Property rates are always fluctuating. One day a property might be worth not a lot of money, but in only a few days, the same piece of land may be worth millions of dollars. Since the property value is so vulnerable to changes, property tax also keeps fluctuating along with it.
Source: EL paso times
This is what happened in the El Paso locality in the state of Texas. The property value of several pieces of land has gone up significantly. The values continue to rise. This has meant a subsequent increase in the amount of property taxes that the residents will have to pay.
Property values on the rise
In recent developments in the El Paso region of Texas, several homeowners have been receiving notices related to their property value. These notices state the updated property value for these homeowners as the property values have been increasing for quite some time.
Source: RISMedia
It is estimated that there has been an average increase of about 13 percent across El Paso county. This lies a proper value and amount when it arises to the category of property. This is because a change of as little as 1 percent also leads to a significant difference in the property tax value that these homeowners have to pay.
What caused such an unanticipated increase?
In the El Paso county of Texas, houses are being sold rapidly, resulting in people agreeing to pay more than the asked price to secure a deal for themselves. Due to this practice of people paying more than the asked price, the property values have shot up. This is how the entire county is seeing a rise in its property values.
Some areas in El Paso county have witnessed a rise as high as 17 percent by selling single-family residences. Some other places have recorded an even higher increase. These reports have been confirmed by Dinah Kilgore, who works for the El Paso Central Appraisal District.
Is this rise in property value good or bad?
A rise in property value means different results for different people. While some may benefit from this rise, some others could also suffer the risk of facing losses. If a person is looking to sell any of his property, he will definitely benefit from the increased property value. On the other hand, if a person plans to retain his property and does not plan to sell it any time soon, he will face losses as the taxes on his property will increase.
It has been estimated that the 13 percent rise in property value has led to a 10 percent rise in the property tax as compared to last year. This is a significant rise and is expected to impact the middle and lower-middle-class homeowner in the El Paso region. Especially since the previous year has been financially straining for everyone owing to the pandemic, some families could really suffer due to this tax rise.
The role of Central Appraisal District
Source: NET
While employees like Mr. Dinah state that they sympathize with the families on the receiving end of this tax rise, there is not much that the department can do about it. The Central Appraisal District is assigned to evaluate property value and make people aware of any rise or fall in the values of the property. They have nothing to do with property taxes.
The role of homeowners
Since homeowners will be the ones worst affected by the turn of events, they are responsible for turning the situation around. After receiving notices with the updated property value, the homeowners can start an official protest by filing their dissent. They can try and prove their point about why should the property values be changed. The Central Appraisal District itself has encouraged this method to solve the issue of rising property taxes.
The deadline for filing protests was stated to be May 17. People can then file objections, stating how the rise in taxes has been unreasonable and unaffordable for them and provide all relevant information to make a difference.
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