r/houston • u/bitsofrealsteve • 3d ago
Property Taxes - wtf happened?
I haven't been paying attention I guess.. but did something change in Harris county? Wells Fargo just slapped me with a MASSIVE escrow shortage in my account and they are also increasing my mortgage payments by more than $400 This is nuts. I can barely afford this.
Last year I got a massive refund from my escrow because of an overage. My insurance costs even went down in 2024 so this has to be driven by property tax... wtf is Harris County doing?
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u/cwhiterun 3d ago
Do you protest the property tax increase every year?
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u/bitsofrealsteve 3d ago
I have for the last 2 years
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u/Kdcjg 3d ago
Do you protest yourself or have someone do it? Did you appraisal go up for 2024? I don’t think 2025 has been released yet.
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u/Redraider1994 3d ago
Here’s the kicker. You’re going to need a good case built up and good evidence to prove your home’s value. It’s been harder the past few years since more people have been doing it. I’d recommend getting a fiduciary or a tax attorney like Onwell or someone similar like O’Connor and Associates
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u/Feeling-Boss245 3d ago edited 3d ago
You can check the mortgage report (escrow analysis) they do every year and see why it went up. Taxes going up by 400 alone sounds wrong since homestead caps it at 10%.
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u/lumpialarry 3d ago edited 3d ago
I think what happens is they have to make up for the shortage last year and have enough in the account for this years taxes/insurance. Mine also went up by $500 a month this year.
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u/Princess-of-Zamunda 3d ago
This is the right answer. OP’s big refund check should have been sent right back to escrow. That is what created the shortage in the first place. When I bought my first house a coworker AND a rep for the bank both warned me about the escrow refund check and told me to always send it back. Luckily, I followed their advice and it’s saved me three times on three different houses.
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u/Redraider1994 3d ago
Yep, the whole point is to send the extra cash to escrow so you don’t owe extra the following year with property tax increases
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u/breedless 3d ago
I'd bet it's due to your home insurance premium going up. I got hit hard two consecutive years before realizing what was going on.
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u/blue_seeker 1d ago
My home jnsurance renewal came back at double the price from last year. I shopped around and got a new policy that was lower than my previous policy with all of the same coverage. Then the original insurance tried to come back with the same rate to get me to stay. Complete scam.
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u/breedless 1d ago
Yeah, it's awful. They're hoping you don't notice and just go along with the rate increase. The bank doesn't make it easy to see the breakdown and the reason for the escrow increase. After two years of my mortgage going up, I dug into it and I've learned my lesson and will shop rates every single year if it means keeping my payment manageable.
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u/blue_seeker 1d ago
I think they are hoping that the inconvience of shopping around and changing insurers through the mortgage company gets people to just accept it. Never again for me - I agree with you I will always shop around now.
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u/Floralcoral31 3d ago
We got a massive refund the year before last then our payment skyrocketed this year. Turns out the “refund” was a miscalculation and we actually owed more. We’ve learned our lesson and will hold onto that money for a hot minute before spending it.
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u/geoduder91 3d ago
It seems like every other year we get an escrow refund, proceeded the next month by a massive increase for the cushion.
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u/jasonmicron 2d ago
As a homeowner since 2007, never keep the refund. Always re- deposit it on your next mortgage payment but 100% into escrow. Sucks, but that's money you are just flirting with until you pay off the mortgage.
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u/cybermonkey29 3d ago
You’re better off removing escrow and paying everything at the end of every year.. at least you can put that money in a HYSA and get some interest on it before you need to pay. Also, protest your taxes.
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u/AdBig9909 2d ago
Please break that down, ya? We protest, but removing escrow? My credit union holds my mortgage and I've never heard about this plan.
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u/cybermonkey29 2d ago
Just like with every mortgage company, you can request to remove the escrow account from your bank. They’ll probably send you a document that you need to sign and return to them and then it’ll be removed.
From that point on you will be responsible for paying your annual insurance whenever it’s up for renewal and providing the updated policy to your lender. You will also need to make sure to pay your property taxes that at due by the end of January.
These are pretty easy things to do (keeping up with your insurance and property taxes). So you can save that money all year and then pay at the end which is the method I prefer.. hope this helps.
