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You’re right. The way that the process typically works is that the CAD looks at nuts and bolts. Square footage multiplied by a value per foot and sets your appraised value. They’ll usually make correction if you protest with an actual error, like “that storage building has been gone for two years” or something along those lines… if you have a question of value (like a deteriorated driveway or a partially finished interior), they usually stick by their calculations. You’ll then need to ask for a hearing by the Appraisal Review Board-they’re independent citizens that mediate disputes between the CAD appraisers and the taxpayers. They’ve got more leeway to adjust value than the appraisers that are working exclusively off of ratios and numbers. The only time that I’ve had success arguing value with the CAD was one year when I’d paid for an independent appraisal for a home equity loan in that exact year, and the detailed report from the independent appraiser swayed the county appraiser to adjust the value downward before I went to see the ARB-and I think it happened because they knew I’d prevail at the ARB hearing with my evidence. But we still negotiated a little bit.

Yep. But what they fail to address is that without a decent driveway, no way in hell am I getting the appraised value for my house and property.

WAAAY off topic, but your comment reminds me of a joke: "You know the problem with female referees in the NFL? They keep bringing up stuff you did like 3 games ago..." 🤣

You’re not wrong. The CAD is trying to make sure that your appraised value is within 95-105% of its actual market value this year. Sometimes they’re on point and sometimes they’re way off. BUT, if my house has a sale price of $100k, I don’t leave the table with $100k. By the time you back out closing costs, a survey, title policy, buyer concessions and realtor fees, I’d be doing good to leave the take with $87k. I’m annually paying property tax on the fees that were paid once to others. That’s not fair IMO… but I don’t know how to make it any more fair. I don’t disagree with your driveway scenario, but like they said-the value of paving isn’t considered as a part of your CAD appraisal. Two mostly identical houses…Should somebody with a long driveway pay more than somebody with a short one? Same goes with fences… i don’t have one, but neighbor has a bunch of money tied up in a four rail fence and remote controlled entry gate. They just don’t consider those things. There’s good ground and bad ground. Some pastures stay wet half of the year, but others drain immediately-the acreage is taxed the same while we all agree that the actual values would vary greatly. It’s an inexact science that should be explained better, but it’s hard to reason when the typical response is made in anger.

It’s very clear why Reagan did it, I’ve actually explained the reasoning. Why don’t you read answers when you ask questions?

I dont have a problem with illegals being deported. Read what I wrote earlier

Candace Owens mopping the floor again. I really like her…

I asked her but, well, you know……..fence post syndrome.

Do you know what "perseverating" means? That's what you're doing. We're talking about something happening right now, and your only response is to (repeatedly) bring up something from 40 years ago. The irony is you keep asking this question but won't address why it was okay for Obama to deport so many people.

I know I will catch some flack for my beliefs, but I don’t care. I’ve seen it questioned before and I had already thought about it. I worry about AI developing into something that completely takes over….ie…….Terminator or I Robot. To me that’s not weird at all. When you create something that can think for itself, getting smarter in the process, and we have all experienced ‘glitches’ with our electronics, it’s a very conceivable concept. I’m sure there are very useful applications for AI, but at what point do we lose control over technology? I’d like to hear other’s thought on the subject. This is an interesting theory on AI. They are already trying to phase out cash to be replaced with chip loaded cards. Our phones track our every move, calls, searches, browsing history, etc….This hasn’t crossed my mind, but I find it interesting.

Ok. Why do you think Reagan felt it was necessary? What do you think motivated him to do it?

At least she would get the necessary treatment. I know some great foster parents in Harris County. I yake care of a lot of kids in foster care.

Winning Bigly: Tariff Receipts Top $16 Billion in April! [Hidden Content] @Big girl @UT alum @Boyz N Da Hood @CardinalBacker Sounds pretty good don't you think? Thoughts?!

Again, no one is stopping asylum seekers, or legal immigration in any form. In fact, it’s being encouraged. I’m not a D or R. Nor am I a big Trump fan. But, no to amnesty & the administration looks to be correct on their birthright citizenship claim to my layman’s reading. They are definitely correct on their abuse of national injunctions claim. I wouldn’t want my dead dog in CPS custody. Not in Harris County at least.

