2017 DFW County Appraisals & Assessments Thread (Houston, San Antonio: rent, daycare, house prices)

[BigDGeek]

Originally Posted by BLDSoon

And therein lies the problem?

I honestly think whoever appraised my neighborhood is smoking crack. That's our working theory at the moment.

[serger]

Originally Posted by TurtleCreek80

I don't know how CoCo does it, but in Dallas Co, "effective year" is the year of the last remodel. So if your house was built in 1940 but had a huge renovation in 2012, the actual age is listed as 77 years but both the build date and effective build date are listed.

Yes, I think it is the same in Collin, just wonder how they know. I guess if a permit was pulled they would.

[TurtleCreek80]

Originally Posted by serger

Yes, I think it is the same in Collin, just wonder how they know. I guess if a permit was pulled they would.

Yes, they either pull permits or the permit office provides info to the CAD.

[ddavid1101]

Guys,

Need your input here. First time home owner. Just bought a brand new spec home with DW at Ingram Terrace in East Richardson bordering E Plano and Murphy and closed in mid Dec. Paid 429K current appraised for 445kish for 2017. The start price on that style was $442,990 when I signed, now that same floor plan is starting at $407,990. Yes there were upgrades etc but a couple of months before that and the home was listed in the 500s. So they didnt price their homes properly and I thought I was getting a deal but got caught in the middle of it.

Anyways, they are now started to move some of the homes and 2 recent closes with owners moving in, one exact same size and another 200 ft bigger. the bigger one shown on zillow posted by agent as sold for 435K which by sqft can prove that either my purchase price is good enough and accurate.

Couple of questions as this is my first home and I have no experience in fighting or getting documentation:

1) How do I get comps on these recently closed homes in my small community? I emailed my buyer agent and have yet to hear back.
2) How do you do fight for brand new homes like this?
3) Do I need to pay someone for another appraisal?
4) Given that I over paid, what is realistic to ask here? my sale price or lower? What's realistic and winnable
5) is there a point to try for an informal hearing? Does it work?

[jencam]

They gave me an extra bedroom to tax on! I do not believe this. I can't even address the clerical error. It has to be part of my overall protest. That is crazy. I live in a CONDO. ALL units my size, literally all of them save mine, are one value, and then mine is the same as the ones that are the next size up with another bedroom.

[jencam]

Originally Posted by BigDGeek

I honestly think whoever appraised my neighborhood is smoking crack. That's our working theory at the moment.

Mine too. Someone took a big ole hit before pressing the buttons for my particular home!

[lepoisson]

Originally Posted by TurtleCreek80

I'll break down the answers to your questions/comments:

1. "It seems like property tax values increase drastically every year" -> historically, no, they did not. I owned a property in Uptown for 7 years and only in the last 2 years did the appraisal value climb. Historically, DFW values only increased 2-4% per year so there were not huge property tax increases. Only in the last 4ish years have values skyrocketed, taking tax appraisals up in tandem. There is no reason to believe it's going to be max increases every year forever. At some point the price increases WILL level off, whether due to normalizing interest rates or external economic forces.

2. "Would your $250k home in 2016 sell for 10% more in 2017?" In many parts of the metoplex, yes. See link for the latest NTREIS sales info. All of the areas shaded in blue or green had sales price increases of 11% or more last year. Many of the yellow shades areas saw increases in the 8-10% range. So, yes, the answer is the majority of homes in the metroplex would sell for 10% or even more than 10% higher than they would have last year.

https://www.dallasnews.com/business/...ces-piece-d-fw

I know it sucks to be paying more taxes, but shouldn't people be happy that their home is worth 10% more every year? As long as the appraised value is fair, I don't see a problem.

[Debsi]

Originally Posted by gocubs418

I filed for protest yesterday, said comps were unrealistic, I hope to scoop back at least half.

I see absolutely no reason NOT to protest. A chance to get your tax bill reduce from your PC.

Did you have to file documentation along with your protest?

My former realtor laughed at me and said I should feel lucky it stayed close to sales price for 7 years. It just went up about $40K this year. There is one house nearby that is exactly the same floor plan and it is valued about 30K less than mine.

[TurtleCreek80]

Originally Posted by lepoisson

I know it sucks to be paying more taxes, but shouldn't people be happy that their home is worth 10% more every year? As long as the appraised value is fair, I don't see a problem.

Well, your house being worth more only helps when you go to sell. People are right to be concerned about being taxed out of their homes because the average homeowner in DFW has seen tax increases in the 5-10% range each year for the last few years while the average wage increases have been in the lower single digits. It's even worse for those on fixed incomes. And the average owner *could* sell but where would they go? Prices of entry level housing have risen so much that it's not like if you bought a $175k house 6 years ago, you could sell it for $275k and go buy another $175k house....they pretty much don't exist anymore and where they do, it's a significant trade down in safety or schools. Now, if your $600k home is now worth $900k, obviously there is room to trade down and cut carrying costs but a very small percent of DFW has the luxury of that choice.

It's really no different than you complaining about how much your rent increased while your salary increases weren't keeping pace. The only difference is they have have an asset to sell and renters don't. But same budgeting principles in the interim. The extra housing costs come out of cash going into savings or you cut back spending in other areas. Or you move somewhere less expensive.

[jencam]

Originally Posted by lepoisson

I know it sucks to be paying more taxes, but shouldn't people be happy that their home is worth 10% more every year? As long as the appraised value is fair, I don't see a problem.

Because it's a bubble. Fake values, if you will, driven by scarcity. Our homes are not really worth this much, people are temporarily forced to pay these prices, but it's of no help to those of us not selling.

And think about people getting their ceilings set for disabled or over 65. The ceilings are getting set on falsely inflated values, and that will never go down for them. That is very very hard on disabled and seniors on very low incomes.

You will see some losing their homes due to inability to pay these new rates. Mine is $100/month more. That is a LOT for my property. (small condo). And my realtor friend has stories for days. $300/month increases right after buying. Part to escrow to make up for shortfall last year, and part so escrow has enough come December. That is a lot. $300 on a modest home!