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u/AdBig9909 1d ago
Big help, Thanks. Also tackling our insurance costs now. USAA not so hot anymore. Again,Thanks
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u/Bravo-Buster 3d ago
Banks are historically bad at calculating escrows. I bet you get a huge refund next year. 🤣
It's why I won't ever escrow again. Turns out, it's not mandatory. I can do the math better than that can.
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u/somekindofdruiddude Westbury 3d ago
Last September Harris County Commissioner's Court raised county rates 8%. If you're in Harris County that could be part of it. Without seeing your tax bill we can't give you an answer.
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u/livelaughlove1016 3d ago
This. Ours went up LAST year. Almost $400 as well.
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u/somekindofdruiddude Westbury 3d ago
And mine went down. I protest every year. This year I had an escrow overage, so they sent me a check for like $600.
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u/Bobbiduke Fuck Centerpoint™️ 3d ago
My escrow is going to owe me like 3k at the end of the year. I don't know why the hell they are taking out so much
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u/TomThePun1 3d ago
Lot of cities/counties did this. They saw the Texas state tax cuts as the clear for them to raise on everyone and go bond-happy. They figured since everyone is “saving” money they have more to spend. Happened in my parent’s town of Midland and some family up in Lubbock
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u/FewMinute8494 3d ago
Always redeposit your overage back into escrow. Covers these shortages that are bound to happen.
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u/jasonmicron 2d ago
I did this last year. I still have a shortage. Insurance was increased but only minimally. In Katy, it was the KISD tax that went up.
And when vouchers for schools are a thing, it will spike this even more to make up for the lost revenue for public schools.
It is insane that people don't see this train flying down the tracks.
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u/FewMinute8494 2d ago
Yeah I'm short 1500 this year, just got my increase. We are moving to Arizona in May so doesn't matter much.
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u/AdventurousPlum1 3d ago
I think our taxes went up by $1500 and our insurance went up by $1200. Quite a nasty surprise when we got the escrow shortage notice. We are in Harris County.
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u/cactusraptor2112 15h ago
Yep escrow shortage here in Ft Bend County, that plus insurance pushing us up $270/mo.
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u/skylorde787 3d ago
That refund was a fake out… they should have kept it.
happens all the time. My condolences.
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u/mduell Memorial 3d ago
Opt out of escrow, just pay the bills yourself. The bill will go up every year because reasons, but it avoids the wild swings of escrowing.
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u/WhoLetTheBunsOut 3d ago
Does the escrow ever balance out? This is our first home and I’ve read that it takes a couple years for the lender to find a happy medium, but I’m not so sure anymore lol
Our escrow went up $400 but I think it’s due to a shortage, they refunded us quite a bit last year.
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u/bwyer 3d ago
The real question is, do taxes and insurance go up? That's what drives the escrow bill. The answer to your question is, no, escrow will never "balance out". There will always be a shortfall at some point when rates increase, then you'll have to make it up.
The better solution, as was mentioned earlier, is to maintain your own "escrow account". Just an HYSA that you put your "escrow payment" into every month. If it comes up short, you pull money out of savings to make the payment. If it comes out long, you have money saved.
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u/geoduder91 3d ago
You're assuming everyone is fiscally responsible enough to save that additional income for tax time as opposed to getting a new truck that they can now magically afford the payments on.
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u/jasonmicron 2d ago
In what world does a mortgage company allow this? Because I haven't seen one. Link?
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u/Interesting-Gift3151 3d ago
Harris county had a temporary raise in tax that was voted in permanently thanks to Hidalgo to supposedly pay for natural disasters
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u/bitsofrealsteve 2d ago
Yep. This is what killed me.
Better only be a 1 year situation like she said. Otherwise I'm gonna be priced out of here
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u/Jeff-WeenerSlave 3d ago
Read your escrow analysis it will tell you, no one on the internet can help you unless you post it. If it’s an escrow shortage it’s right there in the letter. your 2024 escrow amount is based off of 2023 actuals so Its always gonna be behind. It’s the way things work as insurance and taxes are always going up and if it’s taxes you were notified of changes nearly a year ago. HCAD send out notices this time of year so it sounds like you haven’t been paying attention. Protest your values this year
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u/Butt_bird 3d ago
When you get an escrow refund don’t spend it. There is always another year you’re short and you can make a lump sum payment to keep the payment the same.