Not just Party specific. A number to consider that some don’t like to talk about: 59% of families/households headed by illegal immigrants use at least 1 major form of public assistance per 2024 CIS data which equates to over $42 Billion/year. According to the data, legalization only increases the issue because of the low education level. In contrast, 39% of legal/citizen households use public assistance. Wait! I thought public assistance wasn’t being provided to illegal immigrants. WRONG! The child being a citizen receives SNAP, WIC, Medicaid, & housing assistance. Many other programs have no limits on who can receive. Thus, it goes to the family unit. Conclusion Illegal immigrants are a significant net fiscal drain -- paying less in taxes than they use in public services. The primary reason they create more in costs than they pay in taxes is their relative low levels of education. Based on prior research, 69 percent of adult illegal immigrants have no education beyond high school, compared to 35 percent of the U.S.-born. As a result, they tend to earn modest wages and make modest tax contributions even when income and payroll taxes are taken out of their pay. This fact, coupled with the relatively heavy demands they make on public coffers -- especially for education, health care, and means-tested programs -- is the reason they are a net fiscal drain. We estimate that 59 percent of illegal immigrant households use one or more major welfare programs, costing roughly $42 billion a year. At the local level, the largest single cost is for public education. We estimate the cost of educating the children of illegal immigrants, most of whom are U.S.-born, totals $69 billion per year. While illegal immigrants often receive other services for their U.S.-born children, even when we estimate the net fiscal impact of just the illegal immigrants themselves, excluding their U.S.-born children, we still find they create a lifetime net fiscal drain of $68,000 on average (taxes paid minus benefits received). Even though illegal immigrants are net fiscal drains, they do pay a significant amount in taxes. We estimate illegal immigrants pay $25.9 billion a year to the federal government. Unfortunately, their tax contributions do not cover their consumption of public services. The net fiscal drain is not the result of illegal immigrants being unwilling to work. In fact, we find that illegal immigrant households are significantly more likely to have at least one worker than households headed by the U.S.-born, and there is little evidence that immigrants come specifically to get welfare. Legal immigrants and U.S.-born Americans who have relatively few years of school are also a net fiscal drain on average because they too tend to earn modest wages, make modest tax contributions, and use social services extensively. None of this should be seen as a moral failing on the part of low-income people. Nonetheless, it is the reason why communities across the country worry so much about losing their middle-class tax base, as it is primarily middle- and upper-income people who keep public coffers full. The fiscal situation today is very different from the situation more than 100 years ago during the last great wave of immigrants, when federal, state and local government was a much smaller share of GDP. Also, at that time industrial jobs for the less educated were plentiful and paid, by the standards of the day, relatively high wages. But none this is the case today. We need an immigration policy that reflects current realities, and we need to rigorously enforce it. Otherwise, the fiscal costs will be significant, as many communities across the country are currently finding out. [Hidden Content]

Blanket asylum at the current levels our buddy Biden brought us too? No... Not no, but Hell no.

hmmmmm

This is literally what Republicans are asking.

He couldn’t care less about corporations…..except the on that cuts his check. Lmao..

I agree with the better part of your post...especially the part of the ridiculous short-sighted mandate for school vouchers which I feel will cost all of us Texans in the long run. The property tax system is far from perfect, but it's definitely better than a state withholding tax in my opinion. One of my biggest issues with the property tax system (which is a whole 'nother topic altogether) is the property valuation process. For instance, certain aspects of your property are not taken into account when appraising its market value. My driveway was all but destroyed from hurricane Harvey. I appealed my valuation to the appraisal district, and I was told driveways were not considered when appraising the FMV. So if I have a $500,000 house, but no way to drive to the house, don't you think that has a bearing on the property valuation? Same goes for the land. Much of it damaged by the flooding, but according to them, it is inconsequential to the appraisal. I could list examples all day, but I'll stop there for now.

I am not pro illegal immigration but I do believe that people should be able to seek asylum. I said that I believed that the sick child, who is a citizen , should've been allowed to stay here, even if she had to be taken into CPS custody. I never said her parents should be allowed to stay. Also, I asked if Trump should grant amnesty to illegals like Reagan did.

It saved the act from being a total loss

So why is a 5 year old., who has parents who are here illegally, considered a citizen?

dipping his pen in the company ink?