property taxes, in Texas, with what should be homestead exemption for disabled and widowed spouse, mystery?
My neighbor has got her hands full of overdue bills, and way past due on her property taxes and has asked me, who has never owned more than a couple DVD’s, for help!!
As I am searching thru years of misplaced paperwork, I have established that she(age64) has an official Homestead exemption, &her late husband was 100% disabled,which had awarded her 100% exemption for almost 8 yrs.Then it just vanished, and now she has found herself about to lose her home, in Texas, because of back property taxes and penalties and interest! But what has happened to her exemption and why, all of a sudden did this happen to disappear without any cause or explanation. She is so frazzled that she has been paying $285.00 a month since last March, out of the measley $788 she receives from widow’s benefits.The tax assessor wants the balloon payment of remainder $5,000?ish dollars remaining on Feb.15th! She is gonna lose her only home, and I can’t begin to help her with this one?
For starters, you may want to contact your county appraisal district office, as they are the ones who grant the homestead exemptions.
Your first step will probably be to ascertain why the exemption vanished, and try to get it reinstated beginning with the year that it vanished. Was there a reason that the exemption disappeared, or was it an administrative error? If there was a reason, what was it? Was it a valid reason? If not, fight it and try to get them to apply the exemption to the back years now. If the exemption disappeared due to administrative error, they should have no choice but to correct it.
Be patient and polite, and remember that you are dealing with the government. Many employees are limited in what they can do. If someone tells you that they can’t do what you want, then ask who can. If you can’t get anywhere, ask to speak to a supervisor.
Good luck and don’t give up.