2017 DFW County Appraisals & Assessments Thread (Cove: calculation, square footage, living)

[Waterdragon8212]

Originally Posted by aggie972

For those who have settlement offers already, about how long was it between the time you finished submitting your protest and the time you received your settlement offer? I submitted a protest about 10 days ago, and haven't received a settlement offer. Last year I submitted right at the deadline and I got a note about 3 weeks later saying that they couldn't make a settlement offer (But then I ultimately prevailed at my ARB hearing).

This year, we literally had a settlement offer within 24 hours of submitting the protest. Hence my earlier post inquiring about the hearing - I don't remember ever getting one that quickly in the past, which perked my suspicion. The past few years, our settlement offers have been almost exactly at the midpoint between the original appraisal and our self-supplied estimated value, which also makes me skeptical. I don't think we've ever had to wait more than a week or two, but maybe we just hit it at the right time...

[BayTexan]

I would recommend taking the offer - in this market, they are not being very charitable (know of quite a few folks who have no offers and hearings are always like playing roulette!)

Originally Posted by Waterdragon8212

This year, we literally had a settlement offer within 24 hours of submitting the protest. Hence my earlier post inquiring about the hearing - I don't remember ever getting one that quickly in the past, which perked my suspicion. The past few years, our settlement offers have been almost exactly at the midpoint between the original appraisal and our self-supplied estimated value, which also makes me skeptical. I don't think we've ever had to wait more than a week or two, but maybe we just hit it at the right time...

[stephwin]

Originally Posted by aggie972

For those who have settlement offers already, about how long was it between the time you finished submitting your protest and the time you received your settlement offer? I submitted a protest about 10 days ago, and haven't received a settlement offer. Last year I submitted right at the deadline and I got a note about 3 weeks later saying that they couldn't make a settlement offer (But then I ultimately prevailed at my ARB hearing).

I protested on May 5th, added my evidence on the 8th, and then got my settlement offer on the 20th. I've always protested almost immediately and submitted my evidence within 3-4 days. The settlement offer typically comes 2 weeks after.

My personal opinion, but I think the longer you wait the less likely they are to cut you a deal. I think at some point they become so overwhelmed with the number of protests that they don't have the time to sit down and look at the protests individually and offer settlements. I think they are hoping if they don't offer settlements that people won't actually come to the office in person and they'll get their extra tax dollars.

[mSooner]

I updated in another thread (ARB Hearing). I got 5.7% but I'm really annoyed at the interaction I had with the appraiser. Logic and evidence didn't matter. They negated their own data. I was told that any house that was valued lower was probably appraised a few years ago and surely those things have been fixed since then because "we live in Coppell" and "have an HOA." We do not have an HOA. And the magic of Coppell didn't stop the home down the street from being a hoarder home filled with animals and vines reaching the top of the fence for the first 4 years we lived here.

A friend also protested and was told that they wouldn't consider anything wrong with her house that she bought last year, "because she had an inspection and bought the house anyway." WTF.

[oldoak2000]

Originally Posted by mSooner

I updated in another thread (ARB Hearing). I got 5.7% but I'm really annoyed at the interaction I had with the appraiser. Logic and evidence didn't matter. They negated their own data. I was told that any house that was valued lower was probably appraised a few years ago and surely those things have been fixed since then because "we live in Coppell" and "have an HOA." We do not have an HOA. And the magic of Coppell didn't stop the home down the street from being a hoarder home filled with animals and vines reaching the top of the fence for the first 4 years we lived here.

A friend also protested and was told that they wouldn't consider anything wrong with her house that she bought last year, "because she had an inspection and bought the house anyway." WTF.

Yes, their logic is f. u.
years ago, i protested that my lot was overvalued, as three houses down a lot TWICE the size of mine was valued $30,000 less (and this house was way newer, and huge). Their 'explantion' was that because it was larger is was less $ per sq ft, kinda like a discount. OK, so a BIGGER lot costs LESS than one HALF it's size ???

[octo]

Originally Posted by oldoak2000

Yes, their logic is f. u.
years ago, i protested that my lot was overvalued, as three houses down a lot TWICE the size of mine was valued $30,000 less (and this house was way newer, and huge). Their 'explantion' was that because it was larger is was less $ per sq ft, kinda like a discount. OK, so a BIGGER lot costs LESS than one HALF it's size ???

That's their most ridiculous argument. Your house/lot is smaller so the price/sf is MUCH higher.

[Ross Ayesh]

Folks,

My recommendation is for you to protest every year. Experience tells me that it is not just worth it for this year but for next year as well. There is a compounding effect.

Please do not rely on Zillow for your comps since not everything is reported properly or correctly on Zillow. A lot more value will be attached to data coming from the MLS.

My rules of thumb are:
- DON’T:*Complain about how you can’t afford your taxes. The appraisal district doesn’t set the tax rate; they only decide what your home is worth for tax purposes.
- DO:*Come armed with a specific value you believe your home is worth, and the documentation to support that figure. This is where the Realtor comes in.
- DON’T:*Give a long, rambling presentation filled with generalizations. They DON'T care.
- DO:*Request in advance the documentation the appraisal district compiled to calculate its appraisal of your property. Examine the comparable homes used to determine your property’s value. See whether differences in property size, home upgrades or proximity to a busy road, for instance, might make those properties a poor comparison for your home.

I had some reasonable results with my clients where their values were still lagging the market by $25k, let's say and we still managed to knock off a few thousand dollars from their tax values. How? Because no 2 houses are exactly the same, no matter what anyone says.

Ross Ayesh

[ChristieP]

I still remember my protest in 2001. The house next to us sold for a great price because it had been totally remodeled and had a brand new hot tub and deck. My house had none of these things, yet DCAD set my value the same as theirs! I tried to show that my house wasn't even comparable to that one, and they only wanted to see repair estimates. I said "nothing is wrong with my house, but I haven't added all of those improvements!" They wouldn't listen and kept our value at the high rate. We ended up selling, and at closing, I told the new buyer to take the closing statements to DCAD so she could get the value lowered!

[mSooner]

My rules of thumb are:
- DON’T:*Complain about how you can’t afford your taxes. The appraisal district doesn’t set the tax rate; they only decide what your home is worth for tax purposes.
- DO:*Come armed with a specific value you believe your home is worth, and the documentation to support that figure. This is where the Realtor comes in.
- DON’T:*Give a long, rambling presentation filled with generalizations. They DON'T care.
- DO:*Request in advance the documentation the appraisal district compiled to calculate its appraisal of your property. Examine the comparable homes used to determine your property’s value. See whether differences in property size, home upgrades or proximity to a busy road, for instance, might make those properties a poor comparison for your home.

See, that's the thing though. I brought in specific pictures and comps of houses within our neighborhood compiled from their own data. They didn't care that the values were lower. The actively argued those lower values were wrong. From their own data.

[Ross Ayesh]

Originally Posted by mSooner

See, that's the thing though. I brought in specific pictures and comps of houses within our neighborhood compiled from their own data. They didn't care that the values were lower. The actively argued those lower values were wrong. From their own data.

I guess this is a sign of the times. I've heard stories like this but am curious if timing had something to do with it because the earlier you do it, the more flexible they may be.

Which Appraisal District was this? Was this a formal hearing? Which month did you go?

Ross Ayesh