Home address: 3029 Lark Ln

2021 Taxable Value: $241,240

Recent Sales Price: $145,000 – Over-taxed by 66%

Appraisal district errors in setting assessed values cause Dallas County owners to pay extra taxes. Protesting the appraisal district’s market value usually reduces your property taxes. Winning a property tax protest is easy.  Getting property owners to appeal is hard.  Only 10% of Texan homeowners appeal their property taxes.

However, the appraisal district is MUCH too busy during the appeal season to even think about asking to inspect a property.  Assessors do not visit houses because of appeals. One reason it is difficult for appraisal districts to correctly value homes is they are not homogenous.  Some have been remodeled and some haven’t. Most tax protests are settled at the informal level so appraisers can return to measuring and valuing new construction. Protesting your property taxes annually is analogous to regularly changing the oil in your car.  Preventative maintenance avoids serious problems.