Dallas Home Appraisals News and Information

Just a reminder that you only have until June 1st (in Dallas and most other area counties) to file a protest of your property tax assessment.  According to the Dallas County Appraisal District, protests are on a similar pace as last year although 92% of Dallas homes either had no change or a drop in value this year.  An earlier article in the DMN pointed out that relatively few homeowners protest their appraisals, although there is a better than 50% success rate among those who do.

Click here for information on how to protest your appraisal.  It can be as simple as taking photos down to the appraisal office if your home has issues that the appraisal district might not know about (they don't go inside homes, and homes are not appraised every year), including any deferred maintenance that might lower your market value.  You don't even need an appointment (between now and June 1st you can walk in and see an appraiser, but after June 1st if you have not officially filed a protest and received a hearing date you will be out of luck). 

It can be a little more tricky to fight your appraisal based on sales of comparable homes in your neighborhood.  You would be well served to consult a professional as to what sales in your area would be considered comparable to your home (and what area is considered to be in direct competition with your location).  You can use a company that will go down and present your case for you, for which you will pay either a flat fee or a percentage of your tax savings.

Blue Star Appraisals Inc. can also help you gather information for your protest.  Contact us for a phone consultation regarding the market conditions in your neighborhood.  We can usually let you know fairly quickly if your assessment is clearly in line with sales in your neighborhood and an appeal would likely be unsuccessful. 

If it looks like your assessment might be high, we can work with you to decide whether a list of comparable sales or a full appraisal would be your best bet for a successful appeal.  If you are thinking of selling in the near future, remodeling, applying for removal of PMI or making some other change to your mortgage, a full appraisal could serve your purposes best.  Either way, the cost is small compared to your potential tax savings.

Whichever way you decide to go, if you think your assessment is high, you only have 12 more days to do something about it.