Earlier this year, my wife, Terri, decided that we were going to fight property tax increases on two of our personally owned properties.   Being busy on other matters, I of course supported the fact that she would take the lead on this and I would show up, sign and say a few choice words in the matter.  Then came the day we had to show up at the tax appraisal board.  We sat down in front of the board and at the appropriate moment Terri was prompted to make her arguments why our taxes should not be raised.  One property was our personal residence and the other was an investment.  Before our presentation to the board, we believed that we had the weakest arguments against raising our taxes on our personal residence and had the best argument against on the investment property.  The board then presented their side in favor a raising our taxes.   Afterward, there was about 5 minutes of deliberation amongst the board members.  When they were through they announced that our taxes for our personal residence would remain unchanged but the investment property would increase.  Well, I was glad since my personal residence was the largest of the two properties in question and the largest tax increase would have been with that one.  However, when I realized that they had increased the tax basis from $80,000 to $92,500 on the investment property, I could have flipped right there like a fish fresh out of the water!  That one was the property where we had the best argument!  The board was clearly wrong and they were using comparables from an adjacent neighbor hood that was relatively new and had larger homes.  Also, our investment property had a closed Supermarket building right up next to the back yard and alley and property line which we felt adversely impacted its value.  I knew that we couldn't have put the home on the market and sell it for what they were claiming the tax value should be.   A few weeks later, we were sent a form requesting whether we wanted to appeal the increase in tax basis on the investment property.   However, to do so we had to send $500 in advance of the meeting to pay for the arbitrator's fees (in case we lost).  If we were to win, we would get $450 back less $50 for administrative fees.  Terri felt strongly that she wanted to go the second round and fight it.  So we sent in our check and waited to hear back for a hearing date.

About three weeks later, we were lying on the beach in Florida and I answered my phone.  It was an appraisal board employee wanting to settle up with us for a lesser tax appraisal value.  He offered us $82,000 as the basis which I instantly accepted.  After we returned home, I went to the appraisal board, signed the acceptance form, and received back the $500 check we had written just weeks before.  

It never hurts to spend a little time to fight against a property tax appraisal increase, especially if you know that the increase is based on flawed assumptions.  And don't be too shy about going the second round if you lose in the first.  The appraisal board has every incentive to negotiate with you because they don't want to lose and pay the arbitrator's fees either.  However, always consult with your realtor first because you should have very good comparables and arguments just in case you have to go before the arbitrator.  Having to pay the increase in property taxes and a $500 arbitration fee ...priceless!

Good Luck!

Bernie