for your loss, also.

On Surly it works out best to be a closeted female, otherwise you get endless requests to put a sharpie in your ass and post pics. Sigh, it is annoying but what is a gal to do with a penchant for assholes and the sense of humor of a 14 year old boy?

the government will get their money. how they get there and what they call it diffs so as to not trigger the idiots. but rest assured, the government always gets their money.

2 minutes ago, burntorangebongos said:

On Surly it works out best to be a closeted female, otherwise you get endless requests to put a sharpie in your ass and post pics. Sigh, it is annoying but what is a gal to do with a penchant for assholes and the sense of humor of a 14 year old boy?

tumblr_lmfafjGAct1qh17feo1_500.gif

3 minutes ago, burntorangebongos said:

On Surly it works out best to be a closeted female, otherwise you get endless requests to put a sharpie in your ass and post pics. Sigh, it is annoying but what is a gal to do with a penchant for assholes and the sense of humor of a 14 year old boy?

Well, now that the cat is out of the bag, you're on notice

Also, it doesn't have to be a sharpie.

Edited by Teamdirtyleg

15 minutes ago, burntorangebongos said:

 what is a gal to do with a penchant for assholes and the sense of humor of a 14 year old boy?

uh...     you arent even close.

We are assholes with the sense of humor of either 10 or 11 year old boys.  Fart jokes are still the funniest thing ever.

2 hours ago, AUS-97HORN said:

so who are the top 10 school districts getting the most of that robin hood redistribution.  I checked the link but it only talked about the top 10 payers not payees

I have heard some not-so-funny anecdotes what a couple of recipient schools spent their recapture windfall $$$$ on..... one renovated their football stadium, another built a water park on their campus. 
 

My Wilco appraisal went up 10%. Geezer freeze on RRISD taxes and it is homesteaded of course.

1 hour ago, Judge Roybeanbag said:

Cletus doesn’t want an income tax.  He’s perfectly happy to receive the socialism that Austin pays him.   Half my property taxes go to Cletus.  

Paying your fair share? {wink}

1 hour ago, texasdago said:

Nope... they find other ways to use that money and it has nothing to do with education.  But hey, let's keep voting in the same idiots.

Same with 30-40% of the gas tax revenue not being spent of roads & highways.

3 minutes ago, Armybrat said:

Same with 30-40% of the gas tax revenue not being spent of roads & highways.

Tell me about the lottery money!  

19 minutes ago, Judge Roybeanbag said:

Tell me about the lottery money!  

Probably going to that OAN “think tank” at UT.

1 hour ago, burntorangebongos said:

On Surly it works out best to be a closeted female, otherwise you get endless requests to put a sharpie in your ass and post pics. Sigh, it is annoying but what is a gal to do with a penchant for assholes and the sense of humor of a 14 year old boy?

Can you post pics with a sharpie in your ass?

If we are doing this, let me tell you about registering a vehicle from out of state. 
 

Found out when I moved back to Texas that when getting the vehicles registered again, the state law is that if you paid less in sales tax than Texas charges, you owe Texas the difference. 
 

for example, I bought a vehicle for $42K in 2020 and paid the correct amount of sales tax at my locality- 4%. To register it here in 2021 I had to pay the 3.25% or whatever difference for sales tax here as a “fee” on top of the regular registration fee. 
 

 

so who are the top 10 school districts getting the most of that robin hood redistribution.  I checked the link but it only talked about the top 10 payers not payees

There’s the one in the valley that built a fucking water park with Austin ISD’s money.
2 hours ago, TexasEd said:

Repeating advice above in case you missed it.

You bought in 2021 so your tax appraisal should be capped at the actual purchase price.  No need to hire someone for that because it is a slam dunk guaranteed cap.  Just submit the protest with the HUD-1.

It is not a slam dunk guarantee...I've heard from several people that didn't get it lowered to that amount.  One was on a sale between siblings and the board decided that it wasn't an arm's length transaction (even though the price was legit).  Another didn't get it when they closed early in the year (mid-January).  Technically the value is supposed to be the value as of January 1st of 2022.  With prices rising as fast as they are, there is no guarantee that you'll get what you paid...very likely, but far from guaranteed

3 hours ago, Pato del Muerto said:

Texas is such a sham of a “low tax” state. 

