Tarrant County packs more separate municipalities into a small footprint than almost any county in Texas, and housing here runs from 1900 bungalows to subdivisions finishing this year. I appraise one-to-four unit residential property and residential land throughout it.
Tarrant County contains around forty incorporated cities and towns, and they were not built at the same time or to the same standard. Fort Worth alone spans everything from pre-1920 streetcar neighborhoods on the near south side to subdivisions still under construction on the far north and far west edges. Arlington is a large market in its own right with its own distinct development eras. The northeast mid-cities of Hurst, Euless, Bedford, North Richland Hills, Richland Hills and Watauga are largely a 1960s through 1990s suburban buildout. Grapevine, Southlake, Colleyville and Keller are a different story again, with substantial newer custom and semi-custom housing.
Then there is the rest of it: Mansfield, Kennedale, Crowley, Burleson, Benbrook, White Settlement, Saginaw, Haltom City, Forest Hill, Everman, River Oaks, Sansom Park, Lake Worth, Azle, Haslet, Blue Mound, Pelican Bay, Lakeside, Westworth Village, and the small towns of Pantego, Dalworthington Gardens, Edgecliff Village and Westover Hills, each with its own government and its own rules.
The practical point is that a Tarrant County address tells me almost nothing on its own. Before I look at a single sale I establish what era the subject was built in, what the original build standard was, and which of these markets it actually competes in.
This trips up more reports than any other single issue in this county. Postal addresses do not follow city limits or county lines. A property with a Fort Worth mailing address may sit in unincorporated Tarrant County, in Fort Worth's extraterritorial jurisdiction, or inside a different municipality entirely. That changes which government issues permits, which ordinances apply, and which taxing units appear on the bill.
County lines matter the same way. Several Tarrant County cities extend into neighboring counties: parts of Mansfield reach into Johnson and Ellis, parts of Burleson sit in Johnson County, Grand Prairie extends into Dallas and Ellis, and Trophy Club and Roanoke straddle the Denton County line. Property is appraised by the appraisal district for the county where the land physically sits, not by the district matching the city name. A Burleson homeowner may be dealing with the Central Appraisal District of Johnson County rather than Tarrant Appraisal District.
Tarrant Appraisal District appraises all property in the county for ad valorem taxation. It is a mass appraisal operation: values are produced by model across large groups of properties, not by individual inspection of each home. That is not a criticism, it is how the statute requires the work to be done at that scale, but it explains why TAD records so often disagree with a measured, inspected appraisal on square footage, condition, effective age and features.
Under Texas law the general deadline to file a protest is May 15, or 30 days after the appraisal district's notice of appraised value is delivered, whichever is later. Property owners can request an informal meeting with the district before the formal Appraisal Review Board hearing. The ARB must give written notice of the hearing date at least 15 days in advance, and owners may appear in person, by telephone or videoconference, or by written affidavit.
If you want an appraisal to use as evidence, it needs a January 1 effective date for the tax year in question. Order it early. Everyone in the county has the same deadline, and the last three weeks before May 15 are the most congested of the year for residential appraisers here.
Since April 2022, appraisals delivered to Fannie Mae have had to follow the ANSI Z765 measuring standard. It sets a seven foot minimum finished ceiling height, a specific rule for sloped ceilings where at least half the finished area of the room must reach seven feet and nothing under five feet counts, and a rule that treats an entire floor level as below grade if any portion of its walls is not fully at or above ground level.
In a county with this much older housing, that produces a lot of differences from county records. Attic conversions in pre-1940 bungalows, enclosed porches, converted garages and carports, sunrooms built over patio slabs, and hillside lower levels in the west side neighborhoods all get treated differently under ANSI than they may be carried by the district.
Fort Worth's historic preservation ordinance uses three overlay designations. Historic and Cultural (HC) applies to properties or districts meeting two or more significance criteria and requires a Certificate of Appropriateness for exterior construction, alteration, repair, relocation or demolition. Highly Significant Endangered (HSE) applies to properties meeting three or more criteria that face loss through neglect, disrepair or demolition pressure, with the same COA requirements. Demolition Delay (DD) is the lightest, applying to properties meeting a single criterion, requiring review only for demolition or relocation, and the commission cannot deny the COA outright but can delay demolition for up to 180 days.
Fort Worth has a set of local historic districts carrying HC designation, including Elizabeth Boulevard, Fairmount-Southside, Mistletoe Heights, Kenwood Court, Central Handley, Terrell Heights, Hillcrest Tremont, Historic Morningside, Historic Carver Heights, Garden of Eden and Stop Six Sunrise Edition. Conservation districts exist in the code but are not widely used.
These overlays only apply within Fort Worth. Arlington, Grapevine, Mansfield and other Tarrant cities run their own preservation programs on their own terms, and separately incorporated towns like Westover Hills regulate under their own ordinances. I check the specific jurisdiction for the specific parcel rather than generalizing.
My scope throughout Tarrant County is one-to-four unit residential property and residential land. That includes single-family houses, duplexes, triplexes and fourplexes, townhomes and residential condominium units, and vacant residential lots. It does not include commercial property, apartment properties of five units or more, or subdivision development analysis, and I do not accept those assignments anywhere.
My fee is quoted before I start. It does not vary with the value I report, with whether a transaction closes, or with the outcome of a protest. Terrence Bilodeau, Texas Certified Residential Appraiser #1360232, (817) 903-4509. Turnaround is generally 5 to 7 business days from inspection, and fees start at $500 for a standard single-family home.
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Not necessarily. Postal addresses do not follow city limits, ETJ boundaries or county lines. I verify jurisdiction from the parcel record, because it determines which government issues permits and which ordinances and taxing units apply.
The general deadline is May 15, or 30 days after the district delivers your notice of appraised value, whichever is later. If you want an appraisal as evidence, it needs a January 1 effective date and should be ordered well before the deadline.
TAD performs mass appraisal, producing values by model across large groups of properties rather than by individual interior inspection. An appraisal involves a measured, inspected property under the ANSI standard. Older housing, attic conversions, enclosed porches and hillside lower levels are where the two most often diverge.
Yes. One-to-four unit residential is within my scope, and for two-to-four unit property I consider rent evidence alongside sales. I do not appraise apartment properties of five units or more, or commercial property.
Yes, but note that parts of both cities sit outside Tarrant County. Property is appraised by the district for the county where the land physically sits, so a Burleson property may fall under the Central Appraisal District of Johnson County. I confirm that at the parcel level.
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.