Did you protest the taxes on your home this past year? If so, we hope you did your research on your neighbors’ appraisals already. If you didn’t, you’re out of luck. Thanks to a new law passed by the state, the Harris County Appraisal District (HCAD) was forced to pull their property appraisal database from their website this week. Don't get out your walking shoes yet – the information can't be obtained from the county offices, either.
The new law that went into effect this week was mainly backed by the Texas Association of Realtors, although we’re sure the lawyers who handle homeowners property tax fights are grinning from ear to ear, too:
The Texas Association of Realtors, which was the chief backer of the bill passed by lawmakers last legislative session, applauded the new restriction.
The association lobbied for the change to restrict access to MLS information that real estate agents must pay to use.
"The MLS data is copyrighted and private information." said Tom Morgan, vice president of legal affairs for the Texas Association of Realtors.
We should note that HCAD was against this bill.
Homeowners can still see the sales prices in their neighborhoods, but only after they successfully file a protest before the deadline (which was May 31st this year). So next year, expect to see even more homeowners filing protests to view this information, piling up more work for the county and making many lawyers happy.
By the way, there's still Zillow, which gives estimated worth of homes, all in neat little Google-like satellite maps.
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