TAD appraisal notices coming May 1; protest deadline to June 1

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Tarrant Appraisal District is hoping to mail this year’s appraisal notices out around May 1.

Tarrant County’s shelter-in-place order due to the COVID-19 outbreak has shuttered the appraisal district offices and has most employees working at home, Chief Appraisal Jeff Law said in an email on Thursday.

“The majority of our appraisals are complete,” Law said. “The protest deadline set by the State Legislature is May 15,” Law said. “However, if we mail on or around May 1, the deadline will be pushed out to June 1.”

Business personal property value notices should be mailed out beginning in late May. The deadline for filing business personal property renditions has been extended until May 15.

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However, those dates and deadlines are subject to change as a result of changes or extension of COVID-19 shelter-in-place orders.

Law said various appraisal district’s across Texas have contacted Gov. Greg Abbott’s office for guidance on this year’s appeals process.

“But at this time, the governor’s office has not waived or suspended any laws,” Law said.

Property appraisals for 2020 are based on market data as of Jan. 1 because state law sets that date as universal for appraisals of business and home value across the state.

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“How this outbreak will affect values going forward is yet to be determined,” Law said.

Last year, the appraisal district sent out more than 600,000 appraisal notices to homeowners, with appraised value increases of up to the maximum of 10 percent. Those increases were driven by continued rise in home prices, which have grown from 50 to 90 percent in the past five years.

Texas home sales were predicted to keep rising in 2020. In February, the Real Estate Center at Texas A&M University announced that existing home sales sold through the MLS reached a record high in February.

“Texas existing-home sales increased 2.6 percent year over year, extending eight months of positive growth,” said Jim Gaines, chief economist of the Real Estate Center, who attributed the growth to low mortgage rates and a strong labor market.

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“A great beginning to the real estate selling season was suddenly awash in disruption,” Gaines said of the COVID-19 outbreak.

Last year, more than 200,000 property value protests were filed.

“We are encouraging property owners to use our online protest process if they are going to protest,” Law said. “That would be the safest and healthiest approach.

“Details are not finalized but we are working on the processing of this year’s appeal season.”

For more information and answers to common questions about commonly asked questions, visit TAD.org.