If a property owner is dissatisfied with an order issued by the Appraisal Review Board, the property owner may want to consider Binding Arbitration. Binding Arbitration is a new remedy available to property owners whose property is valued at $3 million or less.
To begin the Binding Arbitration process, the property owner must complete and submit a Request for Binding Arbitration form along with a cashier’s check or money order made payable to the Texas Comptroller of Public Accounts. The fee for Binding Arbitration varies depending on the value of the property. Effective September 1, 2015, there are new fees for Binding Arbitration:
The Binding Arbitration Request must be submitted to the Appraisal District within 45 days after the property owner has received the order from the Appraisal Review Board. The Appraisal District will then forward the request to the Texas Comptroller’s office for processing. The property owner and the Appraisal District will then agree on an arbitrator. In the case that no agreement can be reached, the Comptroller’s office will randomly appoint an arbitrator. Once an arbitrator has been selected, the arbitrator will arrange a date and time for the arbitration meeting. After hearing both sides of the argument, the arbitrator will render a final decision within 20 days of the Arbitration hearing. If the arbitrator’s opinion of value is closer to the property owner’s, the Appraisal District will pay the arbitrator’s fee and the Comptroller’s office will return the fee less $50.00 for administrative fee to the property owner. If the arbitrator’s opinion of value is closer to that of the appraisal district’s value, the property owner will pay the arbitrator’s fee and lose the entire fee amount. For a fee, Novotny & Company will represent your case at a Binding Arbitration hearing at your request. For more information on Binding Arbitration or to discuss the specifics of your case, please contact our office.