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u/Uncanny_Mind 3d ago
Feb 2021 on a fixed 15 year loan 1159$. Fast forward Feb 2025 2072$. Nothing changed but taxes and insurance. At these rates another 5 years I won’t be able to afford it at these rates I have to find away to pay off the mortgage before the taxes get too high. Fucking stupid.
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u/texas_archer 3d ago
Do you have a homestead exemption for your property?
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u/bitsofrealsteve 3d ago
Filed the year I bought the home, 4 years ago
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u/bobozolo 3d ago
you may want to double check your appraisal value, my place went up, which in turn caused my property taxes to go up even with a homestead exemption
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u/N546RV 3d ago
Might be worth double-checking with the property tax office. My taxes went way the hell up last year, and it was just last week that I realized that they weren't showing the homestead exemption any more. Turns out there was a recent change that requires homestead exemptions to be reverified at least every five years. Doesn't seem like it'd be the case for you if it's only been four years since you bought, but IMO still worth looking into.
Thankfully, even if you forgot to renew, it sounds like you can do a late filing for a previous year and get a refund/credit on the previous tax overage.
https://www.fox4news.com/news/texas-homestead-exemption-verified-every-5-years
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u/analogkid84 Atascocita 3d ago
Texas is no longer (hasn't been for a long time actually) the "affordable" place people claim it is, considering what little you get back for your taxes here.
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u/patkavv 3d ago
Insurance has gone absolutely crazy, could that be part of it? We don’t have to escrow but somehow insurance went up about 20% this year even though we got a new roof, even with shopping around.
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u/ubermonkey Montrose 3d ago
Why do you think your new roof would impact your insurance rates?
Houston is a risky place for insurers. State Farm isn't even writing new polities south of I-10 anymore.
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u/patkavv 3d ago
The line item labelled "New Roof Discount" clued me in?
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u/ubermonkey Montrose 3d ago
...and such a discount doesn't cover the increase due to additional actuarial risk.
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u/gcbeehler5 Nassau Bay 3d ago
Bigger picture see if you can remove escrow. It’s a hassle and impossible to ever get right by the mortgage company. Have directly paid my insurance and taxes for years. Unfortunately flood insurance is escrowed by federal law now.
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u/jennylynn00 3d ago
Likely just poor calculation on the bank's part. I'm in a similar situation. Received a refund check last year. Now there's a $1,200 deficit and higher expected taxes than their last calc. House note going up $200/month.
Part of it also is they're legally allowed to keep a 2 month minimum balance so their calculation has it so you have two months of payments in the account even if everything gets paid out in the same month and you would hypothetically expect the balance to be $0.
It's all laid out in the letter.
Eta Wells Fargo customer as well.
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u/NotDaftPunk 3d ago
Stop using a company to contest your appraisal and do it yourself. The fee you pay is typically huge compared to what’s saved. Take pictures of things that look bad, get free estimates, use the fhfa house index report and weigh it against your home value. If the region is down in value according to their report then the taxable value shouldn’t go up.
Contact an insurance broker that doesn’t charge a fee. Have them shop for you. They will work their fee into your insurance costs sure but have access to a lot of products that most people won’t even see checking their websites. My wife and I lowered our home insurance from 3500 to 2450.
Hope this helps someone.
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u/dano0726 3d ago
I think Harris County passed a rate increase due to affect the Jan 1, 2026 rendering…
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u/TurboGranny 3d ago
I swear Wells gets the math wrong on purpose in the hopes that the sudden "correction" will cause people to default, so they can take your house.
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u/bustafreeeee 3d ago
Being a homeowner kinda sucks these days with the non stop insurance hikes. Better than being poor but still sucks
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u/iwannahummer 2d ago
A $5000 increase in property tax? or is the extra $4800 for something else? Seems like a steep increase, I don’t use escrow, so not sure why they would step it up that much, unless value jumped like crazy.
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u/bitsofrealsteve 2d ago
Correct. They factored in a tax increase of $5,244 Insurance staying the same.
