Engineer · Carlsbad/San Diego · Member since 2014 · 285 posts · 97 votes
I was trying to analyze a property in Fort Worth, Texas.
I looked up the taxes on Zillow as well as on the county assessor site. The 2 are very different for 2012. One is about $2000 and the other is about $3000.
For 2014, the values from the 2 sites are pretty close.
Has anyone else seen this before? I will ofcorse go with county site info but just wanted to make sure i am looking in the right places.
I was trying to analyze a property in Fort Worth, Texas.
I looked up the taxes on Zillow as well as on the county assessor site. The 2 are very different for 2012. One is about $2000 and the other is about $3000.
For 2014, the values from the 2 sites are pretty close.
Has anyone else seen this before? I will ofcorse go with county site info but just wanted to make sure i am looking in the right places.
I don't go by what Zillow has. I use the link or just go to the county appraiser site. Then I call to verify the TRIM values they have and tell them that I am an investor since the homestead will not apply in my case so that I get the actual values. This helps a great deal because the taxes as shown on a non-appraiser site generally in what I see are not accurate.
I was trying to analyze a property in Fort Worth, Texas.
I looked up the taxes on Zillow as well as on the county assessor site. The 2 are very different for 2012. One is about $2000 and the other is about $3000.
For 2014, the values from the 2 sites are pretty close.
Has anyone else seen this before? I will ofcorse go with county site info but just wanted to make sure i am looking in the right places.
I don't go by what Zillow has. I use the link or just go to the county appraiser site. Then I call to verify the TRIM values they have and tell them that I am an investor since the homestead will not apply in my case so that I get the actual values. This helps a great deal because the taxes as shown on a non-appraiser site generally in what I see are not accurate.
What is TRIM? And can you pls explain the bit about 'homestead' not applicable? So you are saying the actual values for investor will be different from what you get on their site? Thats why you have to call them?
Software Developer · Vidor, TX · Member since 2015 · 922 posts · 639 votes
10y
You can just go to the tax office site for that area and then look at the tax break down for each category (ISD, COUNTY, CITY, DRAINAGE and etc). When you buy property as an investor, you don't get the Homestead exemption because you are not living there. You just apply the taxable rate to the fully appraised value of the home instead of the discounted taxable value due to the Homestead exemption (if there is one).
I would always use the local county site instead of any third party one.
There are other exemptions a person can get too, Veteran exemption/discount for example.
Rental Property Investor · Gainesville, FL · Member since 2015 · 1k+ posts · 432 votes
10y
@Hersh M. looks like @Justin Fox already answered your questions on homestead, just to add....
As an investor, if I am not occupying the property, say as a multi family where I live in one side, I am not sure if homestead applies in any way. I do know that the SFR (singe family residential) homes that I buy I don't live in so the homestead exemption does not apply.
When you have a primary home your tax assessment is reduced by this homestead exemption because you live there. There are other exemptions as mentioned by Justin as well.
Your local appraisers office can explain in detail what they allow. Some municipalities may differ. For example, the home is 100k and the homestead exemption is 25k, your taxes will be based not on 100k but on 75k, which greatly reduces your taxes. Here I would multiple the mileage (24.7431) by 75k to get my taxes. There are "miscellaneous" that exist here as well like the shed I have on my property is also taxed.
Regarding TRIM, these are the proposed values of the assessment prior to the county locking down and officially determining what the assessed values are for all the homes. They also determine the mileage rate for each county.
Electrical Engineer · Plano, TX · Member since 2015 · 16 posts · 3 votes
10y
Hey Hersh,
My name is Nick Smith. I'm an investor in the Dallas area. I just wanted to echo what was said above. In my experience Zillow is basically useless for data such as taxes and mortgage payment estimate. It's easier and will save you headaches later to do your own research.
I may be mistaken but I believe she means Mill Levy, Mill rate, or millage tax(not mileage) which is the basis for property taxes. In addition, in order to calculate property taxes you should use Assessed valuation, not appraised value. Best of luck.
I may be mistaken but I believe she means Mill Levy, Mill rate, or millage tax(not mileage) which is the basis for property taxes. In addition, in order to calculate property taxes you should use Assessed valuation, not appraised value. Best of luck.
Yes, my auto correct is horrible and continues to change what I type. Thanks for the correction.
Rental Property Investor · Tucson, AZ · Member since 2014 · 63 posts · 37 votes
10y
I'm gonna go ahead and echo what almost everyone has said. Use local means to find the information you need. Zillow is not reliable. I'm fairly certain tax records are public knowledge as far as I know so there is always a way to get this information and it will be 100% accurate if you get it from the source.
Even the smaller counties in Texas generally have the Tax Appraisal District info online. Just Google the County name. If you don't know the county, just Google what county that town is in.