Patrick O Connor has 18 articles and online since 25.05.2011.

Patrick C. O'Connor has been president of O'Connor & Associates since 1983 and is a recipient of the prestigious MAI designation from the Appraisal Institute. He is also an registered senior property tax consultant in the state of Texas and has written numerous articles in state and national publications on reducing property taxes. He continues to set the standard in direction and quality of our appraisal products, adding services ranging from business valuations and business appraisals to cost segregation analysis for income tax reduction.

Business taxes can be summarized simply as calculating your total revenue, reducing this amount by as many tax deductions as you can and then paying tax on the remaining amount. ...

Tax reduction is just one of the benefits of cost segregation. Many real estate owners and tax preparers believe cost segregation simply defers payment of taxes. While they recognize it effectively ge...

Commercial comparable sales are the building block of the sales comparison approach. The quality and quantity of comparable sales data impacts the reliability of the sales comparison approach. Selecti...

Business valuations are performed using methodology similar to the process for real estate appraisals. However in business valuation, the data sources are different. Further, there are nuances in the ...

Investors usually have a basic premise for making a particular investment. O’Connor and Associates terms this concept the “investment hypothesis”. Evaluating the accuracy of the investment hypot...

Sam sold 2 commercial properties in June 2008 and was discussing tax planning with his CPA and cost segregation provider. The sales price for the properties was $5.2 million and $3.3 million. Sam had ...

Tax reductions and tax deductions are both benefits of cost segregation. However, it would be inaccurate to term cost segregation a tax shelter. The IRS has written a manual titled Audit Techniques Gu...

Most people see new home construction in their neighborhood as a good thing. New homes typically help increase the market value of properties, so when someone in an older home goes to sell, they often...

Time spent protesting your property taxes can be very profitable to you. In fact, the average property tax savings for homeowners is $450....

Thousands of homeowners take advantage of the Over 65 exemption allowed by the Texas Property Tax Code. After years of working and paying taxes, it's about time you get a break, right?...

Houston apartment leasing agents lease apartments everyday. You don't. Who has the upper hand? The objective of this article is to provide tips on finding a great Houston apartment with a minimal amou...

Property taxes are a substantial expense for Texas homeowners, averaging about $3,600 annually. To reduce this expense, property owners should annually review and consider appealing property taxes....

Most property owners appealing on market value at Harris County Appraisal District, will achieve their best result during the informal hearing in a settlement negotiation....

Commercial comparable sales can be used to perform analysis regarding a variety of factors and issues impacting the value of real estate. The basic technique is to identify two sales that are identica...

The countdown to May 31 - the last day Texas homeowners can submit an appeal to protest their property taxes - is growing closer by the minute....

In Texas a disabled veteran's tax exemption is not the same as a disabled person's tax exemption....

Homeowners are amazed to learn they can obtain a copy of the appraisal district's evidence at a nominal cost. This is referred to as a House Bill 201 package, and is the only information many homeowne...

The first step to annually appealing your property taxes is to send a written notice to the appraisal review board (ARB) for the county in which your home is located. Even if you have not received a n...