Has Anyone Heard From Their Appraisal District? CandysDirt Tax Doctor is IN
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Troy Aikman has sold part of his dirt, the pool-cabana-sport court part, and we are hearing tales of multiple offers and homes being snapped up in 4 to 5 days, some not even in MLS. I am posting a home soon built by Mark Danuser that sold as a hip pocket in less than a week. Never hit MLS. Our marketing is heating up, so what does this mean to the folks down at the Dallas County Appraisal District? Has anyone even heard from their Appraisal District?
DCAD and the surrounding counties kicked off the beginning of the property tax season May 1 with the release of the “2012 Proposed Value” for all properties within their jurisdiction.
According to our Tax Doctor, Tiffany Hamil, here’s how to figure out your new Proposed Value: The District will mail you a notice if your value increases, but they are not required to mail you a notice if the value is reduced or stays the same. So no news is good news, sort of.
To find out your new Proposed Value, you should visit your local county’s website.
Dallas: www.dcad.org
Collin: www.collincad.org
Tarrant: www.tad.org
Denton: www.dentoncad.org (values will be released on May 9th)
How to know if you should protest? There are several factors to consider in determining if you should protest, says Tiffany:
1. The Fair Market Value of Your Home. Does the District’s appraised value of your home seem higher than what you could sell your home for? To save time and money, the Appraisal District uses a mass appraisal system based on “typical” property values to appraise ALL the properties in each class. By protesting, you are requiring the Appraisal District to individually appraise your home.
2. The Appraised Value of Your Neighbors’ Homes. Does the District’s appraised value of your home seem higher than your neighbors?
3. Your Age. If you or your spouse are nearing age 65, you should strongly consider protesting. At the age of 65, you qualify for the “Over-65 Exemption,” which will set a tax ceiling on your total school taxes for your residential homestead. It’s important that the ceiling be as low as possible because it can’t ever be changed.
Hire someone or I represent myself? Like with any area of law, you can always represent yourself. That said, there is always an advantage to hiring a professional to assist you with your property tax protest, and the tax savings usually covers the fee. A professional will have experience working with the Appraisal Districts, and their experience and knowledge will allow them to formulate persuasive arguments to successfully lower your value.
Knowing the rules of the game, says Tiffany, is half the battle in this area of law.
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I know this may be a bit off topic, but we have actually been looking at possibly purchasing a condo/townhouse in Dallas for some time (we currently own a home in central Oklahoma, but my husband's job brings him to Dallas frequently throughout the year and full time in the winter). I usually will look at the tax rolls to try and "predict" what they would be. It's always a challenge since it will be a "second shelter" and we won't have the homestead exemption and second, because some of these units, esp. condos, have had the 65 exemption in place as well.
Any quick ways of being able to use the DCAD rolls to calculate what a good estimate of the taxes? I know if we were in the process of getting a bonefide offer on the table this would be no problem, but we don't want to experience "sticker shock" on the taxes and have to pull the offer.
Thanks in advance.
This isn't exact, but should get you fairly close and is safe. With no exemptions depending where in Dallas you land, take your purchase price times 2.7111%.
School and City taxes will vary and are the biggest portion while Dallas County, Dallas County Community College and Dallas County Hospital taxes amount to .62377%. The 2.7111% will be safe because you will have the advantage of the sellers exemptions for the balance of the first year and the valuation won't change until the following year, and that's a maybe.
Thanks Rob! Appreciate the help.
I know this may be a bit off topic, but we have actually been looking at possibly purchasing a condo/townhouse in Dallas for some time (we currently own a home in central Oklahoma, but my husband's job brings him to Dallas frequently throughout the year and full time in the winter). I usually will look at the tax rolls to try and "predict" what they would be. It's always a challenge since it will be a "second shelter" and we won't have the homestead exemption and second, because some of these units, esp. condos, have had the 65 exemption in place as well.
Any quick ways of being able to use the DCAD rolls to calculate what a good estimate of the taxes? I know if we were in the process of getting a bonefide offer on the table this would be no problem, but we don't want to experience "sticker shock" on the taxes and have to pull the offer.
Thanks in advance.
This isn't exact, but should get you fairly close and is safe. With no exemptions depending where in Dallas you land, take your purchase price times 2.7111%.
School and City taxes will vary and are the biggest portion while Dallas County, Dallas County Community College and Dallas County Hospital taxes amount to .62377%. The 2.7111% will be safe because you will have the advantage of the sellers exemptions for the balance of the first year and the valuation won't change until the following year, and that's a maybe.
Thanks Rob! Appreciate the help.
Protesting is easy as long as you have access to MLS data, which most people don't have. Luckily I have a friend who is a realtor and can help me find sales of home similar to mine.
I have successfully protested informally for about 10 years, and I can assure you that DCAD does NOT care about your neighbors' valuations. They want to know what your house will sell for RIGHT NOW, and the only way to do that is to find out what other similar houses have sold for since the beginning of the year. You have to bring them this documentation (MLS reports). If you can find three, all the better. They must be similar in size and style of your home. (No comparing your updated 4,000 sq. ft. home to a 2,500 sq. ft. fixer upper.) Then, subtract out any repairs or updates needed to make your house saleable. Get quotes for those repairs and fixes. If you can't find any similar homes that have sold for less than your valuation, and you don't have any repairs/updates to make, you are not going to be successful. DCAD employees are professional and (usually) easy to work with, but you have to do your homework.
Protesting is easy as long as you have access to MLS data, which most people don't have. Luckily I have a friend who is a realtor and can help me find sales of home similar to mine.
I have successfully protested informally for about 10 years, and I can assure you that DCAD does NOT care about your neighbors' valuations. They want to know what your house will sell for RIGHT NOW, and the only way to do that is to find out what other similar houses have sold for since the beginning of the year. You have to bring them this documentation (MLS reports). If you can find three, all the better. They must be similar in size and style of your home. (No comparing your updated 4,000 sq. ft. home to a 2,500 sq. ft. fixer upper.) Then, subtract out any repairs or updates needed to make your house saleable. Get quotes for those repairs and fixes. If you can't find any similar homes that have sold for less than your valuation, and you don't have any repairs/updates to make, you are not going to be successful. DCAD employees are professional and (usually) easy to work with, but you have to do your homework.