Dallas Fort Worth real estate news, local home price trends, statistics, and profitable insights written by Chandler Crouch Realtors.

July 21, 2023

4 Ways to Reduce Your Monthly Housing Costs Right Now

1) Save BIG by refinancing your mortgage (even with high-interest rates):

  • Drop your house payment by increasing the length of your loan
  • Decrease the length of your loan to pay off your mortgage faster
  • Skip up to two house payments
  • Use proceeds to consolidate and pay off credit card debt, student loan debt, and other loans
  • Use proceeds to install energy-efficient features
  • Believe it or not, some people can still reduce their interest rate
  • Apply here: www.chandlercrouch.com/refi

2) Reduce Your House Payment by Easily Restructuring Your Escrow Shortage:

  • The most common reason for an increased house payment is caused by an escrow shortage
  • Escrow shortages are caused by rising property taxes and insurance rates
  • By default, lenders automatically assign escrow shortages a 12-month payment plan which causes your house payment to skyrocket
  • To reduce your payment, simply call your mortgage company and ask them to extend the escrow shortage payment plan for over 24 months. Most mortgage companies will grant this extension without the borrower having to fill out an application or prove a hardship — simply by request

3) Remove Costly PMI You Might Not Even Realize You Are Paying:

  • If you purchased your house in the last 5 years with less than 20% down payment, there's a good chance your mortgage company still bundles private mortgage insurance (PMI) into your house payment
  • As home prices increase, you gain equity, which means you might be entitled to cancel your PMI
  • Depending on your situation, removing PMI may be as simple as submitting a request
  • Reach out to your lender and ask what documentation they require to request the removal of PMI, potentially saving you a significant amount each month. It might be as simple as filling out a form.

4) Slash Your Electricity Costs:

  • Chandler says Energy Ogre has saved him well over $1000 per year
  • Get an unfair advantage by letting Energy Ogre's algorithm cut through all teaser rates and match your unique electricity usage with the plan that will save you the most money for only $10/month
  • Get a 10% discount when you sign up through our link here
  • Also, they donate $2/month to support our free tax protest service when you sign up through our link
March 6, 2023

Tell Tarrant County Commissioner Court What We Want

The Keller City Council heard your voices and voted unanimously to recall the TAD Chairwoman for a long history of questionable decisions (scroll below the video for a list). 

Now, the Tarrant County Judge and Commissioner's Court (TCCC) is responding to your outcry.

Credit to TCCC for putting the item on their agenda. 

Now, please join me in asking TCCC to finalize the recall and fill the seat with the runner-up from the last TAD board election.

Scroll below the video for 2 Options on how you can let your voice be heard.

In this video I give inside scoop and details about the dirty political games:

Option 1 Attend Tomorrow's Meeting:

When: Tuesday, March 7, 2023 - 10:00 AM

Where: Commissioners Courtroom, Tarrant County Administration Building, 100 East Weatherford Street, 5th Floor, Fort Worth, TX 76196

 

Option 2 Send Emails (takes 2 min):

Cut and paste if you're short on time, or customize your emails if you have a few extra moments:

 

To: 

Rcbrooks@tarrantcountytx.gov; commissionerprecinct2@tarrantcounty.com; lmaldonado@tarrantcounty.com; commissionerpct4admin@tarrantcounty.com; edrandolph@tarrantcountytx.gov; gfickes@tarrantcounty.com; commissioner3@tarrantcountytx.gov; countyjudge@tarrantcountytx.gov

 

Subject line: Please recall TAD Chairperson

 

Dear Judge & Commissioners,

Please vote to recall the TAD Chairperson.

Please fill the seat with the runner-up from the last TAD board election.

Thank you,

[your name]

[Optional: if comfortable, put your address]

Tarrant County Taxpayer

 

In case you want to personalize your emails, here are more details:

Commissioner Roy Brooks: Rcbrooks@tarrantcountytx.gov

Commissioner Alissa Simmons: commissionerprecinct2@tarrantcounty.com; lmaldonado@tarrantcounty.com

Commissioner Manny Ramirez: commissionerpct4admin@tarrantcounty.com; edrandolph@tarrantcountytx.gov

Commissioner Gary Fickes: gfickes@tarrantcounty.com; commissioner3@tarrantcountytx.gov

County Judge Tim O'hare: countyjudge@tarrantcountytx.gov 

 

List of Questionable Decisions that Lead to the TAD Chairwoman Recall

In order to have a productive appraisal district, we need to have a functioning board of directors with a chairperson who addresses problems head-on instead of ignoring them and hoping they go away.

