appraiser

analyst

real estate appraiser

specialist

gis intern

Harris County Appraisal District

    7 months outside measuring homes with a giant measuring tape. You work out of your own vehicle, which gets bare minimum IRS mileage -- yet, you may find yourself parked with your motor running (AC and HEAT -- it will be cold and hot) so your car takes heavy wear without the compensation as you only get paid by the mileage -- and the mileage for the distance from your house to the office will be subtracted out of the mileage pay; there is no reimbursement for tires, oil changes or other repairs. For every account, you are expected to walk up to the front door, if possible -- some properties are just being constructed when you visit, without notice to the property owner and ask questions such as, "can I measure the outside of your home?". It may be a very uncomfortable discussion talking to a homeowner not expecting a visit -- some conversations may get heated.  The new construction properties will be filled with raw earth, mud, and construction materials like nails -- you are expected to provided your own work boots.
    5 months, of property protest season, reporting to the office to perform face to face discussions with property owners and their representatives regarding the opinion of value of residential property -- some conversations may get heated.
    Pay is somewhat reasonable for the role of a residential appraiser  but with the wear to your vehicle, you may want to budget savings annually to pay for a new car, car batteries, tires or other repairs -- I purchased several batteries for a newer car in the span of just a few years.  Part of your pay, 7%, is automatically put into the retirement fund and after taxes a paycheck may not be on par with private sector for the level of work you may perform.
    Management may not be what you'd expect from a government entity -- or perhaps it is. There may be a separation of relation, like a cousin's spouse, or someone management goes to church with that works with you but gets promoted faster -- or just given the opportunity to take classes to be promoted faster. Management will work together to make sure the environment is less than friendly if you report management for doing something that, if viewed by the public, may be viewed as lewd, racist or in poor taste.
   This department has a very high turnover and if you need to work at the Harris County Appraisal District I urge you to find a different role or simply not to take this role unless you have very limited options.
    

Pros

Paid on time. Health benefits as required by law.

Cons

Originally, I believed the biggest challenge at HCAD would stem from a lack of systems. However, I quickly realized that inflated egos, office politics and administrative incompetence would prove to be bigger obstacles. These dynamics are not conducive to innovation and productivity. I was the only one hired from outside of HCAD to fill this position. 
Benefits do not transfer to other state agencies (not the case with other state or county agencies).

Advice to Management

Due to ambiguous policies and procedures and the inconsistent application and enforcement of both, I was deprived of fair and equitable treatment. I did not receive fair pay for the work I was held accountable for, even after requests for reevaluation of the job title and description against what was actually required out of the position. Additionally, I have been reprimanded for fabricated, unsubstantiated claims regarding my performance and behavior. I hardly think that a statement from one the accuser constitutes a fair and thorough investigation.

Fortunately for me, I know my worth and I am very well aware of the value I bring to a team. I refuse to settle for any form of disrespect or maltreatment, particularly from individuals whose only credibility resides in their job title as opposed to demonstrated excellence and leadership.

I’m positive my experience isn’t an isolated one. The turnover rates and lack of employee engagement and satisfaction are further evidence of HCAD’s inability to attract, develop and retain talent.

I had known HCAD as an employer of choice in our community. Unfortunately, it became abundantly clear to me that I would be out of integrity to attempt to attract employees to such a toxic and dysfunctional work place. I refuse to convince professionals to work for a gov't agency that operates like a start-up “mom-n-pop shop” rampant with ill-trained and uneducated management that wave their homework from twenty years ago around like a badge of honor.

I could share more for the purposes of an “exit interview” but I have little faith that information gathered would be compiled to formulate a retention strategy.

Pros

TCDRS-linked retirement plan, the ONLY thing HCAD can offer to hire and retain employees that actually do any work. The rest--the managers, are part of the club of know-nothings who are literally untouchable, unless someone on the 7th floor recognizes them as a "problem". And for that to happen, it would require #1 or #2 to see it as personal to them. Otherwise, you'd better just quit or swallow your pride, because nothing is going to change.

Cons

Outside of the pension, the culture is rotten and filled with talentless bureaucrats bent on their next promotions, rearend-kissing, and double-dealing, back-stabbing, office politics. If you're one of the worker bees with a good work ethic, you'll do fine unless you question something or someone. Then you'll be blackballed and labeled. I've seen it happen many times.

Advice to Management

Stop promoting people based on politics, or whether it insulates you from "diversity" criticism. Promote on merit, and not friendship. HCAD right now has in place a generation of incompetent managers, with overly high opinions of themselves who have never had any management experience whatsoever prior to their internal promotions. It's not what you do that matters; it's whether your bosses see you as a threat to them. This can be interpreted by the insecure as simply asking the right questions, or having an expectation of them to do their jobs. If you have any expectations of your bosses solving something, you're in for some disappointment.