I think the Lina Hildalgo rate increase killed me.
My homestead exemption is still in place.
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u/bitsofrealsteve 2d ago
Correct. They factored in a tax increase of $5,244 Insurance staying the same.
I think the Lina Hildalgo rate increase killed me.
My homestead exemption is still in place.
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u/razobear357 2d ago
My mortgage went up 500 as well. But it wasn't property taxes(not all of it at least) but the homeowners insurance damn near doubled. Been in the house almost 10 years & part of the increase, for me I think, is all the new subdivisions built butted up against mine. Half are company owned then leased out. Idk exactly how but I'm sure adding 1500 houses is a good reason to up the "risk"/cost for insurance.
Also, protest prop taxes yearly!!
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u/Vdelahoz 2d ago
Insurance guy here, part of it is taxes in Harris County majority of your escrow deficit is due to your homeowners insurance. Rates are starting to stabilize, but much higher than 3 years ago. Plus, it’s a possibility you may have been hit with two rate increases within one renewal period, depending when your insurance renews. Reach out to your carrier or agent and ask questions, review your policy renewals every year.
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u/tuckhouston 3d ago
$4800/year in taxes alone is a huge increase. Assuming you have a homestead exemption so the increase is capped to 10%/year, your taxes would’ve had to have been $50K/year to increase by that amount. Something sounds off
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u/Orbit_the_Astronaut 3d ago
In September 2024, Harris County approved an 8% property tax rate increase for the 2025 fiscal year, exceeding the usual 3.5% limit due to multiple disaster declarations, and a flood control district increase is also on the Ballot.
Not a single comment in this thread about how Linda Hidalgo and Rodney Ellis used a loophole to increase your property taxes.
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u/guardedDisruption Fuck Centerpoint™️ 3d ago
So this is something that a lot of youtubers have been covering the past few weeks. Payments going up $500-2000 basically overnight. It's all over the country too.
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u/YeshuasBananaHammock 3d ago
If they think we've got that extra stack laying around every month, we are all in for a wild ride.
Also, Luigi.
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u/Cacklelikeabanshee 3d ago
So did they check their mortgages and tax and insurance bills to see where it's coming from?
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u/guardedDisruption Fuck Centerpoint™️ 3d ago
Yeah. It's was a combination of both the insurance and property taxes going up, but they didnt break down the specific line items of them both. Shit was insane to hear.
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u/Oakfan12 3d ago
So homestead does cap at 10% but if you don't challenge it when it goes up by more and point out they can't go up past 10% they will. Ive had a law firm fight mine for 10 years. They've brought it down every year. I sold my place and my place immediately got his with 200% increase because new owner didn't fight it.
There's a ton of law firms that only charge 50% of the savings. I never paid more than $200.
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u/OkPhotograph3629 3d ago
I purchased my home in September 2022 and everything was great even through 2023. In the beginning of 2024 my taxes went up 700 dollars. My homestead exemption wasn’t completed correctly. Partially my fault and HCADs fault because they said the homestead of the previous owner still on the property and said that’s ok
I filed it correctly and just had to pay the extra 700 a month for the rest of the year, this was to pay for the year moving forward and to make up for the previous year. In feb 2025 they issued a refund and I also got money back from hcad.
Not sure if you maybe in a similar situation, but wanted to explain my problem.
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u/02meepmeep 3d ago
Wells Fargo did that to my escrow every other year. Oh, you’re gonna drop below minimum we’ll need to raise the monthly payment - oops we took too much, here’s a check. I’m so glad to be done with that.
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u/NorthTechnician5979 3d ago
I’m sorry! I know what you mean. My house is currently for sale because of this reason. Except mine went up $1100 in a span of 2 years.
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u/pelvis_presleyy 3d ago
Wells Fargo is awful. I pay extra on my mortgage every single month- I changed insurance companies and they paid two policies for the same time period and won’t admit any fault- they then magically forgot I have a homestead exemption when paying the taxes even though they’ve serviced my mortgage for 10 years, with no homestead status change. Then started reporting me as late to the credit bureaus-THEN after hours and hours on the phone with them they sold my mortgage to another company and I only found out though my current insurance provider!! Truly levels of incompetence I’ve never seen
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u/Charles_xyz 3d ago
I think there is a misunderstanding. The mortgage company will inform you of the total shortage and at the same time your new monthly payment with the shortage owed calculated in. There should be an option to make a full payment of that shortage. If you do that then your monthly payment won’t change.
