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Tarrant County Property Taxes

2,585 Views | 17 Replies | Last: 5 yr ago by wbt5845
Rice and Fries
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The wife and I decided to stay in Dallas and are looking around for homes.

One of my co-workers told me about the Viridian development area in Euless. Its part of the HEB ISD.

House prices seem reasonable around $300K for new builds but the property taxes are giving me heartburn. Here is a breakout of the tax bill....

Tax Unit - Tax Rate
City of Arlington - $0.6348
Tarrant County - $0.234
Tarrant County Hospital - $0.224429
Tarrant County College - $0.136070
Viridian MMD - $0.4481
HEB ISD - $1.27

Total Tax Rate: $2.95 per $100 of Value

Tax Bill= $2.95*($326,000/100) = $8,822

That is significantly higher taxes for what you'd find in Plano or the north suburbs. I know that these are Municipal districts which have higher tax rates, but can one expect the rates to go down eventually?

I find it really hard to justify ~$800/month in taxes on a property worth $326K when you factor in mortgage costs + Insurance. You might as well move to a more established area and pay the higher price for the house.

Does anyone live here or in the HEB district? Is it worth it?
powerbelly
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AG

Quote:

Its part of the HEB/Aledo ISD.
Viridian students are zoned to Viridian Elementary, Harwood Junior High and Trinity High School within the Hurst-Euless-Bedford Independent School District, but parents can apply to send their children to schools within the Arlington Independent School Distrct

https://www.viridiandfw.com/schools
Rice and Fries
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powerbelly said:


Quote:

Its part of the HEB/Aledo ISD.
Viridian students are zoned to Viridian Elementary, Harwood Junior High and Trinity High School within the Hurst-Euless-Bedford Independent School District, but parents can apply to send their children to schools within the Arlington Independent School Distrct

https://www.viridiandfw.com/schools
I ended up figuring out that the tax calculator was assuming the wrong ISD (Aledo). I know that the house was part of the HEB ISD. But its good to see that you have choices where to send the kids.

That being said, I'm still a first time home buyer and no kids yet so its still a few years off for me. I'm just tired of pissing away equity on rent vs owning.
powerbelly
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Quote:

I'm just tired of pissing away equity on rent vs owning.

If this is your main reason for buying, I wouldn't. Especially in a place like Euless.
John Francis Donaghy
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1. How much do you piss away in rent now?

2. How much will you be pissing away in property taxes, mortgage interest, homeowners insurance, PMI, and the increased cost of utilities and maintanace after you buy? Those are all one way streets for your cash just like rent.

3. How long will you stay in the home? Is your actual equity accumulation plus the value appreciation on the home likely to outweigh the total of the above increased monthly costs plus the up front closing costs over the course of that time period?

If you don't need the square footage of a family sized home yet, you can very possibly do better for your finances by renting a smaller place and being disciplined about investing your extra cash.

Do all the math before you make a major life decision based on an old adage that may or may not hold true for you.
hph6203
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AG
If you can't buy "cheap", rent "cheap". Equity building on a house month to month isn't that substantial, tax deductions have disappeared for homeowners under the new tax plan unless you have deductions elsewhere. I wouldn't expect crazy equity value increases in the next couple of years with interest rates on the rise. Should be pretty stagnant if not a pullback in value.

Even at that tax rate you wouldn't begin to sniff an itemizable deduction as a married couple filing jointly. Not a dig on the new tax plan, I think it's a good thing, it just didn't help homeowners. As a single man I will just barely crack the itemizable deduction threshold paying basically the same amount in property taxes.
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Rice and Fries
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We pay about $1900/month when all is said and done. Rent itself is $1700 plus utilities. It's a 2bd/2bth with 1 car garage townhome. But they are jacking our lease rate up $250/month if we renew.

I recognize that renting is a better option, but what I can rent vs buy while factoring in a shorter commute keeps buying on the table.

Personally, I wouldn't mind living in a po-dunk cheap apartment to save enough for a down payment. But the wife won't consider that option. She's flexible in where to live up to a certain point but she wants it to be safe and not crappy (poor AC, water heater, older rundown appliances, etc).

Looking at what we can rent has either older/un-updated homes around $1500-1800/month or decent homes at $2100+. There isn't much out there that screams at ya. Now granted, I am ignoring the added costs of PMI, taxes and insurance that build up the monthly costs plus whatever utilities and repairs/maintenance costs.

