If you're a homeowner -- chances are you've received your 2012 property appraisal in the mail. More than 120,000 appraisals were sent out in Brazos County and it appears many properties have flat-lined. Whether or not yours went up, down, or stayed the same, property owners do have a chance to protest their appraisal.
It's a county that is certainly showing no sign of slowing down. In South College station businesses are moving in; new neighborhoods are emerging as new homes hit the market.
"We've lived here for five years," said College Station resident Gary Knight.
Gary Knight's home is at the epicenter of new development; he hopes the construction is a sign of a ripe economic recovery. Last week, however, he received his property appraisal in the mail and says so far, not much has changed.
"This year it went from $184,000 to $183,000, so it dropped right at $1, 000," Knight said. “I don’t plan on selling my house this year, so I’m somewhat satisfied with that number.”
An estimated 122,000 appraisals have been mailed out in Brazos County. According to the Brazos Central Appraisal District in Bryan, 5,000 homeowners who don't agree with their appraised property value will protest. Knight protested his appraisal in 2011 because he believed it was appraised too high.
“It was appraised at $188,000 and because I protested, I brought my value back down to $184,000, which is what the other houses are valued at within the county, so I'm not paying that much in taxes," Knight explained.
Brazos County Real Estate Appraiser Lois Hand-Miller says it's a mixed bag of numbers coming out of her office but there are some positive signs, even though average-home values are still potentially a ways away from their pre-recession prices.
"We are fairly stable; values have increased slightly," said Hand-Miller. “With the results we’ve generated, College Station has seen a slight increase since there has been more development, but overall, it’s flat-lined.”
We spoke to homeowners in the Chimney Hill neighborhood in College Station. One homeowner said his appraisal came in $7,000 higher than last year. Meanwhile, just down the street, another homeowner in the same neighborhood says her value plummeted by $10,000. News 3 caught up with Brazos County land owner Ronnie Mann at the Brazos Appraisal Office and says he’s protesting his appraisal.
“I’m satisfied with the value of my residential property, but my land, it came in at $100,000 and I’m trying to get it down to $65,000 or $70,000,” Mann explained.
It's a process these homeowners say pays off, even if in some cases, it takes some elbow grease.
"I'll go ahead and kick the bucket a little bit and keep raising hell," Mann added.
Property owners have until June 1st to protest their appraisal.
Brazos Central Appraisal District
1673 Briarcrest Dr # A101 Bryan, TX 77802
(979) 774-4100
