The overall tone in the Houston commercial real estate market is an optimistic one. Experts are speculating a continued turn-around for this year and beyond. One would assume this is good news for Houstonians - not necessarily. It seems property owners are not the only ones paying attention to real estates “sunny forecast.”
In a preemptive attempt to balance the market values with the appropriate taxes, the Appraisal Districts have begun to increase commercial real estate property taxes. According to Harris County Chief Appraiser, Jim Robinson, “the values of commercial and industrial real properties and apartment properties are all beginning to show strong signs of economic recovery. These three categories of property are expected to increase between 6-11%.”
Out of 600 commercial real estate properties included in a recent study, it was found there are significant appraisal value increase, across the board:
- Retail - The average increase was 18.4%, with the highest increases in A&B-class properties. The largest increase found was as much as 84% year-over-year
- Multifamily - Average increase - 17.8%. The hardest hit were the B & C-class properties, with as much as a 129% and 184% value increases over last year
- Office - office properties are experiencing increases of 23.5% on average, with highest value increases occurring in B-class properties and some reaching as much 85% and 98.9% higher than the 2011 tax value
In every realm, decision making without a thorough understanding of all factors is never a good thing. Unfortunately for Houston property owners, that seems to be precisely what the Harris County Appraisal District is doing.
So what can you do? Fight your taxes! A professional tax consultant can help you help the Appraisal District to see that through their efforts to “balance” the market, they are actually tipping the tax scale.
This article attempts to answer the question “Can I achieve dock-high loading/unloading using a grade-level building?” The fundamental problem addressed by warehouse loading areas - or docks in this article - is how facility team members get materials from the shipping surface of trucks, trains, etc., onto the facility floor for further handling…
If you are considering renting, leasing or purchasing a warehouse facility and would like to get off to the best start possible, I advise taking ample time to define your needs in a facility. Here are some specific criteria to consider…
A Full-Service Lease, typically applicable to multi-tenant office buildings, offers one monthly rate that encompasses all costs associated with the property, such as electricity, janitorial services, management, property taxes, and property insurance. This lease type allows the landlord to pass along any increases in expenses to the tenants each year.
A Triple Net (
The industrial gross lease is common in multi-tenant industrial properties. In an industrial gross lease, the tenant is responsible for some, but not all, of the operating expenses of the property…
Unlock the essentials of dock-high loading—from standard heights to truck compatibility—and discover how it enhances warehouse efficiency..
A covered exterior elevated dock is a concrete structure that facilitates loading and unloading of containers at or near the 48” level without obstructing warehouse access. This type of dock is implemented for various reasons, including the need for more loading and unloading slots for trucks or adding dock-high capability to a site.
