Moving from LA- please help with tax abatement Qs (Dallas: how much, buying a home)

[Cutting_Blade]

Hi all and yee-haw, we're moving to Texas.

We've targeted Las Colinas as an ideal area with a good commute to my hospital and partner's work downtown (coming from LA we have traffic PTSD and are absolutely categorically not considering driving more than 10 miles each way). We have learned that 'new developments' qualify for a hefty DCURD tax abatement. Couple question:

1) I found this form (forgive the long link). Is it really that easy?
http://www.google.com/url?sa=t&rct=j...62788935,d.cGU

2) Any way to estimate property taxes after the abatement? Anyone know exactly how large the abatement is?

3) Any horror stories about Las Colinas?

Also, my God this website is fun. Searching property values by owner's name... it feels so naughty.

DCAD: Find Property By Owner Name

[Rakin]

The DCURD tax was designed for commercial buildings and there were not supposed to be any Residential in the area.
In La Villita they base the tax on lot size and the Abatement lowers it down below $150 per year.

Newer subdivisions it's based on Home size and can run between $300-800 per year.

It's confusing and yes you must file the abatement yearly which is no big deal.

[Squirl]

Las Colinas is fine, be sure to buy a house on pier and beam foundation. Easier to make cosmetic updates to a house than deal with foundation issues. There are many homes built in the 60's to 80's in LC with pier and beam.....

[Cutting_Blade]

Thank you both. Squirl, does that mean the newer construction built on slabs has been having problems? I read elsewhere on this forum that the soil composition is quite porous there so people were expecting problems re: sinking, but does anyone know if that has been validated?

[Squirl]

Originally Posted by Cutting_Blade

Thank you both. Squirl, does that mean the newer construction built on slabs has been having problems? I read elsewhere on this forum that the soil composition is quite porous there so people were expecting problems re: sinking, but does anyone know if that has been validated?

Some of the newer homes in our neighborhood of Cottonwood Valley have "piered slab" foundations and have needed foundation repairs. By newer, I mean houses built in the last 5-8 years. Our neighborhood is somewhat hilly for N. Texas, so this may not be the case in the new houses built in LC near the DART station/downtown LC. Just making you aware.

My house is pier and beam and the foundation work it might need -- because even pier and beam needs tweaking sometimes -- would be to have it "re-shimmed" and that's not terribly expensive or as much an impact on the structure or landscaping.

Las Colinas has clay soil but this is also true of much of NTX and I wouldn't avoid the area for this reason. The proximity to the city -- especially the medical district -- the wonderful safety provided by the private LC patrol, convenience of DART and being near both DAL and DFW airports all make it a great location.

[Cutting_Blade]

Thanks again. We're writing an offer on a house in La Vilita, which is in that 5-8 yr age range (we prefer the finished neighborhood look and the greenbelt/lake view versus the brand-new neighborhoods). All houses there were built on slabs. That's long enough for structural problems to begin manifesting. Have you heard anything coming up in inspections?

[Squirl]

Originally Posted by Cutting_Blade

Thanks again. We're writing an offer on a house in La Vilita, which is in that 5-8 yr age range (we prefer the finished neighborhood look and the greenbelt/lake view versus the brand-new neighborhoods). All houses there were built on slabs. That's long enough for structural problems to begin manifesting. Have you heard anything coming up in inspections?

La Villita is a great area. Good friend lives there, one of the very first homes built there and hasn't had any issues. She loves it there.

However, the thing about structural issues is they can display at any time in the life of a house. If you start noticing doors sticking, make sure you are keeping your slab moist enough. If the problem doesn't correct in a single season look into getting it fixed. Much cheaper to have a few piers put under a section than to ignore the issue. In TX, we often say "its not IF a house has foundation problems, its WHEN". Don't get crazy or scared about this. Just be vigilent and be prepared if/when you see significant shifts to address it, don't ignore and hope it will go away. I have corrected several slab houses for under $4K, the problem is most homeowners let it get serious before they take action or sell the house.

Welcome to LC!

[tina1973]

Can anyone tell me how much are the property taxes in La Villita? Is DCURD tax extra besides the

Regular property taxes?

I am looking into buying a home in this community....

[nsumner]

Originally Posted by tina1973

Can anyone tell me how much are the property taxes in La Villita? Is DCURD tax extra besides the

Regular property taxes?

I am looking into buying a home in this community....

Tax rate is 2.56 DCURD is an additional 1.79

You can read more about it here Dallas County Utility and Reclamation District

Naima

[Rakin]

Originally Posted by nsumner

Tax rate is 2.56 DCURD is an additional 1.79

But that 1.79% is not the effective rate if you file your yearly abatement. My Tax Acct shows a DCuRD Tax of $7116 but with my yearly abatement (exemption) I pay about $120 a year.

As mentioned above, the DCURD tax was designed for commercial buildings in the area. They give us Residential homeowners a huge discount to a bare minimum.