LUBBOCK, Texas -
You may have received a notice from the Lubbock Central Appraisal District notifying you of a property value increase.
Gary Adrian is a property tax consultant in Lubbock and he said that you should not just shrug it off.
"It's real critical that you at least take a look at what the tax office says about your property because once in a while we find mistakes, we find judgment errors, we find classification that needs to be straightened out," Adrian said. "The issue is, unless you work there, unless you understand what the codes mean, you don't really know what you're looking at."
Tim Radloff, chief appraiser for L.C.A.D. said the increase in property value is in part, due to the booming real estate market.
"The number of home in inventory right now is low right now," Radloff said. "I think it's like a 2.3 month inventory of homes for sale right now. The demand for homes is up. You got a lot of buyers in the market and very few homes in the market. So that's kind of, maybe having an effect on homes that are selling right now."
Consideration such as the condition of your neighbors house along with the size and age of your house can also affect the value.
"They analyze it, they drive in front of the properties, take a look at them, make sure that what their records indicate about the house are true," Adrian said. "They compare those houses, the sale price to what the tax office has them at. Everything is arranged so that the median house lies right straight in the middle, that property is the one that you use to decide whether a neighborhood needs to go up or down and when it goes up or down, it's every house in the neighborhood that rises or falls the same amount."
If you do not agree with the taxable value, Radloff said to fill out the notice of protest that accompanied the appraisal and come have a conversation with them.
Lubbock resident Richard Murphy is doing just that.
"Well it was stable for many years and then the appraised value went up substantially, something around the order of 30 percent," Murphy said. "I hope for the amount to come down substantially."
If you are planning to protest the increase, make sure to provide enough evidence to assist in the process.
"Bring pictures, pictures of the conditions," Radloff said. "Pictures speak a thousand words. Bring that information in. If they have plumbing issues or electrical issues, bring that in. One way to do that would be bids from contractors, showing what it would cost to fix that."
He said even though property owners are experiencing an increase this year, it is marginal and that the increase is a good sign for Lubbock.
"I think last year we were at 6.8 and I think this year we are at around seven," he said. "So it's not a great deal more, maybe just a fraction more than it was last year. Obviously I don't want to see a 20 percent increase in market value. Seeing small increases, that's a good thing. I think it's a sign of a real estate market that's stable and that's growing a little bit at a time. I think its a sign that we have a health economy, that people are confident in our economy and what is going on."
If you have any questions you can visit the Lubbock Central Appraisal District website.