Here is a list of examples of how the chairwoman has mishandled serious issues during her tenure:

  • The Chairwoman defended paying a TAD attorney over $32,000 per month [as reported here about this board meeting 2:26:00]
  • The Chairwoman was given the responsibility of heading a subcommittee that would review Board Policy and handle matters concerning Boardroom audio. However, she only held one telephone meeting during which she proposed buying new equipment and reducing the time allocated for public comments from 5 to 3 minutes. She did not take any steps to address Board Policy. This behavior suggests that she is hesitant to listen to public input.
  • At the Nov. 11, 2022, board meeting, TAD board member Rich Deotte (good guy) revealed that TAD was attempting to keep an investigative report from becoming public. He said that the report revealed criminal violations were committed by TAD personnel and that the public deserved to know about the details. The chairwoman did not want to discuss whether or not the report should be released. [See video here]
  • In the same November board meeting, the Chairwoman admitted to breaking TAD board policy by changing the agenda behind closed doors to avoid discussing issues. [See the video & transcript here]
  • The Chairwoman wanted to approve a large legal firm’s contract in excess of $1 million, while the TAD staff recommended another firm for $300,000, as [reported here]
  • The Chairwoman voted against authorizing an outside audit of TAD and its software after then-state Senator Jane Nelson formally requested the board to investigate why the number of protests had drastically spiked at TAD. [See the article here].
  • The Chairwoman defended errors made by the chief appraiser in his handling of the situation where a TAD employee was caught filming up the skirt of a female tax agent. [See article here]
  • The Chairwoman avoided getting additional information when notified at the May 13th board meeting and again at the June 10th board meeting that a top-level TAD executive made fraudulent TDLR complaints in TAD's name. Getting additional info may have avoided months of trouble and bad PR. [See this video of the June 10 board meeting here]
  • On June 30, 2022, the Chairwoman presided over a public TAD board meeting containing open meetings act violations. The agenda was revised intentionally to delay the public comments portion of the meeting while TAD locked out over 300 people standing outside in near triple-digit heat for several hours failing to allow people to use the restroom or make accommodations for the handicapped and the elderly [See the article and video here]
  • The Chairwoman initially agreed the chief appraiser would investigate himself regarding the handling of the TDLR complaints. After public pressure, the TAD board hired its own attorney to investigate. [See article here]
  • In August 2022, the Chairwoman did not initially include the TDLR complaint on the board’s agenda, as promised, until another public outcry. [See article here]
  • After receiving notice that the TDLR investigation concluded, stating there was no evidence of a violation, no attempt was made to state how the merits of the complaint were wrong. [See article here]

Some CAD board members will justify their inaction by saying that the tax code limits their authority.

Section 6.05(h) of the tax code expands the board's authority by enabling the board to mandate board approval for virtually any action.

If Keller votes to recall, then TAD will escalate the issue to include additional tax entities (including the Commissioners Court) for a final vote.

Feb. 20, 2023

See How the City of Keller’s Bold Move Helps Everyone in Tarrant County!

The drama at TAD has been pretty wild. A lot has been happening, but I haven't talked about it much.

As a taxpayer, it's frustrating that we can't hold TAD accountable for their actions directly. We don't get to vote on who is elected to the board of directors at TAD.

Thankfully, the Keller City Council is stepping up by discussing the possibility of recalling the chairwoman of the TAD board of directors at its meeting on Tuesday night (2/21/23). This is a big move toward cleaning up the mess at TAD, which will benefit everyone in Tarrant county.

I made this quick video to explain what led to this decision:

 

In order to have a productive appraisal district, we need to have a functioning board of directors with a chairperson who addresses problems head-on instead of ignoring them and hoping they go away.

