It took weeks of legwork by family and cooperative real estate agents, but Stella Cantu got the McLennan County Appraisal District to knock $54,000 off the tax value of her widowed mother’s home.

As reported in the Tribune-Herald on June 15, the modest house on South 12th Street tripled in value this year, from $83,869 to $271,042.

Cantu was among about 8,300 property owners countywide who signed up to protest their values before an Appraisal Review Board panel.

Stella Cantu got the district to knock $54,000 off the tax value of her widowed mother’s home.
Rod Aydelotte/Waco Tribune-Herald

In a room overflowing with Cantu’s relatives, the three-member panel spent an hour Friday reviewing the case and cut 20 percent off the proposed 2010 value. That should save the family about $1,500 in property taxes.

Cantu, who owns the home near Baylor University with her husband, thinks the value is still too high, but she said the panel was fair and cordial.

“They were very nice men and shook our hand at the end,” Cantu said. “It’s still really high, though I know it’s in the Baylor area.”

The four ARB panels are working especially hard this year, with about 700 more protests than last year.

The appraisal district is supposed to certify its rolls by July 26, but may have to delay certification until later this summer because of the heavy load, Chief Appraiser Drew Hahn said.

Hahn said he expects that once protests are finished, the county’s overall tax base will grow but just barely.

He said the high number of protests is probably a sign of more general dissatisfaction.

“I think people are upset generally about what’s going on with government,” he said. “A lot of people come here and want to talk about their taxes. Our job is just to look at property values.”

Hahn said many people think local government entities direct the appraisal district to increase home values to raise more revenue.

That’s not true, he said. The appraisal district is accountable to the Texas State Comptroller’s Office, which double-checks the district’s work, he said.

Residents can appeal decisions to the Appraisal Review Board panels, which are mostly composed of real estate professionals chosen by the district’s board.

In Cantu’s case, the panel weighed evidence given by tax appraisers and the Cantu family. The appraisal staff argued that lots in the South 12th Street area were desirable for student housing and were selling for about $8 a square foot.

The Cantus cited recent home sales in the area to argue that housing demand in the area has cooled.

They also produced a letter from a real estate agent showing a much lower estimate of market value, as well as a letter from a housing developer offering much less for the undeveloped part of the half-acre lot.

After receiving the appraisal district notice, Cantu drove from her home in Raymondville to stay with her 86-year-old mother for several weeks and prepare for the hearing. Cantu’s husband attended the hearing, along with their son, David, who flew in from Minnesota.

Cantu had familiarized herself with appraisal hearings by attending six of them in the last few weeks, but she decided to let her son do the talking on Friday.

“There was a lot of back-and-forth negotiation, and my son is used to handling business deals,” she said. “It’s an emotional thing for me because it’s my mother’s house. I would have started crying.”

Cantu said property owners who think their property is overvalued should protest and be prepared with lots of evidence.

“Don’t be afraid to ask people for help,” she said. “We learned so much and met so many nice people along the way.”

jbsmith@wacotrib.com

757-5752

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