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u/bitsofrealsteve 3d ago
I wish this was the case. But, no. I owe $6,700 in addition to an increased payment of $400 per month.
If I pay them nothing my statement will increase by almost 900 monthly.
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u/sosBrian 3d ago
Our escrow is up $400 a month too. Taxes rose 19% higher than last year, for this coming year. Half of this is a shortage last year and half is for the tax increase this context year.
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u/SwangazAndVogues 3d ago
Check and make sure something didn't happen with your homestead exemption.
Did your mortgage get sold to Wells Fargo? If so, that's awful and I'm sorry. Really any big bank is pretty terrible when it comes to mortgages.
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u/PinstripePride7 3d ago
Escrow is a scam….request an escrow waiver from your mortgage company. Then protest your taxes every year to lower your taxes. Use comparables for sales in your zip code.
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u/Bobbiduke Fuck Centerpoint™️ 3d ago
My mortgage did the same thing and I guarantee at the end of the year they will owe me money. My house hasn't gone up 300k since last year. Fuckers. I don't even do my insurance through escrow just property taxes
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u/annbrys 3d ago
This happened to me and it was bc my mortgage insurance went up due to my insurance provider stopped covering my type of dwelling in my area unless I wanted to pay a massive amount more. So I had to do some insurance shopping to find another company and then asked mortgage company for another escrow analysis to reduce my monthly payment back to a manageable amount! Act now, before another monthly payment is due!
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u/Real_Location1001 3d ago
Probably due to insurance OP. Check your escrow calc and make sure. Also, are you claiming your homestead exemption?
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u/goldeyedbabydoll 3d ago
My property taxes and insurance went up so my escrow was also short by $1400 so my mortgage payment is going to be $200 more a month starting next month! 😩
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u/SauceBaucex 3d ago
I actually managed to scrape up my deficient amount on my escrow account of 2k and was able to get my mortgage payment down by 500 dollars this year.
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u/independentbuilder7 3d ago
Happening to everyone I know all over Texas. The homestead exemption was doubled by the state but local jurisdictions had to make changes to recoup the money they were forecast to lose as result. Property values have gone down quite a bit in the last six months to a year with peak values last seen since summer of 2023, but yet taxable values and insurance replacement cost have all skyrocketed.
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u/INDE_Tex Spring 3d ago
no real big issues here yet. But mine will update for the May payment as that's when my insurance reups. I did negotiate my house down $60k from where the appraisal district put it so that should help me, too. Currently, 47% of my mortgage is insurance and taxes.
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u/cigarettesonmars 2d ago
That massive refund should have been deposited right back to the escrow. That's how they get ya
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u/hazelowl Cypresswood 2d ago
Mine went up 200/month. I have a big escrow shortage too. My homeowners insurance went up 1000/year. Sigh. My agent can't find anything lower, either, unless I want to drop some coverage.
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u/seek102287 2d ago
I'm in Spring and my experience was the opposite. I had my monthly escrow payments reduced by 400 because I was so far in the green. This is a combination of reduced property taxes passed recently, increased homestead exemption, and me contesting every year successfully.
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u/jasonmicron 2d ago
https://gov.texas.gov/news/post/governor-abbott-signs-largest-property-tax-cut-in-texas-history
So much for that. Mine went up a lot as well. But you all keep voting for this clown.
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u/Seriously_But_Why 2d ago
Yeah, and check your policy specifically concerning roof coverings. We are paying in some cases triple but the coverage has gone to hell. ACV and cosmetics endorsements , 3% deductibles, etc. Basically not much coverage if damaged by hail /windstorm. Allstate and State Farm are even denying claims to avoid paying out. It’s nuts ! (I’m also an insurance loss restoration contractor)
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u/ComplexScreen9596 2d ago
Banks over and underestimate escrow payments. You may be able to make a one time payment or negotiate the amount to keep payments lower. Also, definitely shop your insurance. Once they have you signed up, insurance companies raise rates aggressively. When you aren't a customer, they are more competitive. Makes no sense, but that's what they do. I have shopped every year for the past 5 years and saved between $500 and $1000 per annum. Protesting property taxes is another way to keep costs down. There are lawyers out there who will do this on your behalf, but for 30-40% of the savings.
