Comments on: How Are Your Property Values Doing?

By: Successful protester

Successful protester — Tue, 24 Jan 2012 22:07:11 +0000

OccupyDCAD, did you look at your home’s “class,” which is on the DCAD listing for your property? New construction is usually a different class than an older home which can be helpful when arguing your case. The class descriptions are on the website.

By: OccupyDCAD

OccupyDCAD — Tue, 24 Jan 2012 01:49:00 +0000

protested using about 8 MLS comps and pics of deferred maint
their comps were recent construction vs my 1980s nonupdated home
i argued a 25 year old home is not comparable to a 3-year old home but their appraiser said he takes the square foot price of the new house then just knocks $100,000 off.
I settled for a downgrade of the condition from good to fair, which knocked $75,000 off the value but still left my home appraised $150,000 more than i can sell it for (according to my Realtor)

By: UPDad

UPDad — Mon, 23 Jan 2012 23:39:58 +0000

Hey Brad,

Suppose this year, three guys from the IRS came to you and said, “Brad, we think you’re a good writer. In fact, we think you’re underpaid. We think you should be earning 50% more than PCP is paying you. You wrote this many articles at this many words, and your average reader makes this much money. Our model says you should be paid 50% more than what you are. So we’re going to tax you on what we think you SHOULD be making rather than what you actually are. We’re three people. We know the labor market inside out.”

That’s a system for determining taxes? That’s what we have with DCAD.

By: A. B.

A. B. — Mon, 23 Jan 2012 22:04:49 +0000

Protest DCAD every year. It won’t have an impact on the actual sales price of your home since the data used to determine comparable sales is on MLS, not DCAD. The value on DCAD can be used to get a rough idea of sales price, but in reality the two numbers can be thousands upon thousands of dollars apart.

By: Successful Protester

Successful Protester — Mon, 23 Jan 2012 21:36:21 +0000

@Unsuccessful, that happened to us twice. You protest and bring your closing statement to the informal hearing. That’s true market value.

By: unsuccessful protestor

unsuccessful protestor — Mon, 23 Jan 2012 18:03:29 +0000

I paid significantly less than my home appraised for when I bought my house in 2010. I appealed my taxes, of course, and DCAD refused to drop the value to the amount I paid–even with the sales data, they literally would not accept that the home was worth so little. It’s a difference of $15,000, so it probably has little effect on the taxes and I didn’t push it, but in principle, it’s frustrating. Did it through a lawyer, so I’m unsure of the details, but since he was paid a percentage of the reduction, I’m assuming he did his best. Any ideas on how they could have gotten away with this?

By: MGBHStar

MGBHStar — Mon, 23 Jan 2012 17:22:41 +0000

This would make an interesting article. My total property appraisal has declined 5%/yr for the last 3 years running (mostly the structure, lot value only dropped in 2011).

However, keep in mind a few things:
1. The DCAD appraised value may or may not be anywhere close to what the real market (i.e. what you could sell it for) value is. Case in point, the Aikman property on Highland is listed for $24MM on MLS, but DCAD value is only $13MM (both lots). I believe D Magazine has published articles on this once or twice in the last few years.
2. Look at the history of any property on DCAD and you will notice that when a property changes hands, the new DCAD valuation almost always is what the last selling price was.
3. There was a bill before the Texas Legislature to more closely align Appraisal District values with real market values. The purpose being that in most cases the market value is higher than Appraisal District value; hence would generate higher tax payments. Not sure if this ever went anywhere.

By: Successful protester

Successful protester — Mon, 23 Jan 2012 15:18:35 +0000

DSquared, when you protest, DCAD is only interested in recent sales data of comparable homes. Period. Not neighbors’ valuations, market analysis, indexes, etc. Here’s what you do:
1. Find a realtor who has access to MLS.
2. Have the realtor search recent comparable sales, the more recent the better. Comparable sales means houses in your neighborhood that have actually sold that are similar in size, class, bedrooms, baths, lot size, etc. Have the realtor give you the property’s MLS description and sale price documentation. Try to get two or three. Make sure you are comparing homes of similar quality and type. If your home was custom built in 2007, you can’t compare it to a 1940s tear down. Also, you have to compare homes that are in this area. A sale from the other side of the Tollway is not a comp sale.
3. Make a detailed list and take pictures of all needed repairs (and updates, if your house is really old). Get written estimates of repairs/updates and bring that documentation, along with the photos.
4. File the protest on time, and plan to go to an informal hearing, which is at least 24 hours before the formal one.
5. Bring a good attitude and be friendly! In my experience (successful protests for more than 10 years), the DCAD employees have been very pleasant and professional. The one time when things weren’t going well, I politely asked to speak to a supervisor, and I was able to talk to a different person. Think about it, these people are yelled at all the time. Bring in data that they can use, and you will make their job easy.
6. If you cannot find any comp sales that are less than the valuation of your home, and your home does not need any repairs, save your time and breath.

By: Dscott

Dscott — Sun, 22 Jan 2012 07:49:24 +0000

As a follow up to my post re this subject, pls be aware that you have absolutely no control of land value. Your land value is assessed at the same front foot value (or other measurement) as all of the homes in the immediate area as your home. DCAD will not reduce your land value. Your focus must be on your improvements value. My method is to have a reasonable target value and work with the DCAD staffer to get to that value through manipulating the “switches on the black box” that affect my improvements value…quality, depreciation, square footage, defects, etc.

Good luck, but remember you don’t get what you don’t ask for…so, protest every year.

By: Dscott

Dscott — Sun, 22 Jan 2012 07:38:30 +0000

If more people would protest their assessed value, rather than be lazy and accept what DCAD says their home is worth, our assessed values would decline. That’s not the equivalent to reduced tax liabilities…homeowners have no control over tax rates on our assessed values, as you all know; however, whatever you can do to reduce your value helps. I have found in the 14 years I’ve owned a home in University Park, every year that I’ve protested my value, I have been awarded a reduction…for just showing up…at the beginning, it was in person; in later years, I was able to handle it with a phone call and an email of relevant supporting information. I went before the Board of Adjusters one year and was successful, but I don’t recommend it because I understand it’s a losers game. The DCAD appraisers and staff are worked like dogs and appreciate the home owners that work with them to make their “black box” work so that both parties are happy… And, it’s their job on the line to keep values up, so don’t blame them or take it personally when they don’t agree with you. Finally, to the comment regarding Realtors…homes in the Park Cities don’t sell themselves…there are hundreds that a Realtor could list that have sat on the market much too long because of seller’s value expectations that aren’t in line with market realities.
In summary, file a protest every year and follow it with a visit or at least a phone call to your favorite DCAD staffer…you will be surprised at how easy it is to get some amount of deduction.