But if I'm going to be paying $2100/month for renting a house with a yard with a reasonable 25-30 minute commute, I might as well just consider buying a house with overall similar monthly cost. But in that range, it means a longer commute.

Ive considered looking at houses in Grand Prairie since they seem decent in terms of purchase price (<$250k) and won't be too bad a commute for me to work. Plus they come with a decent backyard for my dog which really is a big draw.

Everywhere I look, I keep coming back to renting. But since we've decided to stay long term, it's hard to ignore how long to continue renting vs just sucking it up and buying. We can afford a pricier house, but I'd rather not be overextended and house poor.

So that's why I was looking at Euless/GP/Arlington.
wbt5845
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I live in Arlington but Mansfield ISD. There is a homestead exemption of $70,400 for your City of Arlington taxes, so subtract that off before applying the rate. Mansfield ISD also has a $25,000 exemption - no idea what HEB has.
tysker
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snowmnag970 said:

powerbelly said:


Quote:

Its part of the HEB/Aledo ISD.
Viridian students are zoned to Viridian Elementary, Harwood Junior High and Trinity High School within the Hurst-Euless-Bedford Independent School District, but parents can apply to send their children to schools within the Arlington Independent School Distrct

https://www.viridiandfw.com/schools
I ended up figuring out that the tax calculator was assuming the wrong ISD (Aledo). I know that the house was part of the HEB ISD. But its good to see that you have choices where to send the kids.

That being said, I'm still a first time home buyer and no kids yet so its still a few years off for me. I'm just tired of pissing away equity on rent vs owning.
I grew up in Bedford and went to both Harwood and Trinity. Looking up the location of the Viridian complex and not knowing the demographics of the area anymore it seems strange they are zoned for Harwood. Wouldnt Central or Euless JH make more sense?

eta: If I were you, I would be concerned that the boundaries are changed. At least back in my day there was a difference between Harwood, Central and Euless JHs that may change the calculus a bit for you.
double aught
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Home prices are crazy throughout most of DFW. I bought my house nine years ago but wouldn't be able to afford it if buying it today.
AgBQ-00
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Isn't that Viridian neighborhood just across 157/Industrial from a landfill, or am I thinking of another place? Might be an issue with resale if it is the neighborhood I am thinking of.
Communists aren't people. They are property of the state.
tysker
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If its the location I'm seeing, yes. Across from a landfill and next an old quarry. In HS, I worked at the La Madeline down the street on Collins so I drove from Trinity HS through that area several times a week... and sadly was never old enough to stop by Baby Dolls
Rice and Fries
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AgBQ-00 said:

Isn't that Viridian neighborhood just across 157/Industrial from a landfill, or am I thinking of another place? Might be an issue with resale if it is the neighborhood I am thinking of.


What's crazy is the size of those lots. They are like 3500sf and once you put the house, you have literally no backyard. Just crazy how packed in they are there.
AgBQ-00
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Speaking of that stretch of establishments...What was funny is one summer I was home from college and a high school friend and myself went to showcase. Sure enough we see a girl we were both friends with in school on the main stage. It was rather hysterical.
Communists aren't people. They are property of the state.
nai06
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AG
Viridian is zoned HEB but located in Arlington. I know some people love it but I just don't see it. Its very sterile, cookie cutter, and located across the street from a landfill. The houses seem nice but pricey for what you get. as you mentioned they are packed in very very tight. Also talking with some people they said there were issues with flooding of some common areas during the last heavy rains.


But like I said, the people I know that live there absolutely love it.
agchino
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AG
Across from the land fill, surrounded by flood plain, in the shadow of a couple different oil terminals, and you can see the neon from the strip clubs just up 157 at night. What's not to love!
powerbelly
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agchino said:

Across from the land fill, surrounded by flood plain, in the shadow of a couple different oil terminals, and you can see the neon from the strip clubs just up 157 at night. What's not to love!
Clearly a great investment.
mAgnoliAg
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AG
agchino said:

Across from the land fill, surrounded by flood plain, in the shadow of a couple different oil terminals, and you can see the neon from the strip clubs just up 157 at night. What's not to love!

And beyond all of this. The entire neighborhood is built on poorly compacted trash. Good luck and Godspeed to all the homeowners in that neighborhood.
wbt5845
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The people I know who have moved into Veridian love it. As for me - if I wanted to live in that part of Arlington - I'd buy one of the older homes in an established neighborhood north of I-30 and renovate it.
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