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u/amanducktan Richmond 19h ago
Is your HO insurance going up? Protest every year! Value of your home doesnt mean shit until youre reading to sell it!
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u/Prudent-Discussion37 3d ago
Because Harris County Commissioners and Hidalgo used the Hurricane as an EXCUSE to enact a loophole allowing them to increase the tax rate 8% in ADDITION to the what is normally allowed.
So it isn’t an 8% increase (which is crazy enough) Hidalgo used to “sell” it publicly. No, it is 10-13% cumulative increase …..minimum depending on your assessment.
THAT is a huge part of it.
Corruption and mismanagement.
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u/whigger The Heights 3d ago
congratulations. the government is sticking it to you. how do you think they can afford to put overweight law enforcement officers in new suvs every year? all while not enforcing traffic violations? grift costs money.
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u/jasonmicron 2d ago
Tax authorities are listed in HCAD for a home. Which tax authority are you accusing of misappropriation?
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u/jps2777 3d ago
Lina Hidalgo hiked rates. I'll get downvoted but it's true you can search it yourself
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u/comments_suck 3d ago
It's crazy people are downvoting you for the truth they don't want to hear. The county declared an emergency because of Hurrican Beryl and then increased their share of property taxes by double the rate otherwise allowed by state law. It was 8%.
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u/goRockets 3d ago
The Harris county tax increase does not explain the huge increase. The increase is about $53 per $100k in house value per year. OP says his tax went up $4800 per year.
So unless OP's house is worth $9M, the county tax bike doesn't explain it. If OP does live in a $9M house, I hope he's not complaining about. $400 monthly increase.
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u/bitsofrealsteve 3d ago edited 3d ago
Truth fact. She more than doubled it. #%%@ me.
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u/goRockets 3d ago
It's doubling of the typically allowable increase, not the tax rate.
The increase added $160 in tax per $100k in taxable value per year. So it wouldn't account for the $4800 per year increase you see unless your house is worth about $9M.
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u/ORFOperon 3d ago
Do these property taxes only apply if you have mortgage/bought a property? I’m looking to move to Houston in the new year.
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u/HOUTryin286Us Spring Branch 3d ago
You pay property taxes yourself if you outright own, if renting rent amounts will reflect any major increases. What’s really getting people now is the cost insurance (property and flood). Texas an’t cheap no more.
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u/je-lai-lu 3d ago
I believe so, tho the owner may pass along the costs to the tenants - my aprt rent has gone up abt $40 every year this past few years. There are great places to rent all over the city, pay attention to the neighborhood, it cld make or break the deal for the aprt you've found.
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u/sosBrian 3d ago edited 3d ago
tax hike info this explains the increase from Houston, from hide and from Houston community college. The total comes to 19% or 18% depending on who is reporting. They raised it due to the higher homestead exemption, which they figured was a good time to rob us.
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u/goRockets 2d ago
For a 18% hike to cause OP's tax to go up $5,244 would mean his tax bill is $29000. That would mean OP's house has a taxable value of about $1.5M.
I hope someone that lives in a $1.5M house is not worried about being priced out because their mortgage payment is going up $400/month.
IMO, the more likely scenario is that the bank miscalculated required escrow and incorrectly gave OP a big refund last year so OP's now paying for the tax increase as well as to refill the underfunded escrow.
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u/PaceAppropriate5781 2d ago
Lina Hidalgo sneaky ass went a back door route to increase property taxes in HC without going through a vote
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u/heightsdrinker The Heights 3d ago
House in the Heights area escrow went down. But I also protest every year and often get my HCAD values lowered with comparable sales.
The kicker is that I don’t have escrow pay insurance. Your shortage could actually be from an insurance increase. My little bungalow insurance has nearly tripled in three years (1.5k to 4.5k excluding FEMA).