Here is a list of examples of how the chairwoman has mishandled serious issues during her tenure:

  • The Chairwoman defended paying a TAD attorney over $32,000 per month [as reported here about this board meeting 2:26:00]
  • The Chairwoman was given the responsibility of heading a subcommittee that would review Board Policy and handle matters concerning Boardroom audio. However, she only held one telephone meeting during which she proposed buying new equipment and reducing the time allocated for public comments from 5 to 3 minutes. She did not take any steps to address Board Policy. This behavior suggests that she is hesitant to listen to public input.
  • At the Nov. 11, 2022, board meeting, TAD board member Rich Deotte (good guy) revealed that TAD was attempting to keep an investigative report from becoming public. He said that the report revealed criminal violations were committed by TAD personnel and that the public deserved to know about the details. The chairwoman did not want to discuss whether or not the report should be released. [See video here]
  • In the same November board meeting, the Chairwoman admitted to breaking TAD board policy by changing the agenda behind closed doors to avoid discussing issues. [See the video & transcript here]
  • The Chairwoman wanted to approve a large legal firm’s contract in excess of $1 million, while the TAD staff recommended another firm for $300,000, as [reported here]
  • The Chairwoman voted against authorizing an outside audit of TAD and its software after then-state Senator Jane Nelson formally requested the board to investigate why the number of protests had drastically spiked at TAD. [See the article here].
  • The Chairwoman defended errors made by the chief appraiser in his handling of the situation where a TAD employee was caught filming up the skirt of a female tax agent. [See article here]
  • The Chairwoman avoided getting additional information when notified at the May 13th board meeting and again at the June 10th board meeting that a top-level TAD executive made fraudulent TDLR complaints in TAD's name. Getting additional info may have avoided months of trouble and bad PR. [See this video of the June 10 board meeting here]
  • On June 30, 2022, the Chairwoman presided over a public TAD board meeting containing open meetings act violations. The agenda was revised intentionally to delay the public comments portion of the meeting while TAD locked out over 300 people standing outside in near triple-digit heat for several hours failing to allow people to use the restroom or make accommodations for the handicapped and the elderly [See the article and video here]
  • The Chairwoman initially agreed the chief appraiser would investigate himself regarding the handling of the TDLR complaints. After public pressure, the TAD board hired its own attorney to investigate. [See article here]
  • In August 2022, the Chairwoman did not initially include the TDLR complaint on the board’s agenda, as promised, until another public outcry. [See article here]
  • After receiving notice that the TDLR investigation concluded, stating there was no evidence of a violation, no attempt was made to state how the merits of the complaint were wrong. [See article here]

Some CAD board members will justify their inaction by saying that the tax code limits their authority.

Section 6.05(h) of the tax code expands the board's authority by enabling the board to mandate board approval for virtually any action.

If Keller votes to recall, then TAD will escalate the issue to include additional tax entities (including the Commissioners Court) for a final vote. 

Posted in Property Tax
Dec. 6, 2022

Does TAD's Secret Report Cover Up Criminal Violations?

A board member revealed the existence of a previously undisclosed investigative full report that contains evidence showing TAD executives potentially committed the criminal offense of "Official Oppression."

At the meeting, a board member proposed adding an agenda item for the next meeting (on 12/9) to discuss publicly releasing the report and potentially referring the report to the district attorney for investigation.

Also, the chairwoman admitted to breaking the board policy by changing the agenda items previously agreed on by the board.

The agenda for this Friday's TAD board meeting was recently posted. It appears no agenda item was included that would allow a discussion regarding releasing the full report.

I invite you to attend the board meeting this Friday, Dec. 9 at 9am at TAD, 2500 Handley-Ederville Road, Fort Worth.

 

Nov. 9, 2022

BREAKING: Malicious Attack on Me Uses Out-of-State Goons

For information on how to support Chandler, scroll down to the bottom of this page.

My hope is that the TAD board meeting this Friday (11-11-2022) will be uneventful. However, I may need some support in case the goons attack again. 

