Mira Vista is a gated custom-home community on hilly ground in southwest Fort Worth. Nearly forty years of construction, no two houses alike, and a wide range of interior finish vintages make it a poor fit for shortcut comparable selection.
A development group acquired 625 acres of ranch land in west Fort Worth in 1985. Jerry L. Thomas broke ground in 1987, and Mira Vista Country Club opened on August 22, 1987. The championship course was designed by Tom Weiskopf and Jay Morrish. The club started with 84 charter members and became member-owned in 2008.
The name means see the view, and the terrain is the reason. This was rolling ranch ground with real elevation change, and the community was routed to take advantage of it rather than graded flat. That decision drives a lot of what makes appraisals here non-routine.
Because buildout ran across decades and the lots were sold to individual buyers building custom homes, there is no builder-model pattern to lean on. Houses vary in size, architectural approach, quality and vintage from one lot to the next.
A house built in 1991 and a house built in 2016 can be identical on paper: same square footage, same bedroom and bath count, same lot size, same gated community. In the market they are not close, and the reason is interior configuration and finish vintage rather than physical deterioration.
Late 1980s and 1990s custom construction here often carries the layout conventions of its period: formal living and dining rooms separated from the family space, compartmentalized kitchens, heavy built-in millwork, smaller primary bathrooms by current standards, and finish materials that read as of their era. That is functional obsolescence in appraisal terms, and it is measurable from paired sales.
So I sort by renovation state before I sort by anything else. An original 1993 house, a 1993 house with a full interior redo, and a 2015 house are three different comparable pools inside the same gate. The county's neighborhood coding does not make that distinction, and reports that rely on it produce misleading results.
Location inside the community matters as much as location between communities does elsewhere. Direct golf course frontage, elevated lots with long views, interior lots without either, and lots backing to the perimeter are four different positions, and the sales separate them.
Course frontage is not automatically a premium either. Which hole, what part of the fairway, orientation, and how exposed the rear yard is all affect how buyers have actually paid. I record the specific position of the subject and of every comparable, and I use paired evidence where it exists rather than applying a flat percentage for golf frontage.
Club membership is a separate matter from the real estate. I appraise the real property, not a membership interest, and I say so in the report so nobody misreads the scope.
The elevation change that produces the views also produces multi-level houses and lower levels that walk out at the rear. Under the ANSI Z765 standard Fannie Mae has required since April 2022, a floor level counts as below grade if any portion of its walls is not entirely at or above ground level. On a hillside lot that catches a lot of finished space.
This is why my gross living area figure sometimes comes in under what an owner expects and under what Tarrant Appraisal District carries. The finished lower level is not being dismissed. It reports on a separate line, and its contribution comes from comparable properties with similar space in similar settings.
The terrain also makes site improvements substantial on many lots: retaining structures, terraced yards, engineered drainage, long or steep drives, and pool construction on grade. Those get inventoried in the report rather than folded into a single site adjustment.
Mira Vista is not uniformly large custom estate housing. The community includes sections with different product types and different lot standards, and attached or smaller-footprint homes do not analyze against detached custom homes just because they share an address and an association.
Homeowners association structure, what the assessment covers, and any restrictions on exterior alteration are part of the analysis and I verify them for the subject rather than assuming they are uniform across the community.
My scope is one-to-four unit residential property and residential land. I do not take commercial or five-plus unit apartment assignments. Fees are quoted in advance and are never contingent on the value reported or on a transaction closing. Fees start at $500 for a standard single-family home, and turnaround is generally 5 to 7 business days from inspection.
Unique property
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Ideally I do not. Original 1990s construction, fully renovated 1990s construction and recent construction are three separate comparable pools here. Where I have to cross those lines I make the adjustment explicit and support it with paired sales rather than a rule of thumb.
Not automatically. Which hole, the orientation, and how exposed the rear yard is all matter, and the sales show a range rather than a fixed premium. I record the specific position and use paired evidence where it exists.
No. I appraise the real property. A club membership is a separate interest and is outside the scope of a residential appraisal report.
ANSI Z765 treats an entire floor level as below grade if any part of its walls is not fully at or above ground level, which is common on the hillside lots here. The space is still analyzed and adjusted, just reported separately from gross living area.
Written fee quote, typically within one business hour. Send the address and the reason you need the value — estate, divorce, tax protest, pre-listing — and I will confirm the fee and a delivery date before any work starts.
Would rather not type it out? Call or text (817) 903-4509.