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Homeowner fights to keep home affordable as taxes soar
A Dallas homeowner who bought her house through a Habitat for Humanity program is suing the Dallas Central Appraisal District for the second time, arguing her property's tax value should be capped because of a deed restriction that limits how much she can sell the home for.
DALLAS - It's an interesting situation as this is the second year in a row the homeowner has had to sue the Dallas Central Appraisal District (DCAD) over her skyrocketing property tax bill.
She bought the home through an affordable housing program which limits how much a home can be sold for.
Therefore, her attorney argues that the value of her home needs to be capped at the same amount.
What we know:
Tracy Forbs is a first-time home buyer. She purchased her South Dallas home in 2021 through the Habitat for Humanity program.
Forbs liked the fact that the nonprofit offered 0% interest financing.
She put in her own sweat equity helping to build her 3-bedroom 2-bath home, which is part of the deal.
Homes purchased through Habitat for Humanity include a standard deed restriction that does not allow the home to be sold over a certain dollar amount, in Forbs' case $160,000.
But in 2024, DCAD increased the value of her home to over $300,000. With help from an attorney, she sued DCAD, and the agency was ordered to appraise the value at $160,000.
Despite the legal judgment, this year it happened again.
What they're saying:
Austria Arnold Gerhardy, Associate Attorney at Haynes Boone Law Firm, explains the unique circumstances that Forbs is in.
Austria Arnold Gerhardy
"She's being taxed at a rate that is not consistent to what she could sell the home for. Normally, there's an upside to your home going up in value with DCAD. You pay more in taxes but if you want to sell your home, you'd get a greater return because the market value is higher," said Gerhardy.
"In Tracy's case, her taxes are going up, but her market value cannot change."
In the lawsuit, Forbs' attorney argues that:
"This directly undermines the city of Dallas’ goals of promoting housing equity and frustrates the purpose of organizations like habitat."
Local perspective:
Forbs, who shares her home with her Aussie doodle named Zen, says this situation has left her anything but calm.
"If I can't afford the taxes after a while, then I'm going to be displaced, so then it's no longer affordable," she said.
What's next:
A DCAD spokeswoman tells FOX 4’s Alex Boyer by phone that they are aware of the lawsuit and cannot comment on pending litigation.
The law firm representing Forbs, Haynes Boone, says this is not an isolated problem.
They are aware of some other Habitat for Humanity homeowners in the same situation.
FOX 4 has emailed a habitat spokesperson for comment but has not yet heard back.
The Source: Information in this article was provided from interviews conducted by FOX 4's Alex Boyer.