Texas Property Tax Tips
Foreclosures and Your Property Taxes
At the end of 2009 2% of Texas homes were in foreclosure and one in ten was behind at least a month on its mortgage payments. The effect on your 2010 property tax protest can be dramatic if you use it wisely . . .
Inequality of Appraisal: Its Own Reason to Protest
Inequality of Appraisal is its own reason to protest your property’s taxable value because Texas appraisal districts grant Inequality on a mass basis. If you protest and qualify, it’s yours. If you don’t protest, it’s not.
The Ecstasy and The Agony: Why Victory Failed
A seeming real estate chip shot in Dallas turned to a bogey last April when Ross Perot, Jr. “sold” his interest in Victory, the near downtown mega development, to his German creditors in cancellation of $275 million in debt.
Only $275 million? Ross Perot? Whoa, Nellie!
It’s an old, old story. . .
The New Economy and Your Property Taxes
Many don’t realize that the Information Economy affects whether or not you’ll pay only your fair share of Texas property taxes. Texas appraisal districts now know more than you can imagine — or can reasonably acquire — about your property and its market . . .
Appraisal districts know more than you can imagine (or can acquire) about your property.
Ten Percent Limitation of Taxable Increases
Many Texans think the constitutional limitation on a property’s taxable value cannot increase more than 10% in any one year. It doesn’t work quite that way. . .
Over 65? Live Here!
Local option caps on city and county taxes give some Texans over 65 a property tax break that can last a lifetime (or two) but it depends on where you live . . .
Unlike the school tax cap for seniors the city tax cap applies only to municipalties and counties that adopted it . .
A borrower’s worst nightmare: ARM increase 12/31/09
If your mortgage is an ARM that adjusts with the Cost of Funds Index, you need to know about this little publicized jump in interest rates. And even if you don’t have an ARM mortgage, this affects you also.
A borrower’s worst nightmare — a sudden and inexplicable increase in the index on which adjustable rate mortgages (ARMs) are based — took place without much notice at 3pm local time on December 31.
File Yourself or Hire a Pro: Either Way We Help You Get What You Deserve!
Whether you file your own Texas property tax protest or hire a pro, we’ll help you do it right! Our Five Free Tips will . . .
Who(m) Y’gonna Believe: S&P Case Schiller or Your Own MLS?
S&P reports November Dallas single family home values down 0.6% in Dallas while MLS reports values up 5% for the same periods throughout North Texas. Who(m) y’gonna believe?
Are High End Homes the Next Shoe to Drop?
In 2010 the higher end of the Texas residential market may be in for significant price declines, especially since adjustable rate mortgages could rise either due to contractual resets or rising interest rates or both.
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