Attack 1 - the goons

Public speaker card 1

Public speaker card 2

Attack 2 - the tax consultants that don't like me

Tracy Stanley read from this document publically at the TAD meeting [pdf]

Jamison O'Day read from this document publically at the TAD meeting [pdf]

[Video] - Chandler confronts his accusers at the public meeting

Attack 3 - the bogus TREC complaint

How you can help

1) Spread the word on facebook, nextdoor.com, and the news media:

investigates@wfaa.com, kdfw@foxtv.com, newstips@nbcdfw.com, news@ktvt.com, comments@wbap.com, comments@klif.com

2) Donate to help Chandler defend against attacks: 

We have 3 options:

Option 1) Scroll down to use our payment processor

Option 2) Use this Paypal link

Option 3) Mail checks to: Chandler Crouch, 9500 Ray White Rd, 2nd Floor, Fort Worth, TX 76244

 

Aug. 8, 2022

Does TAD Actively Discourage People from Protesting

TAD just posted their agenda for this Friday's 9am... Also, TAD just hired a Public Relations firm. 

Here's my takeaway... TAD would rather spend your tax dollars hiring a P.R. firm instead of publically addressing how their Director of Residential Appraisals, Randy Armstrong, used county assets and his position of privilege to make false accusations and attack my professional license. 

The meeting is this 9:00 AM this Friday (8/12/22) at 2500 Handley Ederville Rd, Fort Worth, TX 76118

If you can't make it to this Friday's meeting, but still want to express your concern, I will be emailing out a plan of action to make it easy to make your voice heard.

If you aren't already on my email list and want to receive a copy of the plan of action I put together, join my email list here:

Posted in Property Tax
June 26, 2022

TAD Emergency Board Meeting Regarding TAD Attack on Chandler

About the Attack:

Here's what you can do:

1. Share on Facebook, Nextdoor.com, in groups, with neighbors

2. Contact the media 

ABC interviewed me, WFAA is emailing/texting, and Jess Hardin at Star-Telegram wrote this incredible article

What we are doing wouldn’t be possible without the media that have brought this situation out of the shadows and into the light. I am very grateful to these folks:

The news was also reposted on these following websites:

Chandler's Thoughts

As I have contemplated all this, it has become clear to me that God has a bigger purpose for me in this situation.

I just know that so many people have been ignored or trampled on by people in positions of power.

Most people have no choice but to walk away defeated.

Not me... I believe I'm in this situation to serve a purpose. 

I'm going to stand up and fight this so nobody else that comes after me has to endure the same thing.

With your help, we will make our voice heard!

They need to know that they can't just do this to whoever they want.

Let's exercise that 1st Amendment like we're training for the Olympics!

 

June 17, 2022

The Complaint TAD Filed On Chandler

Posted in Basics
June 16, 2022

Fort Worth Weekly: Culture of Deception

This is a link to the original article written on Fort Worth Weekly.

Skyrocketing property valuations, culture of deception, and baseless allegations. What's the worst that could happen?

On June 10, 2022, I stood up early in the meeting to address the five-member board of the Tarrant Appraisal District (TAD). I had come to inform the board that I would not allow any further attacks by Randy Armstrong, TAD's director of home valuation. It is clear as day that Armstrong, and by extension, TAD do not appear to be my supporters. Mainly because I devote most of my spare time to assisting residents to challenge their exorbitant property values. This pushed Armstrong to file a complaint against me.

During the meeting, I stated that there is an item on the agenda regarding the letter that my attorney addressed to the board. There haven't been many information regarding what's going on up until now. Someone filed complaints against my licensure as a property tax consultant in October 2021. I initially dismissed the complaint as unfounded. But for the board, this becomes significant because of who filed the complaint and how Jeff Law, the chief appraiser, strongly supports it.

I went on to say that an investigator with the Texas Department of Licensing and Regulation (TDLR) purportedly indicated that the complaints were made by TAD, not a TAD employee. Armstrong's use of TAD letterhead and the personal knowledge revealed in his accusations indicate that he is allegedly utilizing TAD resources.

Despite the fact that the topic was just discussed and not voted on, the board members decided that Law should look into it, in spite of having been aware of the allegations since November and has done no action to curb Armstrong's alleged misbehavior.

Law, who usually deals with personnel issues, agreed to oversee the probe. However, that is a conflict of interest according to Gary Losada, a former TAD member.

For Losada, Law should not be allowed to probe his own activities due to a history of withholding embarrassing facts from the board, something we've heard before in the form of a whistleblower complaint. We revealed details from a series of anonymous letters purportedly written by one or more TAD employees a year ago ("Shining a Light on TAD," June 2021).