Yeah, everyone likes to talk about the no income taxes, but your property taxes make up for it in a big way.  

1 minute ago, Chewbacca said:

Yeah, everyone likes to talk about the no income taxes, but your property taxes make up for it in a big way.  

I mean, Colorado takes 8% of income right?  Plus some amount for property tax. 
 

2.5 % of 300,000, and 8% of 100,000 look a lot alike. 

I mean, Colorado takes 8% of income right?  Plus some amount for property tax. 
 
2.5 % of 300,000, and 8% of 100,000 look a lot alike. 

Difference is that 2.5% property tax has an automatic 10% increase annually in most metro areas regardless of income.
2 hours ago, Judge Roybeanbag said:

Cletus doesn’t want an income tax.  He’s perfectly happy to receive the socialism that Austin pays him.   Half my property taxes go to Cletus.  

Cletus likely wouldn’t be held liable for any income tax, just like in a federal sense.   It’s the professionals on this site that would be fucked.  2.5% on 750k stings.  8% on 300k stings worse, then add another .6% on that 750k as a little extra fuck you.   Cletus is just trying to make his $750 rent and $1000 truck note. 

8 minutes ago, Pato del Muerto said:

I mean, Colorado takes 8% of income right?  Plus some amount for property tax. 
 

2.5 % of 300,000, and 8% of 100,000 look a lot alike. 

CO does 4.63% on income plus property taxes.  The combined property taxes on both of my houses is less than $8,000 (mountain house was crazy cheap until the RE market went bananas).  So I pay about 0.4% of value for the property taxes, plus income taxes.  

States, counties and municipalities need to fund schools, police, fire, etc and they're going to get that money one way or another.  

4.63 not terrible.  How is the valuations?  Accurate?  I’d give them the house and everything in it for what they say it’s worth. 

9 minutes ago, fattyflattie said:

4.63 not terrible.  How is the valuations?  Accurate?  I’d give them the house and everything in it for what they say it’s worth. 

They do the valuations every 2 years and they are somewhat accurate.  Every second or 3rd time I've had to appeal, but that usually results in a fix in the right direction.  Not always, though.

33 minutes ago, fattyflattie said:

Cletus likely wouldn’t be held liable for any income tax, just like in a federal sense.   It’s the professionals on this site that would be fucked.  2.5% on 750k stings.  8% on 300k stings worse, then add another .6% on that 750k as a little extra fuck you.   Cletus is just trying to make his $750 rent and $1000 truck note. 

Good point.  As a counterpoint, I would like to say that if America put in some national healthcare, Cletus might be able to get a better job.

2 hours ago, AUS-97HORN said:

uh...     you arent even close.

We are assholes with the sense of humor of either 10 or 11 year old boys.  Fart jokes are still the funniest thing ever.

The popularity of thujones penis drawings confirms this. 

a friend got his house refied. he had a paid appraisal done. would the CAD know this or have access to it? does he need to include this appraisal to his property tax dispute company?

10 minutes ago, crash_davis said:

a friend got his house refied. he had a paid appraisal done. would the CAD know this or have access to it? does he need to include this appraisal to his property tax dispute company?

When I refied my house I had an appraisal that was substantially less than the tax value.  I protested my tax valuation and took the appraisal as evidence.  They told me the appraisal was fair market value and didn't have anything to do with tax valuation.  I told them to get stuffed.  We ended up settling for the midpoint between the appraisal and the tax valuation.  Fuck all appraisal districts in the goat ass.

my experience with our appraisal district is they don't care about "fee appraisals."  

We use O'Conner and I've been surprised at reductions in years where I wasn't expecting anything.  

7 hours ago, Armybrat said:

I have heard some not-so-funny anecdotes what a couple of recipient schools spent their recapture windfall $$$$ on..... one renovated their football stadium, another built a water park on their campus. 

La Joya ISD's water park complex also includes a natatorium, a planetarium and a district-owned golf course.  This was not a bond-funded project.  The water park and the golf course are losing money, and the losses are being covered by their general fund.  About 85% of their general fund revenue is either from the feds or the states.  Only 15% of the money is coming from local tax revenue.

