AMARILLO, Texas (KAMR/KCIT) — Potter Randall Appraisal District sent property tax letters out to homeowners and some are experiencing a significant increase to their payments due to land value increasing.

Amarillo National Bank Vice President Jessica Beghtel shared they were anticipating values to increase this year.

“Those property tax letters go out to homeowners to give them what their new property values are going to be for the next taxing year,” said Beghtel. “Typically, the tax values follow the market and tax values homes are selling for a higher sales price right now than they have been the last couple of years.”

For homeowners who disagree with their new values, they have the option to protest the appraisal value.

“If their payment is going up, they can always protest the value if they feel that it is over inflated or doesn’t really represent the value of their property,” said Beghtel. “There is an online way that they can protest that at the potter Randall appraisal district website. A homeowner can make an appointment for a one-on-one protest interview, or they can go in front of the appraisal district board to protest their value.”

Online requests are preferred as they are processed quicker according to PRAD officials.

For customers who need assistance or have concerns regarding payments ANB recommends that customers call or visit a branch location.

Beghtel continued, “if they have questions about it, our servicing department is here local, they can always call us and we’ll look at it look at their payments. If anybody is struggling with making a payment, we can always look to see what kind of options we have to refinance them, or our servicing department can work with them possibly on getting adjustments made to that.”

According to Beghtel their loss mitigation is for people who are behind on their payments. While their service department is for those already in a position to not make their payments.

“We can always look at refinancing them, right now interest rates are higher with than what they have been the last couple of years,” explained Beghtel. “So, we may or may not be able to get their payment a little lower. We can definitely look at it and see what we can do helping get that payment down.”

ANB officials shared advice for new borrowers looking to purchase a home.

“We just always like to inform them that their payment will increase over the years of the ownership of the principal and interest will always stay the same,” said Beghtel. “It’s likely that taxes and insurance will increase over the years that they own the home. Sometimes it’s better to maybe prepare for that inflation and that increase and maybe just not max yourself out in the beginning when you purchase the property, just so that you don’t get yourself in a position where that payment is possibly an issue because of those numbers increasing over the years.”