El Paso county property tax

[Irving]

Raise the rent and pass that increase onto the consumer.

[Madeinhb]

Property taxes are based on 1/1/2015 - 6/30/2016. Check the assessors site and comps during that time you fight it.

[brutal]

My property value appraisal went up $92,000 or 39%, and I live in Aurora, WTF?

Parker North (Uninc DougCo), $82,000 (+33%) of taxable value on a shitbox that hasn't been significantly updated.

That's the problem with "comps." Everything that's sold around here has been updated prior to sale - new kitchens, baths, etc. and we haven't done much of anything.

In a way, it's making me think I need to do a cash out refi and make the improvements, dismal job outlook or not. I should have done it 6-9 months ago when rates were a little lower. My timing always sucks.

I'd like to think I could do a lot of the work myself, and have done so in the past, but I'm not sure I'll really have the time. Now, from what I've seen GC's are 6-9 months out on most work. Gah!

[Irving]

Parker North (Uninc DougCo), $82,000 (+33%) of taxable value on a shitbox that hasn't been significantly updated.

That's the problem with "comps." Everything that's sold around here has been updated prior to sale - new kitchens, baths, etc. and we haven't done much of anything.

In a way, it's making me think I need to do a cash out refi and make the improvements, dismal job outlook or not. I should have done it 6-9 months ago when rates were a little lower. My timing always sucks.

I'd like to think I could do a lot of the work myself, and have done so in the past, but I'm not sure I'll really have the time. Now, from what I've seen GC's are 6-9 months out on most work. Gah!

I'm continuously in the same situation. Tired of missing opportunities because the house isn't ready to sell/ rent.

[roberth]

I haven't done updates either, apparently my townhome is worth $290,000 now. I had an appraisal done last October and that was for $255,000. I am thinking about an appeal.

[ray1970]

Yeah, by the time I got my house updated to maximize the value the market will probably tank again and it wouldn't matter anyways.

[Aloha_Shooter]

Can't speak for other counties but I'd have to save El Paso has been pretty reasonable about keeping any appraisal adjustments to reflecting the actual market changes. We had (I think still have) the same issues in Hawaii -- land owners have to pay increases in property tax based on increased value of the land even if long term leases preclude them raising leases. Then they get double-squeezed because many of the leaseholders sue to force sales of the land at "reasonable" values (i.e., now that the value of the land has increased five fold and you've been paying increased property taxes all those years, I want you to sell me the land for much much less because you're a "rich" landowner and I'm a "poor" leaseholder).

I'm okay with the recent increase in appraisals -- it fits with the increase in comps and it's the price of living in a civilized society. I don't have kids so don't use the schools either but I'm okay with paying for public schooling because my future rests on today's kids being educated. What I take issue with is how "education" has so often become so PC and stopped actually teaching real history, real math, real literature, etc. I had Scouts who would get in trouble at school because they kept raising items inconvenient to the indoctrination like actual colonial history or the actual text from documents or logical fallacies with what the curriculum was spouting ...

If you're worried about the increases in value, you could always take advantage of the rising market and buy in a less expensive part of the city. Of course, the crime rate there might be less than attractive ...

[hollohas]

Ours went up $68k.

The B.S. is that the tax is based on comps. But the comps are selling for over the appraised value by 10's of thousands. How the hell can they tax me on a made up number? They're taxing me on a value that no bank would ever write a loan for. My house is not worth what they are taxing me for.

Not to mention, the tax should be based on what you purchased your house for, not what you COULD sell it for. If some dumbass wants to buy a house for $50k over the appraisal, by all means, tax him for that.

And what am I getting for the increased tax money being taken from me? Does the county increase services just because homes are selling for more than 2 years ago? Nope. Do I use the roads or schools more because houses in my neighborhood are selling high? Nope. Do the parks need more maintenance? Nope. Are fires more expensive to fight because a house in the neighborhood sold for too much money? Nope. Homes values have ZERO influence over how much money the county needs to operate. So why should they get more? Property tax should be a flat fee.

PS - my appraisal from 3/2016 is over $40k less than my tax assessment.

[Irving]

Those are pretty good points.

[CS1983]

Ours went up $68k.

The B.S. is that the tax is based on comps. But the comps are selling for over the appraised value by 10's of thousands. How the hell can they tax me on a made up number? They're taxing me on a value that no bank would ever write a loan for. My house is not worth what they are taxing me for.

Not to mention, the tax should be based on what you purchased your house for, not what you COULD sell it for. If some dumbass wants to buy a house for $50k over the appraisal, by all means, tax him for that.

And what am I getting for the increased tax money being taken from me? Does the county increase services just because homes are selling for more than 2 years ago? Nope. Do I use the roads or schools more because houses in my neighborhood are selling high? Nope. Do the parks need more maintenance? Nope. Are fires more expensive to fight because a house in the neighborhood sold for too much money? Nope. Homes values have ZERO influence over how much money the county needs to operate. So why should they get more? Property tax should be a flat fee.

All of this is well and good, but it assumes that .gov is operating for the common good and without a mind to rape and pillage in a legislated manner.

When one looks at the taxes of the so-called "Dark" ages, in the days of that evil word known as "monarchy", we are paying exorbitant amounts of taxes in comparison.

I was talking with an Iraqi once about America. I brought up property taxes. They were astounded. Under Saddam, a house equivalent to something like many of us live in was taxed at about the equivalent of $20 US.