Every day, we receive over a dozen requests for a free house value report for homes across Dallas Fort Worth (strangely enough, a large percentage are for house values in Frisco and Keller Texas… does that mean something? huh). The vast majority of the house value requests are for home owners thinking about selling their home. They want to see what their Dallas Home would potentially sell for compared to what they own it for. Did you know that this is only one of many examples of how a free house value report or comparative market analysis (aka CMA) can be used?

Here Are 5 Ways To Use a Dallas House Value Report aka CMA

1. Selling Your Dallas Home- The first and most obvious way to use the free comparative market analysis that you receive from Texas Home Central is to compare your home against other homes that have sold in your neighborhood. I wont go into too much detail here since this one is pretty obvious. What I would like to add here is that an “automated CMA” is not enough to give you a clear picture of what your home will sell for. Sometimes you will get a false sense of value and be too high or too low by thousands of dollars. Price too high and people will not bother looking at your home, too low and people will think something is wrong with your home and try to negotiate you even lower or again, not even visit. It’s imperative that a professional that knows the real estate market take the time to do a deeper analysis, comparing more that just bedrooms, bathrooms and square footage. A good agent will also compare lot size and location, upgrades, home features as well as what other homes have that your home may not have. (more…)
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There are very few “good things” I can say about the U.S. tax code… in fact, I think it’s long over due for change, but one thing I can say is that there are some benefits to which makes buying a home in Dallas Fort Worth a great idea for almost everyone.

Mortgage interest deductions, including in some cases mortgage insurance premiums, reduce home owners’ tax liability by reducing income. The deduction includes interest paid on both a first and a second home.

Interest on home equity loans is also deductible — whether the borrower uses the money to remodel the kitchen or to take a vacation to Disney World.

Profits from selling a house are potentially a huge windfall. When a home owner sells a primary residence, any profit on the sale of the property is tax free up to $250,000 for single home owners and $500,000 for married home owners filing. Any profit above that is nearly always a long-term capital gain taxed at 15 percent — less if the seller’s tax rate is less than 20 percent.

Home owners can itemize. That opens up opportunities to deduct a host of other items that wouldn’t be deductible if the taxpayer took the standard deduction. Source: The Boston Globe, Leonard Wiener

If you are interested in knowing more about how taxes will affect your home purchase in the Dallas Metroplex, please call us at 800-326-9011 or contact us via email by clicking here!

A recent article on CNNMoney.com titled “7 Ways to Fight Property Taxes” had a checklist for fighting your tax value when it seems too high. From experience, I can tell you that Denton County, where I live, has been notorious for raising your property value every year for the maximum amount possible. Then, they leave it up to the homeowner to fight the value. If they didn’t, it is more money in the taxing authority’s pocket.

The “7 Ways to Fight Property Taxes” were:

1. Learn your system (find out what method the taxing authority uses to arrive at your value).
2. Get your assessors evidence (find out what information they have about your house).
3. Make sure the description is right (compare the information they have about your house to the true facts about your house).
4. Build your case (most taxing authorities will give you a specified time period to appeal. Use this time to find comparables with your homes characteristics and also find out what the appraisal district is valuing your neighbors homes at).
5. Meet the assessor informally ( this is the best time for you to explain your case and also have the assessor explain his).
6. File the appeal (make sure you are prepared to explain your case to the full appraisal board. Prepare a speech and practice it).
7. You lost (If you did lose your case and want to take it further, you will most likely need an attorney and an appraiser. At this point it will be up to you to decide if saving a little money in tax dollars is worth spending it in attorney’s fees).

This article does a good job of outlining all of your options. However, I can also tell you from experience that the two most important pieces are building your case and meeting with your assessor informally. When I felt my house was overvalued on the Denton County tax rolls, I called the county and set up an informal meeting. Armed with a recent HUD-1 from the purchase of my home, I was able to get my value reduced to an acceptable level at the informal meeting. I was in and out in 10 minutes with an appointment… trust me, taxing authorities would prefer to negotiate this way as it reduces the backlog of a full board hearing. I hope these tips will help you the next time you need to fight your property taxes!

Craig Pollard is a mortgage professional and owner of Texas Mortgage Team. He specializes in the Dallas Fort Worth area and is a frequent voice on Texas Home Central’s blog. Craig can be reached at 972-317-9900 or emailed by clicking here.