Oh My, Oh My, Oh… Property Taxes

A couple of days ago, I received a lovely blue note in the mail that informed me of how amazing my house is. It also informed me that with all the new improvements (there have been none, btw), my house is worth so much more than last year and the year before that.  It also informed me that I had until May 31st to protest.  A long time ago, I sent money to a lawyer who said they would lower my taxes for me. Well, I never heard from them, so I vowed never to do THAT again.  In 2015, I decided to try and take care of it myself, and I am so glad I did!  I’ve heard of people trying and not having any luck, so let me share exactly what I did so you can see if it works for you.  When we refinanced our home, we had an appraisal done; it’s just part of the process.  I decided to take that information up to the Tax Office and show them myself that they had incorrectly valued my house.  The appraisal had comparisons and pictures and was very thorough and, importantly, was just a few months old.  I drove up to the Tarrant Appraisal District Office located at 2500 Handley-Ederville Road and was prepared to wait, show them my facts, and see what happened.  (Here is a Map with the location.)  Surprisingly, it was not too crowded, and when it was my turn, I handed over my appraisal.  The employee made a copy and lowered my value to the exact appraised value on the appraisal, which significantly lowered my taxes for the year.

If you would like to try and do the same, I recommend contacting DFW Appraisals to do your home appraisal.  They are owned and run by a local Fort Worth family and have over 25 years in the appraisal business.  They can be reached by phone (817) 460-9495 or email orders@appraisingdfw.com and would love to talk to you.  Here is a link to their website for more information, as well!

Two years later, my TAD value has gone way up again.  I don’t understand how in such a short amount of time there could be such an increase!  You know I am going to try to get them back to where they should be.  Maybe I’ll see you at the TAD office when I am there?  Good luck everybody!  Any advice you have on how you have deal with property taxes is always appreciated, so leave a comment if you have any suggestions!

Tricia Schniederjan is a Fort Worth girl, born and raised. Tricia is a runner, scuba diver, snow and water skier, hiker, and kayaker.  Her love of exploring has taken her on many adventures with her 5 children which has led to her becoming an expert at traveling with children. She is a UT Austin graduate, an optimist, a peace keeper, and an enjoyer of life.