Law was singled out by the whistleblower, who claimed that the top appraiser used his position to conceal software flaws that resulted in incorrect property tax estimates over the years.

It pains me to know that TAD's board of directors declined to hold Law accountable for failing to handle significant claims like mine. TAD's leadership may have set the appraisal district on a road that would eventually force the board of directors to evaluate if maintaining Law as chief appraiser is worth the financial risk.

June 16, 2022

Texas Scorecard: Property Tax Fighter Targeted by Bureaucrat

This is a link to the original article written on Texas Scorecard by Robert Montoya.

Dropping truth bombs and getting to the bottom of the truth: Who filed a case against me and how deep are the layers of this complaint?

We all cannot deny that our property tax system is broken. This have made me realize my calling to serve the community. In 2017, we served 322 homeowners. In 2021, we have helped more than 21,000. This is more than $10 million worth of services for free. We are exerting so much effort to make the people's voices be heard and fix our taxing system. So, I think it is fair to say that these accusations are completely baseless.

On November 1, 2021, I received a letter from the Texas Department of Licensing & Regulation (TDLR) about a complaint against me. This is crazy.

The letter contained three complaints; they alleged that last year, I had “intentionally misled members of the Tarrant Appraisal Review Board” (TARB) when I protested values assigned to properties by TAD. In one case, it alleged that I also misled “Tarrant County taxpayers” and is making a “mockery of the current tax system.”

Nowhere in the document did it identify who specifically filed these complaints. Initially, records obtained by Texas Scorecard show Armstrong used TAD's name and address in mailings. However, the assigned TDLR investigator admitted that Randall "Randy" Armstrong, the director of residential appraisal at TAD, had filed the complaint. 

He also used taxpayer-funded tools to interact with TDLR, such as his TAD email address. He signed his emails in such a way that it appeared he was working on behalf of TAD in an official role. It is also concerning to know that if he received the materials while operating in his capacity as a district employee and not through a public information act request, there is a significant conflict.

TAD was served with an open documents request by Texas Scorecard, demanding any requests from Armstrong to the district for the properties named in his complaints that occurred in 2020 and 2021. TAD responded, "The district has no records responsive to your PIA request."

Armstrong's initial complaint was submitted online with TDLR on October 5, 2021, at 3:19 p.m., according to records. Armstrong worked eight hours that day, according to TAD records, and entered the building at 7:54 a.m.

With a timestamp of 3:06 p.m. on October 19, 2021, the second complaint was submitted. He worked 6.5 hours that day, with 1.5 hours given to sick leave to assist his mother, according to TAD records. He initially arrived on TAD property at 9:31 a.m., according to records.

The date the third complaint was filed is unknown based on TDLR documents. With a timestamp of 11:36 a.m. on December 22, 2021, the fourth and last complaint was submitted. Armstrong worked eight hours that day, according to TAD records, and initially entered TAD at 7:53 am.

On June 10, 2022, I confronted the TAD board and asked the following:

  • Was it the Tarrant Appraisal District?
  • Was it Randy Armstrong?
  • How much does Jeff Law support this complaint?

I told them that if I’m guilty, there are an army of people here that are guilty as well, and there’s a big problem that somebody didn’t speak up until this complaint was filed. If I’m innocent, what is the Tarrant Appraisal District okay with? Are they okay with the fact that somebody filed that complaint knowingly? Did Mr. Law know that this complaint was filed?

Matthew Tepper, the board's attorney replied that TAD did not file it and nobody who had the authority of the appraisal district to file the complaint did it.

Law stated that he has not seen the complaints and that is the first time he has seen a portion of the complaints. He later altered his mind, claiming that it wasn't until open records requests were submitted that he discovered the TAD address had been used on TDLR envelopes, and that Armstrong had signed them "Director of Residential Appraisal." He added that Armstrong had filed the complaint on his own and he did not direct Armstrong to submit a complaint against you.

It is clear that TAD's lack of action on this implicates them. The board resolved to discuss the topic in closed session, which will be held in two months. I sincerely hope that we can all get to the bottom of this so we can all unite to serve the community.