Brazoria Lawsuit Property Tax Savings over $2.4 Million in 2023
When informal and formal protests will not cut it, then the only option for business owners is to file a lawsuit against the Brazoria County Appraisal District (Brazoria CAD). Going beyond binding arbitration, these are just like any other civil suit, seeing both plaintiff and defendant using their evidence, witnesses, and skill against one another in front of a judge. 83 of these appeals were filed in 2023, for a combined taxable value of $1.12 billion. You need legal representation to carry out a judicial appeal and can get some of the best provided for you when you join O’Connor’s Property Tax Protection Program™. O’Connor will build your legal team from scratch, all while paying every fee and bill. You will only be charged if your lawsuit fails to lower your taxes. Enroll, relax, and save.
Judicial Appeals by Property Type Brazoria CountySource: Texas Comptroller, compiled by O’Connor, and not affiliated with any appraisal district.
| Judicial Appeals | ||||||||||||
| 2014 | 2015 | 2016 | 2017 | 2018 | 2019 | 2020 | 2021 | 2022 | 2023 | 2024 | ||
| Total Number of lawsuits | 29 | 27 | 19 | 19 | 19 | 20 | 153 | 163 | 173 | 446 | 421 | |
| Single Family Residential | 4 | 2 | 5 | 3 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 3 | 11 | 13 | |
| Multi Family Residential | 6 | 7 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 7 | 52 | 51 | 50 | 93 | 0 | |
| Commercial real and personal property | 15 | 13 | 12 | 15 | 17 | 11 | 96 | 106 | 115 | 331 | 398 | |
| All Other | 4 | 5 | 2 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 5 | 4 | 5 | 11 | 10 | |
Texas property owners should protest annually since You can’t evaluate the strength of your appeal until you obtain the hearing evidence file. You have to protest to obtain the hearing evidence file (available free upon request via U.S. mail).
Brazoria County Judicial Appeals of ARB Hearing
Judicial appeals are reserved for the truly elite properties of Texas. Traditionally, it was only commercial and industrial properties that went through this process, but single family homes are slowly joining the ranks as well, instead of using binding arbitration. These lawsuits see properties worth millions or billions of dollars being adjudicated in court, with either the taxpayer or the Brazoria County Appraisal District (Brazoria CAD) being victorious. The dirty little secret, of course, is that these cases rarely make it to court, with the CAD in question capitulating before the fight can truly begin.
The biggest obstacle to a judicial appeal is the price of entry. You need an elite squad of lawyers, experts, and researchers that can put together a case that makes Brazoria CAD surrender. Get all of that and more when you join with O’Connor. As one of the largest property tax firms in the nation, O’Connor has the knowledge needed to defeat the county on the way to victory inside or outside the courtroom. O’Connor will build your legal team, with no charge passed onto you unless your taxes are lowered. A true no-risk situation.
Brazoria CAD Judicial Appeals Filed by Property Type
There were 83 judicial appeals filed in Brazoria County in 2023, the most yet seen in the county. As is typical, commercial property led the way with 54 cases filed. Apartments and other multi family housing properties contributed 26 more cases to the whole. Both commercial and apartments set records in 2023, representing a sizeable increase in value. There was a single home that filed an appeal as well, which is typical for Brazoria County.
Value Involved in Judicial Appeals - Brazoria CountySource: Texas Comptroller, compiled by O’Connor, and not affiliated with any appraisal district.
| Billions of $ | ||||||||||||
| 2014 | 2015 | 2016 | 2017 | 2018 | 2019 | 2020 | 2021 | 2022 | 2023 | 2024 | ||
| Value of All Judicial Appeals | 0.108 | 0.103 | 0.086 | 0.126 | 0.165 | 0.205 | 1.261 | 1.428 | 1.595 | 3.992 | 4.294 | |
| Single Family Res | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0.002 | 0.005 | 0.012 | 0.02 | |
| Multi Family Res | 0.052 | 0.026 | 0.034 | 0.017 | 0.066 | 0.125 | 0.957 | 0.848 | 0.738 | 1.644 | 1.799 | |
| Commercial | 0.053 | 0.059 | 0.023 | 0.093 | 0.073 | 0.076 | 0.3 | 0.505 | 0.709 | 2.169 | 2.42 | |
| All Other | 0.004 | 0.019 | 0.029 | 0.015 | 0.026 | 0.004 | 0.004 | 0.073 | 0.142 | 0.167 | 0.056 | |
Texas property owners should protest annually since An annual appeal minimizes property taxes, sometimes well below market value.
Brazoria CAD Value Involved in Judicial Appeals
In a curious situation, while 2023 saw the most appeals ever, it had one of the lower amounts of value contested, the lowest since 2019 in fact. $1.12 billion in taxable value was filed on, well below the previous record of $1.59 billion in 2022. There was a large decline in commercial value in particular, going from $709 million in 2022 to $397 million in 2023. Multi family homes fell, but at a slower rate, going from $738 million to $667 million. Multi family homes have exceeded other businesses since 2019 and continued that trend in 2023. Single family homes disputed $2 million in value, which is about average.
It is not uncommon for these lawsuits to have a down year. They are unusual, in that they rely on court dates and other outside factors. It can take years for a case to find a judge, meaning it could be in limbo for some time. Also, Brazoria County has seen a great deal of victories for commercial, industrial, and multi family homes at the administrative level. If owners are successful at the informal or formal levels, they have less reason to deploy a full post-administrative appeal, especially considering the cost. However, even in a down year, these lawsuits were still almost 10 times higher in value than they were a decade previous. 22wwwwwwwww
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