BOSQUE COUNTY, Texas (KXXV) — Residents in Bosque County believe they are paying too much for their homes. Two residents talked to our 25 News reporter about what they're calling high property taxes.
- Danny Heflin has lived in Bosque County for three years. He purchased his house for under $60,000, but the value is now over $180,000.
Heflin has protested about the value of his property several times.
BROADCAST TRANSCRIPT:
“We bought this house for $58,000. I mean a steal," said Bosque County resident Danny Heflin.
But just three years later...
“It actually went down $73 the year before, and we complained last year it jumped up to $ $181,270," Heflin said.
Over the past few weeks, residents in Bosque County have contacted me complaining about their property appraisals. I’ve received emails, text messages, and calls about unfair spikes in their property values.
Our 25 News reporter Chantale Belefanti went to Bosque County to see why residents had so many complaints. That’s when our reporter Danny Heflin talked about the rising value of his Bosque County home.
He said he’s protested several times since buying the property in 2022.
“They overappraised it from day one, and you can’t get a response. We found out last year when we filed the appeal, oh, they gave us the appeal, but they never let us know when the hearing date was for the appeal," Heflin said.
But Heflin isn’t the only one complaining about his high appraisals. So is Laurell Galindo.
“This is $40,926, and then the other is $50,000," Bosque County resident Laurell Galindo said.
“So, when you consider that I purchased all of it for $60,000 and for it to be appraised now for $40k and $50k, that’s even an inconsistency right there. Why is it appraised differently?”
Galindo said she built two 3 bed-1 bath homes next to each other, but one has an extra half bath. She believes she’s among several in Bosque County with homes they think are valued too high, resulting in higher property taxes.
Galindo said she reached out to a broker who valued her one home, you see here at $ 161,833, but the appraisal district says her home is worth $200,000.
The Bosque Central Appraisal District provided us with this statement:
"It really depends on the specific property, but those averages reflect increases in residential values that were documented across the board. It's important to note that the School District Property Value Study is retrospective—it was conducted earlier this year, but it reports on values from the prior year. So, it gives us insight into 2024 values, not what’s happening right now."
That said, the significant increases shown in that study raise legitimate concerns. From what I’ve seen on my properties and from what we’re hearing from others in the community, the 2025 values appear to reflect similar or even greater increases. In many cases, people see sharp jumps in appraised value without any meaningful improvements to the property.
If a property owner added something minor, say, a small shed, for example, you would reasonably expect a modest increase. But even in those cases, some accounts are showing valuation spikes of tens of thousands of dollars, which feels disproportionate and difficult to justify.
Galindo and a group of residents started a website to help inform other residents of the tax spikes.
“It’s just disheartening because you never expect people to take advantage of you because you work hard," said Galindo.
“They can put whatever value they want and basically run you out of your home," said Heflin.