Pros:
Retirement plan, assuming you can endure for 8 long years among the egos in charge of you. HCAD acts like it's a unique plan, but it's the exact same plan that every CAD, County, or government district in Texas offers its employees.

Cons:
Management in the review appraisal division is terrible, underqualified, and inattentive to employee concerns. They promote their friends regardless of qualifications. They don't support the staff, while they “manage” from their desks in the smallest department at HCAD. Thus, they don't understand the day-to-day issues affecting the staff, and seem to think the solution to everything is to “mass appraisalize” all procedures in lieu of the individualized analysis required for expert testimony.  All they can do is throw money at certain people that don't cause them trouble by asking questions, or demanding changes to systems that don't work. The ones who play the game are rewarded, regardless of talent or work ethic. The pay for the job you are required to perform is no where near worth it. 

Advice to Mgmt:
To address all of this, they created more management positions! To the shadow-rulers on the 7th floor: Stop promoting people with little experience or qualification to be managers, and overpaying them as a reward for playing the game. While automation might solve some issues in a larger division, there is no substitute for one-on-one relationships in the smallest division at HCAD. Respect isn’t given, it should be earned, and you have NONE.

I've been here for a few years i love my direct management, the pay is not good, dress code depends on your manager and what others feel like you should wear(even though there is only 1 dress code it depends floor by floor and management). I love the schedule with the option of Friday or Monday off.

instead of promoting people to new positions they bring in outside people who don't know anything, no overtime, watched like a hawk , each floor has their own dress code, you have to fill out an LOA for any missed days or overage on lunch, you also have to write a story on why you are submitting your loa and give the phone number and name to where you are going

In the phone back you have to know EVERYTHING from the appraisers job to the chief appraiser and you're not compensated for your knowledge

What is the best part of working at the company?
I enjoyed the experience of handling hearing. 

What is the most stressful part about working at the company?
The job was a great learning experience. I just think the  training was vague as far as what was expected. It’s basically an opinion of value which was not always excepted by management. Therefore more training should be available to state their true expectations. It was stressful to no be told things in a respectable tone or manner. Just wasn’t for me. 

What is the work environment and culture like at the company?
Working there on a daily basis was stressful. There was of the lack of professionalism when something wasn’t excepted. 

What is a typical day like for you at the company?
I wondered if I was going to be called to the office or receive a nasty email removing me from the schedule.

The entire goal of this operation is to keep values as high as possible to satisfy the jurisdictions who set the tax rates. All the while, they feign an "unbiased approach" to satisfy themselves as mass pseudo-appraisers via USPAP while raising values every year on very little evidence. This is how you keep your job at HCAD, and get praised for a job well done.
To support this scam, they use statistics, easily manipulated, to justify their largely erroneous and ill-suited increases which only result in more administrative hearings, more litigation, and thus the further requests for budget increases to the Board of Directors.

Liked working in the IT department. Flexible hours and option for working 4 hour work week.  Programmers and other IT workers get a private office to focus on your work, which is a big deal these days, It is hard to write complex code in cubicle where you hear everyone on the phone etc. 
Most of your co-workers are helpful you out if you have questions, and there is always challenging work to be done and you get to see your work make an impact which is rewarding. Big lunch/break area on 6th floor with plenty of tables, chairs, couches and TV's for employees.Open door policy to HR and to management if you need to speak with them about anything. The only reason I left is due to personnel reasons, otherwise it is good place to retire at.

Being a member of the Appraisal Review Board provided the gratification of serving my community with support of the all important tax base while simultaneously metering fairness to individuals when provided with hard evidence and sworn testimony.

Being a group leader provides additional gratification ensuring the legal aspect is understood and followed creating justice for the community while funding the schools and infrastructure vital to a successful county' quality of life

A typical work day was fast past during certain parts of the year. I learned to be patience, to inform, and to resolve customers concerns. Management was very supportive in keeping updated training per department as well as encouraging training for promotion. Co-workers were willing to assist in any overloads that another co-worker may have In order to complete the days task. The hardest part of the job was archiving thousands of files at the close of the season. The most enjoyable part of the job was to see mission accomplished with a satisfied customer.

Top Job Titles	Average Salary
Appraiser 6 salaries reported	$50,781 per year
Analyst 3 salaries reported	$59,833 per year
Real estate appraiser 3 salaries reported	$48,667 per year
Specialist 1 salary reported	$32,354 per year
Gis intern 1 salary reported	$16.89 per hour

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