Dallas Duplex Drama!

[Jacob R.]

Good Evening BP,

I'll start with the expenses:

Mortgage (principal and interest): $1426
Insurance: $146
Property Tax: $218
Maintenance/Vacancy/CapEx: $326

Total Expenses: $2116

Currently I am living in one side and renting out the other which brings in $1125/mo. The side I am living in should bring $1125/mo or more when I eventually move out. I paid $290k and got into the property with zero down. With these numbers my cash flow is $135/mo.

This year the Dallas Central Appraisal District increased the appraisal by roughly 288%. My monthly property tax payment will go from $218/mo to $627/mo; clearly this will negate my anticipated positive cash flow.

I'm looking for opinions on what to do in this situation. Should I sell? Should I hold?

Ultimately, I learned a valuable lesson and tend to blame my naivety in addition to my eagerness to get into my first deal.

v/r

Jake

[Andrew Herrig]

@Jacob R. It is too late now, but if you purchased the house within the last 2 years it is pretty easy to protest your taxes based on your purchase price. You just have to show them your closing statement.

If you purchased prior to last year and you are living in it, you should have a homestead exemption in place that will cap your tax increase at 10% per year.

What does the $627/mo represent? That implies a tax value around $350k if you have homestead exemption or around $280k if you don't.