Tag: Property Taxes

Crime & Real Estate

Tarrant County JP Indicted on Property Tax-Related Felonies

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Tarrant

Photo courtesy Tarrant County

Longtime Tarrant County Justice of the Peace Jacquelyn Wright has had her fair share of controversy in the 28 years she’s served in that position.

But that controversy may be outpaced by Wednesday’s news that a grand jury indicted Wright, 77, on four felony charges related to homestead exemptions she claimed.

It is alleged that she falsely claimed the exemptions on homes she did not live in to avoid paying property taxes on a home on Ivy Hill Road in Fort Worth, the indictment said. Her claims spanned from 2010 to 2018, when she falsely applied for and received a homestead exemption in 2015, 2016, and 2018 for the Ivy Hill Road home. (more…)
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Title Business

Title Tip: The Property Tax Cycle Can Be a Vicious One

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By Lydia Blair
Special Contributor

We’ve all heard about the two things you can’t avoid – death and taxes. Just like there is a life cycle, there is a property tax cycle. The tax cycle is a lot easier to predict.

This life cycle of property taxes follows the same pattern every year. If you’re a Texas homeowner, your property is somewhere in this predictable rotation.

I offer you a synopsis of the tax collection cycle. Follow along with the snazzy graph I made from information from the Texas Tax Code.

(more…)
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Title Business

Title Tip: The Pain of Unpaid Property Taxes

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Special contributor Lydia Blair with Mary Doggett, VP of National Investors Title Insurance

By Lydia Blair
Special Contributor

Property taxes are the talk of the town right now. Municipalities all over the Metroplex are proposing tax rate increases on top of the frequent increase in property values. This year’s tax bill may be a double whammy for our already steep homeowner taxes. If you’re thinking of avoiding those taxes, here is your warning.

“Texas is pretty efficient with collections or foreclosing because our property taxes are high,” says Mary Doggett, VP of National Investors Title Insurance.

Despite our strong homestead rights in Texas, you can lose your home if you don’t pay your property taxes. Rest assured that the taxing authorities will collect their money one way or another. There is no escaping it.

(more…)
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Education

Dallas ISD Board Places 13-cent TRE on November Ballot

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Property Taxes
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TRE

Dallas ISD trustees Dan Micciche and Justin Henry talked to supporters of a Tax Ratification Election before Thursday’s board meeting (photo courtesy Rob Shearer).

It took three tries, but a 13-cent Tax Ratification Election (TRE) was passed by the Dallas ISD board of trustees in a special called meeting Thursday night.

The vote (which was seven for, one against, and one absent) will place a measure that will increase the district’s maintenance and operating tax rate from $1.04 to $1.17.

There has not been an increase since 2008.

A cheer from the gallery went up as what various advocates had been asking for — a chance to put a potential property tax increase on the ballot — finally passed after three tries over as many years.

If voters approve the measure on Nov. 6, it will provide an additional $126 million every year to support early learning, racial equity, and choice school programs, as well as compensation. (more…)
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Real estate market news

Real Estate News: Desoto Man Named to Real Estate Advisory Committee

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Real EstateDallas ISD is holding public information meetings for a proposed Tax Ratification Election to be held in November, a Desoto man has been tapped by Governor Abbott for a spot on a real estate advisory committee, and we take a look at how the market did in the area in July in this week’s real estate news roundup. (more…)
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Dallas County Appraisal District

DCAD Doesn’t Know And Doesn’t Count Deed Restrictions And Other Impairments

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When we “feel like just a number,” we’re really just reflecting our uniqueness being ignored. We’ve long known we’re just a number to taxing bodies like DCAD … albeit one with a dollar sign in front. But recently, I’ve found we’re a percentage, too.

In valuing property, DCAD calculates the total market value based on both land and “improvements” (structures). The combination of these numbers equals the total assessed value of a given property. All fine so far. A (land) + B (structures) = C (total market value)

But did you know that there’s a ratio used between land and improvement values? You likely think this means that land appreciates at roughly the same rate of structures. Partly. It also means that land should be equal to a certain percentage of the structure. And when the ratio gets out of whack, it’s adjusted. On the surface this too seems generally fine, provided you start with structure and land that fall within the ratio (and nothing changes).

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Politics

Just Two Days After Winning Runoff, Valdez Dinged on Overdue Property Taxes

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ValdezWe’ve heard it before — after all, when you write about real estate, you do spend a fair amount of time talking about how difficult and expensive it is to pay property taxes: It’s not always easy to be a property owner in Texas.

We’ve talked about why property taxes are climbing. But Lupe Valdez, newly crowned Democratic candidate for governor, says that a story in the Houston Chronicle that revealed she is facing about $12,000 in overdue property taxes is a good example of why reform is needed. (more…)
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Property Tax Protest Filed in 10 Minutes, Thanks to PropertyTax.io

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property taxLast month, we told you about a service that makes filing a property tax protest a ridiculously simple process. Tuesday, I road tested it myself, and it was even easier than I thought it would be.

If you’ve been putting off filing because you’re worried it won’t be worth it, or because the idea of starting the process sounds daunting, I wouldn’t put it off any longer. The deadline to file a protest is May 15 (May 18 if you’re in Denton County), which is — eek! — next Tuesday. (more…)
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