Melissa ISD, with a district enrollment of 4,000 and a Robin Hood payment of zero, owns this sweet indoor practice facility with an outdoor turf football field.  A warning to Westlake: your facilities are falling behind Melissa:

https://www.hwh1887.com/work/melissa-isd-case-study

I was amazed during my travels with my kid's high school band when we visited San Marcos, home of another zero Robin Hood payment, and saw their million dollar Jumbotron.

Robin Hood has been GREAT for small town ISDs who are not shy about making crazy purchases.  Austin ISD struggles with Robin Hood for sure, but they've let their assets fall apart while these smaller districts have been spending and spending and spending.

Edited by Texas Jeff

17 hours ago, Chewbacca said:

Yeah, everyone likes to talk about the no income taxes, but your property taxes make up for it in a big way.  

Don’t live in a pretentious McMansion....... or Austin.

11 hours ago, Texas Jeff said:

La Joya ISD's water park complex also includes a natatorium, a planetarium and a district-owned golf course.  This was not a bond-funded project.  The water park and the golf course are losing money, and the losses are being covered by their general fund.  About 85% of their general fund revenue is either from the feds or the states.  Only 15% of the money is coming from local tax revenue.

Melissa ISD, with a district enrollment of 4,000 and a Robin Hood payment of zero, owns this sweet indoor practice facility with an outdoor turf football field.  A warning to Westlake: your facilities are falling behind Melissa:

https://www.hwh1887.com/work/melissa-isd-case-study

I was amazed during my travels with my kid's high school band when we visited San Marcos, home of another zero Robin Hood payment, and saw their million dollar Jumbotron.

Robin Hood has been GREAT for small town ISDs who are not shy about making crazy purchases.  Austin ISD struggles with Robin Hood for sure, but they've let their assets fall apart while these smaller districts have been spending and spending and spending.

That's the problem. Recapture money should be used to get an ISD to a minimum level of acceptable service not to exceed the standards of every other fucking district in the state.  It's a complete misuse of funds.

 

When we refi'd our house several years ago the appraisal came in lower than what WCAD said. Used that number to contest and they lowered to the value of the appraisal. 

12 hours ago, Texas Jeff said:

Melissa ISD, with a district enrollment of 4,000 and a Robin Hood payment of zero, owns this sweet indoor practice facility with an outdoor turf football field.  A warning to Westlake: your facilities are falling behind Melissa:

https://www.hwh1887.com/work/melissa-isd-case-study

 

That was paid for with bond money:

https://www.redlandscommunitynews.com/sports/thinking-huge-in-the-lone-star-state/article_d8cbe4ae-5917-11ec-b825-7776402e8194.html

31 minutes ago, CooterBrown said:

La Joya ISD's water park complex also includes a natatorium, a planetarium and a district-owned golf course.  This was not a bond-funded project.

Correct this was not paid for by bond money: https://abc13.com/texas-water-park-school-la-joya-isd-funding/4162905/

Just wanted to point out that the Melissa ISD situation isn't similar to La Joya's. Melissa will likely be paying into the Robin Hood funds sooner rather than later as it's a growing and very well off area. 

It is somewhat amusing/irritating that fairly shittastic HISD and DISD are on the big payor list.

dumb question amnesty for protesting pros: if my market value increase >>>>>> 10% homestead cap, is it even worth protesting?  Even if they knocked, say 20%, off my market value, it would still be way above the assessed amount.  Maybe it will help lower the estimated market value in future years (doubt it though, since they will be based on future comps)?

 

 

34 minutes ago, bschoolprof said:

dumb question amnesty for protesting pros: if my market value increase >>>>>> 10% homestead cap, is it even worth protesting?  Even if they knocked, say 20%, off my market value, it would still be way above the assessed amount.  Maybe it will help lower the estimated market value in future years (doubt it though, since they will be based on future comps)?

 

 

That’s exactly why you do, to protect for future years. 

Otherwise your taxes will go up 10% a year until your HS catches up with the appraisal. 

Up 66% on appraised value but my neighbors house just sold for the same price and it is smaller than mine.

Seems the appraisal is on point but the elderly in our area are screwed.

