Plumbing 
Uvalde County Appraisal District chief appraiser Roberto Valdez said on March 22 that his office will finalize 2024 appraisal values within 30 days and mail notices to taxpayers.
State law requires appraisal districts in Texas to match their property values to within 5 percent of the state’s appraisal of a given property. The district’s primary responsibility is accurately assessing property value. Under section 23.01 of the Texas Property Tax Code, property must be appraised based on its market value at the beginning of a year.
Because market values fluctuate yearly, establishing that value is an ongoing task.
To accomplish this, the district uses a mass appraisal system. According to the state comptroller’s office, the appraisal district classifies properties using various factors, such as size, use, construction type, age, and location, in a mass appraisal.
This methodology uses indicators such as reappraisals, data maintenance, and value updates. The following is a brief overview of that process. The appraisal district produces in-depth reports annually and posts them online at uvaldecad.org
Reappraisal
There are four major categories of property appraised by UCAD. They include real property, personal property, minerals, and utilities.
Real property includes single and multifamily residential properties, commercial/industrial properties, residential and commercial vacant lots, vacant rural land, and improvements on rural land.
Personal property includes mobile homes and income-producing property. Minerals include oil and gas, and utilities include telephone companies, cable companies, fiber optics, railroads, etc.
Per UCAD, over 24,000 real, personal, mineral, and utility property accounts are reinspected on a three-year cycle, with approximately 11,710 accounts scheduled annually. The district also uses Pictometry, a type of aerial photography, to aid in the inspection process.
Data maintenance
Data maintenance involves acquiring information such as sales data and construction permits and using analytic software to value properties.
For example, the district often uses Marshall and Swift Valuation services for commercial appraisals. According to its website, Marshall and Swift gears its research toward using actual complete building costs. It is used by state, local, and federal government agencies across the United States.
Additionally, in December 2023, the board of directors hired TreppLoan for $67,973 for the commercial appraisals process.
The organization will create three models based on lender financials for the values of mobile home/RV parks, self-storage units, and strip centers. Valdez said that the data will help the district be on par with the value of those types of businesses.
The district also mails sales surveys to buyers and sellers of all deed transfers. Sales data is also collected during the appeals process. Per the UCAD 2023 reappraisal report, ratio studies are also prepared through system-generated reports.
Value updates are yearly adjustments to a property’s valuation based on actual sales. The district approaches determining value in three ways: through the cost of building, a property’s income, whether it is commercial or a rental, and market value.
