The Bexar County Appraisal District has received about seventy thousand appraisal protests so far and is expecting a total of one hundred thousand, about the same number as last year.
The protest deadline was May 31st, but the Appraisal District, is still processing mailed in protests. Mike Amezquita is the Chief Appraiser. He says if homeowners aren’t keeping up with real estate transactions in their neighborhoods, they may not know what their homes are actually worth.
“They may have bought their home for $100,000 and that was ten or 12 year ago, and now they’re in a neighborhood that’s selling at $300,000,” Amezquita says. “Or they haven’t recently refinanced. There’s a lot of people who actually own their homes outright in San Antonio and they may not have any reason to be actively engaged in the real estate market.”
Amezquita says 80% of the protests in the past have been settled informally by meetings between tax payers and the staff, leaving 20% formally going to hearing.
“Try to come in with a calm, cool, collected attitude,” Amezquita says. “Come in prepared to discuss the value, not to argue. My staff is fully engaged and willing to make changes if it’s needed. The best way to do that is for the property owner to bring as much evidence as we may or may not have on the property.”
Amezquita says taxpayers who protest receive an evidence packet during the meeting containing sales information explaining how a property has been valued.