The subject property is a retail single occupancy center. The assessed value was $833,125, which the Harris County Appraisal District attempted to raise to $1,045,664.
After reviewing the sales comparables for the area, Novotny & Company determined that HCAD was not justified in raising the value of the property.
This information was presented at an informal hearing and the District’s appraiser agreed with Novotny & Company and set the value back to $833,125. This reduction in value provided our client with a tax savings of $6,485.44.
The subject property is an office building located on the Katy Freeway in west Houston. The Harris County Appraisal District previously valued this property at $1,977,280 and in the next tax year the noticed value increased to $5,114,695. The new notice value was a substantial increase over the previous year value. Novotny & Company analyzed all the income and expense information that we received about the subject and created an income pro forma statement, which showed an indicated market value much closer to the previous year value.
In addition to our income pro forma statement, we did a comprehensive study on land sales along the Katy Freeway and also compared other land values in the vicinity to the subject. Our research showed the land portion of the value was significantly higher than what it should have been.
We presented our case to the Appraisal Review Board where we achieved a value of $2,071,040. The value reduction of $3,043,655 resulted in a tax savings of $81,980.
The subject is a vacant land tract containing 13.30 acres in Tomball. The property had a value of $130,365 in the previous year that was then appraised at $869,100 in the year of the hearing. This new notice value represented over a 550% increase from the previous year.
In preparing the subject for the Protest Hearing, Novotny & Company researched land sales in the Tomball area that were comparable to the subject, including the sales the Appraisal District was using to establish their value on the property. We then compared other property values using an equity approach.
As a result of presenting our case to the Appraisal Review Board, the value was reduced to $130,000. This resulted in a tax savings of $19,397.
