Big Houses .... Big Values

Years ago, Harlingen physician Rick Bassett sold his property on South Padre Island and created the home of his dreams in Treasure Hills.

With a cracked foundation in the two houses he purchased on a cul-de-sac, Bassett decided to combine the two lots into one home.

"We've built a pretty expensive home," he said.

Along a resaca, the Bassett home features tennis courts, a pool and a horticulture center in the back yard filled with cactus, many of which Bassett had collected over the years.

To maintain the property near the resaca, he built a strong block construction barrier, similar to those used on highways, to keep the water from moving onto his property.

"It's my own little escape," said Bassett, who works 60-hour weeks.

But Bassett isn't exactly pleased that according to the Cameron Appraisal District, his house has the highest market value in Harlingen.

Still, he said he didn't find it would be worth his trouble to protest to the appraisal district.

"My accountant told us that our ability to make any change is nil," he said.

He said he has zero plans to sell the home, given that in Harlingen, no home has sold for more than $800,000.

According to the appraisal district, Bassett's home is valued at $908,897.

"I'm not thrilled with it," Bassett said of the market value. "(The appraisal district) did it on their own, eyeballed it and said, ‘Bingo.' It was their call."

Other homeowners on a list of the top appraised market value homes in Cameron County have similar thoughts. Several who were interviewed said they didn't realize their home had one of the highest appraisals in their city.

Although they debate the end results and even the techniques of the Cameron Appraisal District, some said they didn't want to seek an independent appraisal out of fear that their value would be increased, giving them a higher tax rate.

Suzanne Harden of Brownsville said she didn't think her childhood home was the second highest appraised market value home in Brownsville.

"I think of myself as being small potatoes," Harden said of her home, valued by the Cameron Appraisal District at $834,868.

The double-brick home rests along a resaca that was in a popular area years ago, but that has changed, she said. Harden said she couldn't understand how the appraisal district has valued her home. At this appraised value, it is the second most expensive home in Brownsville, according to the Cameron Appraisal District"I think that it's beyond my realm of comprehension," she said, adding that she found the appraisal process"confusing, unfair." "It never seemed equitable to me," she said.

Harden said she does think the appraised market value on her home is accurate. But she says other homes in Brownsville are far more expensive and doesn't believe her's is one of the highest market values in the city.

Much of the high cost comes from the 12 acres on which the 6,000-square-foot home sits, she said.

"But, of course, I would try to sell it for more than that," she said.

She has never protested the appraised amount on the Brownsville home, but Harden said she made about three trips to the appraisal district office in San Benito to protest the value of a home she owned on South Padre Island.

Although she had her Brownsville home appraised once, Harden said she's afraid to try it again.

"I want to stay lower because I don't want higher taxes," she said.

Rolando Cruz, director of real estate for the Cameron Appraisal District, said 10,207 people protested their property taxes in June, a 39 percent decrease from last year.

Frutoso Gomez, the appraisal district's chief appraiser, said the agency does mass appraisals for Cameron County, where there are more than 200,000 properties.

"There's no way for us to check every property," he said.

The office looks at average sales of a property, he said. If there are 50 lots in a subdivision, for example, the appraisal district will look at what lots are selling for and take the average.

Because Texas is a non-disclosure state, a homeowner doesn't need to tell the appraisal district how much they spend on their home. This, Gomez said, may or may not work against a property owner.

"That's one of our biggest problems," he said. "We don't have all the information. The more information the public can provide us, the more accurate our appraisals will be."

Cruz said the appraisal district works to get the most accurate value on properties.

"We want both parties to think it's a correct market value," Cruz said.

Robert Barton, another Harlingen homeowner, said he had no problem with his appraised value.

His 11,000-square-foot home, in the Cobblestone gated neighborhood, is appraised at $808,966.

"It's fine," Barton said. "I have no objection."

Barton said he owns three lots near the house, which sits on about three-quarters of an acre. His property, though in a gated community, also has a gate and cement fence.

Barton said he was unaware of how high the market value on his home was.

"Not ‘til we got the bill," he said. "I think it's fine."

For Judith McCarthy of Rio Hondo, who worked for years in real estate, the trickiest question a homeowner is asked when they protest their home value is, "Well, just how much do you think your home is worth?"

"How do you respond to that?" McCarthy asked.

Along the Arroyo Colorado, there are a number of expensive homes, McCarthy said. But her home, valued at $301,943, certainly isn't the second highest, as listed by the appraisal district, she said.

"I know there's some pricey homes around here," McCarthy said.

She also owns a home on South Padre Island, but McCarthy, like other residents, has no plans to ever talk to the appraisal board about her gripes.

"I think it would be higher if I contested it," she said.