Opinion

BREAKING NEWS! Hays County Appraisal District Recognizes Local Real Estate Investor’s Genius. I bought a .68 acre lot on February 1, 2019 for $18,500.00 in Wimberley, Texas. I overpaid for the lot, but I needed a place to put my garbage cans for pick-up. Almost immediately I received my 2019 tax valuation from HCAD for $36,000.00. Investment genius! Doubled my investment in a matter of a couple of months. Not really. Fantasy. I filed my protest with HCAD, and it reluctantly accepted the purchase price, $18,500.00, as the value of the lot for 2019. When I received the 2020 valuation there was no surprise - $44, 480.00. I filed my protest. At the hearing, after waiting about 4 hours, HCAD proposed a 2020 valuation of $18, 500.00. I grumbled but agreed. The 2021 valuation was $39, 250.00. Again, I was not surprised, but confused. I began to question my investment genius. I filed my protest and after waiting about 3 hours, HCAD proposed we settle the protest for…you guessed it…$18,500.00. I grumbled my acceptance of the $18,500.00 valuation. The 2022 valuation was $75,480.00. Once again my genius was confirmed! Quadrupled my value in 3 years. Not really. Fantasy. A few days after I filed my protest, I received an email from HCAD offering to settle for $45,000.00. Of course, the email stated that if I did not accept the offer, I would be damned to the hearing process with the full weight of the expert appraisers being thrown against me. I respectfully declined the settlement offer and prepared for the upcoming inquisition. When I attended the hearing, I was greeted by a very friendly man who checked me in, scanned my exhibits for the hearing, and I was sent to wait in the area designated for victims. During the hearing the HCAD appraiser went first and presented HCAD’s proof supporting the $75,480.00 value for my lot. I was sworn to tell the truth during the hearing. I thought it odd that the HCAD appraiser was not sworn in my presence. The HCAD presentation included 15 land sales in the Wimberley area flashed upon the wall for the hearing panel to review. I immediately recognized there were no real sales comparables to my lot. None. The appraiser told us that based on these “comparables” HCAD set the value of my lot at $75,480.00. After looking at the list for less than one minute, at least two things were apparent. Firstly, there was not a single comparable on the list. Secondly, I believe that only when there is a protest, HCAD locates sales as comparables to justify the preposterous values ascribed by HCAD. The appraiser then began a presentation about my lot. She told us the owner would face many challenges trying to build on the lot. Then we all boarded the Crazy Train, destination Twilight Zone. The HCAD appraiser told the panel that the subdivision where my lot is located (it is not a subdivision) had beautiful homes with spectacular views – many with water views??? Next, she told the panel many new homes were being built on hillside slopes – engineering marvels. My lot does not have a view, much less a water view. I interrupted her presentation at that point to share some information with her and make it clear to the panel that no one from HCAD had ever seen my lot nor ever been to Wimberley. I was told I had 5 minutes to make my presentation. I told the panel that my lot is zoned residential and is too small to support both a well and septic system, so residential use is out. The slope of the property violates the Wimberley ridge ordinance. No residence can be built on the property. The property cannot be developed for storage – zoned residential. As I was making my presentation, one member of the panel leaned over to the member sitting next to her and asked what the settlement offer was. She obviously was not impressed by anything I had to say. She was told the offer was $45,000.00. She gave a large grunt and said the lot was worth way more than that with no clue as to how she arrived at that conclusion. I moved on to my clincher. My lot is surrounded on 3 sides by a 3 plus acre tract valued by HCAD at $38,590.00 per acre. Using HCAD’s own values would mean my lot’s value would be $26,241.20. The surrounding property is the most comparable property to mine except it will support a septic system, a well, and has enough level area on which a residence could be built. Those reasons justify a significantly higher value on the surrounding property. I had much more to tell the panel, but I was advised my time was up. The panel began discussing the value of my lot. I interrupted their discussion at least once trying to get the Crazy Train over to a new track – destination Reality – out of the Twilight Zone. I reiterated my position that the lot was only worth $18,500.00. The grumpy member told me that surely the property had appreciated. One member threw out $35,000.00. Another member said it was worth $25,000.00 and called for a vote on $25,000.00. The vote on the $25,000.00 valuation passed 3 to 2. So, my little garbage can lot that did not grow in size, did not get any flatter, and still does not qualify for both a septic field and water well magically gained $7,000.00 in value in 1 year. Well, maybe not so Genius? I am glad that at least one, maybe two, of the panel members actually paid attention to my presentation. I am totally disappointed with the entire valuation and protest process. I feel victimized – the same way I felt after my home, office and cars were burglarized when I lived in Houston. Absolutely no genius.