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VMI77

The Annoyed Man wrote:Once we have acquired the rural property, we'll likely divide our time between the two, and maintain the rural place as a retreat to fall back on if necessary.

We started out that way, but as the taxes in town got more and more ridiculous we decided to make it permanent. If it's a fall back and you're in a large urban area, you either need to "fall back" for awhile when things look dicey, probably enduring a few false alarms, or have good routes to your property off main roads if you're forecasting is off.

VMI77

dlh wrote:Run a goat on your property and see if you can get taxation at ag. value.

dlh

I've considered it...or leasing to a neighbor that is running cattle. The problem is twofold...that the 43 acres is only partially fenced and due to the terrain, difficult to fence and effectively contain livestock. At this point, the fencing expense is too high relative to the tax bite, which on 43 acres, including a residence, is still only 1/3 of what I was paying on our house in town.

VMI77

cb1000rider wrote:I dunno... Rural areas are hard to assess. The appraisal of our land value doubled (yes, 100%) this year. I thought that was odd, so ran MLS comps and found nothing that justified that sort of increase. I have neighbors that have accepted the value for the last few years, so I suspect that's the basis. I provided Travis county with similar properties for sale that had asking prices of less than the assessment - that never sold - those were not accepted as it wasn't a completed sale. There were no comparable sales in the area anywhere near that price for the last 5 years. Their comparables were in areas without development costs (water, electricity, sewer), amenities, or waterfront...

Basically, it's a catch 22. If you can't show a comparable properties that consistently sell for less, you don't have a valid protest. And you can't show that properties advertised at or below that assessment don't sell - because there is no transaction.

Ask them for the "evidence package" next time you protest - that will show you what they're comping you against.

Look, you really can't go off grid in Texas. With property tax, we're all just leasing from the government.

I actually filed a protest but I withdrew it. Pretty hard to make a case when the assessed value is what I paid for it. On the plus side the assessed value of the residence went down, but it didn't matter much because most of the tax is on the 43 acres of property.

VMI77

RJGold wrote:Mrs. RJ and I joke sometimes about going "off the grid"...

This nonsense is making that feel less like a joke every day...

In all seriousness, this is a serious threat and we have to be vigilant, aware, and informed...

I didn't read this thread until after Deputy Goforth was killed. It sure seems like this is one plausible motive the DA is searching for...

Not completely off the grid but I live out in the country. My taxes keep going up. Property valuations have increased an average of 40% a year over the past 6 years. I thought it might have something to do with Eagle Ford shale but the local tax appraiser says it's because people in the Houston area are paying whatever the asking price is to get acreage out in the country. He told me that almost every sale that has been used to establish market value has been to someone from the Houston area, none to any oil company. I'd guess this is probably happening around all the large urban areas, so if you're thinking about getting out of town you might want to start looking for property.

VMI77

http://www.breitbart.com/texas/2015/08/ ... -and-cops/

This probably just a lot of hot air from angry people, but situational awareness is always a good thing. Where are the arrests? Where is the DOJ? Can't really quote much from the article due to language.

Members of the #FYF911 or XXXXXXX and #BlackLivesMatter movements called for the lynching and hanging of white people and cops. They encouraged others on a radio show Tuesday night to “turn the tide” and kill white people and cops to send a message about the killing of black people in America.

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