So I'm protesting my property appraisal this year. I have a few similar comps and a $20k plumbing invoice I was planning on using.

But my other question…I have a buddy who owns a foundation repair company and he comes out every year to measure my house to make sure it hasn't shifted too much.

Suffice to say, he knows I'm protesting and was happy to provide an "official estimate" on what it would cost to "fix my foundation." He quoted me $40kz

My question: Knowing that there's no actual need to spend $40k to fix my foundation, would using this inflated estimate hurt me? Like could it come back to bite me in the ass if I try to sell my house and the county has a document saying I disclosed $40k foundation "issues" and never addressed them?

M.C. Swag said:

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So I'm protesting my property appraisal this year. I have a few similar comps and a $20k plumbing invoice I was planning on using.

But my other question…I have a buddy who owns a foundation repair company and he comes out every year to measure my house to make sure it hasn't shifted too much.

Suffice to say, he knows I'm protesting and was happy to provide an "official estimate" on what it would cost to "fix my foundation." He quoted me $40kz

My question: Knowing that there's no actual need to spend $40k to fix my foundation, would using this inflated estimate hurt me? Like could it come back to bite me in the ass if I try to sell my house and the county has a document saying I disclosed $40k foundation "issues" and never addressed them?

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Ive used foundation issues to protest lots of times and it's never popped up at time of sale. I do disclose on my sellers disclosure that the house has settling.

If you get the CAD to set a permanent condition adjustment, they will keep your foundation evidence on file. If a future owner ever sat down with them to contest value, the reason for the condition adjustment would most likely come up.

What are you trying to protest it to be worth versus what county is assessing it at?

As one poster said, important not to be penny wise and pound foolish. We don't know the numbers as they weren't really mentioned so cannot say that's the case here. Just making a comment. Definitely don't want to incriminate the very property you own.

The invoice is an aggressive estimate to fix something that isn't absolutely "needed" but is well within the bounds of normal Texas homeowner ship.

So I'm not here to debate the "ethics" of weaponizing the system in my favor, I just want to know if anyone has used estimates to protest their appraisal? And if so, did that obligate you to additional repairs later down the road?

M.C. Swag said:

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So I'm not here to debate the "ethics" of weaponizing the system in my favor, I just want to know if anyone has used estimates to protest their appraisal? And if so, did that obligate you to additional repairs later down the road?

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You can't separate the 2 because of the nature of why you are even asking. If you are even asking, you know it straddles the line which means you do have some risk here (though probably not much of one). Paperwork like this can be a ***** when it comes to records and real estate. What I would worry about on a sale is property insurance companies tend to pull a bunch of records on houses and ask for invoices and estimates of fixed damage from prior claims. You need to make sure they don't do that on CAD records else you are setting up for awkward negotiations down the line.

I'd still urge you to hire a service. They are highly likely to fare significantly better than you will at the protest AND… they can play arbiter of whether or not you are at risk.

I did it on my own once, had objectively better comps than they did (clear dividing line in the neighborhood between my home and some upper end ones they used), they said cool… added it to their list and I saved $150 on the year. I auto-protested through a company thereafter and saved $500-$1000 annually (more when considering the compounding effect).

Don't have hubris about it… it's not an indictment on your lack of arguing skills. Those guys are having to clear loads of protests every day… if you do it on your own, you'll get a not very serious 5 minute conversation that will either end in disappointment or you being told you need to have a formal hearing wasting more time. It's just the nature of how it all works.

ATM9000 said:

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M.C. Swag said:

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So I'm not here to debate the "ethics" of weaponizing the system in my favor, I just want to know if anyone has used estimates to protest their appraisal? And if so, did that obligate you to additional repairs later down the road?

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You can't separate the 2 because of the nature of why you are even asking.

I'd still urge you to hire a service. They are highly likely to fare significantly better than you will at the protest AND… they can play arbiter of whether or not you are at risk.

I did it on my own once, had objectively better comps than they did (clear dividing line in the neighborhood between my home and some upper end ones they used), they said cool… added it to their list and I saved $150 on the year. I auto-protested through a company thereafter and saved $500-$1000 annually (more when considering the compounding effect).

Don't have hubris about it… it's not an indictment on your lack of arguing skills. Those guys are having to clear loads of protests every day… if you do it on your own, you'll get a not very serious 5 minute conversation that will either end in disappointment or you being told you need to have a formal hearing wasting more time. It's just the nature of how it all works.

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Thanks, but it's not a "hubris" thing and that's not what I'm asking.

My question is; if I submit a repair estimate (any estimate for any amount) as evidence for my argument; does that obligate me to anything down the line?
Someone has to have used a plumbing, roofing, foundation etc repair as an argument. I'm asking for their input on if that precipitated any future obligation. That's it.

Also I have already submitted a request to their evidence. Home owners are entitled to know the basis for their appraisal. If they fail to provide it before my hearing, it's not admissible. (Basically a free win)


This isn't as complicated as you're making it out.

Thank you for your concern.

It's not. It's one piece because it's the only portion I have a question about. And the $20k plumbing was actual repair cost incurred, not an estimate.

Like I said, ive used those things lots of times. Its never come up again but I explained how it could. Anything major that im going to use against the CAD, im also going to disclose on a seller's disclosure. Trying to work both sides against the middle is too much work and my memory isn't good enough to keep up with what partial truth I might have told years earlier.

Going back and rereading your original question; no I have never heard of the CAD coming back and having an issue with the fact that you never fixed the foundation. Id actually tell them that you can't afford the repairs and don't plan to have it done. But it will definitely permanently reduce the value of the house and will they please place a permanent condition adjustment so that you don't have to rehash the same issue every year.

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And the $20k plumbing was actual repair cost incurred, not an estimate.

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If the problem is fixed, then it's no longer an issue. If your repair was after January 1, 2023 then they might give you something, but you'll probably lose that reduction next year is how I understand it.

schwack schwack said:

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And the $20k plumbing was actual repair cost incurred, not an estimate.

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If the problem is fixed, then it's no longer an issue. If your repair was after January 1, 2023 then they might give you something, but you'll probably lose that reduction next year is how I understand it.

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That's not how it works. Even if I paid to have it fixed this year (I did), the problem existed prior to Jan 1, 2023 (it did). So saying "it's no longer an issue" isn't how any of this stuff works. It's something that impacted the value of my home and is 100% relevant to determining the fair value as of 2023.

I understand I'll have to protest every year.

Had my hearing date yesterday. Guess who just got $75k knocked off their home tax value

Someone with two thumbs.

In Dallas, I called down the list of foundation repair places to ask if they gave an estimate on an address. Several times I hit on estimates that weren't disclosed.