2 minutes ago, pacman said:

Seems the appraisal is on point but the elderly in our area are screwed.

Elderly are exempt, no?

2 minutes ago, fattyflattie said:

Elderly are exempt, no?

I think different counties have different over65 exemptions. Some freeze the amount, some just subtract an amount from the valuation number as a discount. 

I understood them to have exemptions but not adequate to cover year over year increases in the tens of thousands. Happy to be wrong, but my other neighbor, elderly, was complaining about it like he is out of pocket. Even with homestead, our taxable value has risen 100k in 3 years. Hard to cover on a fixed income.

Edited by pacman

I did just find this though 

All homeowners aged 65 years or older qualify for a standard $25,000 homestead exemption. Other than this, the Texas school districts offer a $10,000 exemption for qualifying homeowners aged over 65. An additional exemption of $3,000 is offered by many cities and counties as well.May 18, 2021

and this

The Texas Tax Code, Section 33.06, allows taxpayers 65 years of age or older to defer their property taxes until their estates are settled after death.

Edited by Pato del Muerto

On 4/5/2022 at 7:18 PM, Grimas said:

Mine actually went down 3% this year...  I had the house reappraised for a cash out refi 2 years ago and told the appraiser to give me the smallest number available when he did the appraisal and I fought the AD last year and got 7% off last year. In Montgomery county...  :) Of course, my rental house in Harris county went up 30%...

 

I must have been drunk when I checked the online site...  Just got my mail and a 400% increase in land value and 17% on the structure...  F me...

Travis County isn't updated yet, but I looked at the TCAD site, and in the deed history I see this for my house (I bought it July 2020):

 

Screen Shot 2022-04-07 at 9.48.43 PM.png

 

What the fuck is this "LISTING INFORMATION"? Is TCAD now scraping MLS and getting sale listings and putting those in the Deed History? This wasn't there in their old system. Anyone else who bought in Travis County in the last couple of years seen anything similar?

Edited by hornian

18 hours ago, hornian said:

Travis County isn't updated yet, but I looked at the TCAD site, and in the deed history I see this for my house (I bought it July 2020):

 

Screen Shot 2022-04-07 at 9.48.43 PM.png

 

What the fuck is this "LISTING INFORMATION"? Is TCAD now scraping MLS and getting sale listings and putting those in the Deed History? This wasn't there in their old system. Anyone else who bought in Travis County in the last couple of years seen anything similar?

They are not supposed to have access to MLS.  They did a couple of years ago and the Austin Board of Realtors sued the MLS company for disclosing private information.  Travis County lost access to the data and threw a hissy, saying that they couldn't get good data so they weren't going to raise valuations at all for that one year.  It wouldn't surprise me if Travis County is paying someone behind the scenes for access, but since Texas is a non-disclosure state, they are not entitled to that info.

 

 

Looks like Travis County appraisals are coming out.

My house is up 89% from last year.  Not a typo.  89%.

Should I protest?  I would have to get them to agree to reduce their valuation by almost 45% to benefit.

The city of Austin needs to change the Project Connect tax from a fixed number of cents to a percentage of the budget or it's going to eat the rest of the city budget.

Looks like Travis County appraisals are coming out.
My house is up 89% from last year.  Not a typo.  89%.
Should I protest?  I would have to get them to agree to reduce their valuation by almost 45% to benefit.
The city of Austin needs to change the Project Connect tax from a fixed number of cents to a percentage of the budget or it's going to eat the rest of the city budget.

Doesn’t hurt to protest but I wouldn’t expect to have much success given this market

My folks’ place in bee cave is up 108%. I thought my WilCo numbers were bad. Sheesh
16 minutes ago, texhorn said:


Doesn’t hurt to protest but I wouldn’t expect to have much success given this market

My folks’ place in bee cave is up 108%. I thought my WilCo numbers were bad. Sheesh

Don't forget that a county can't have an overall increase in tax revenues in excess of 3.5% without an election.  This should dampen the impact of these crazy valuations on your tax bills.

Mine is posted. 
 

Up 68% from last year. 
 

It’s still probably less than I could sell it for, but I ain’t moving. 

Up only 52%.  I must be surly poor.  

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