Fighting Your Property Tax Appraisal for Dallas Real Estate

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.