Photo by Buffalo Framing & Truss

Construction of the Centre’s sister property, The Suites at Overton Park, is seen in this aerial photo provided by one of our business partners.    Leasing began this month for occupancy in early 2009.    This property will primarly house Texas Tech students in 298 apartments with just over 450 bedrooms.   The continued growth of Texas Tech is important for the Lubbock economy and McDougal Companies takes pride in assisting Tech students with their housing needs.

McDougal Companies is working to keep property taxes low for homeowners and rental properties affordable.    Following is an excerpt from testimony by Mike McDougal on Tuesday, August 12, before the Texas House Select Committee on Property Tax Relief and Appraisal Reform.   We would like to hear your comments and ideas.

Property taxes and appraisal reform are priority legislative issues for our company and our many business partners across the state.   We appreciate the efforts the Texas Legislature has made in recent years to lower property tax rates, but rate reductions without appraisal reforms HAVE NOT produced lower property tax bills.    The appraisal process is broken and as a result untold amounts of time and financial resources are being expended that bring no net economic benefit to the state, our company, nor our customers. 

One of the significant problems caused by the wide variations in appraisals for a specific property from one year to the next is that our business, particularly the apartment properties, are subject to long-term leases with no provisions for pass through of tax increases.  In fact, sometimes the market will bear ZERO rent increase regardless of cost differentials.    When property taxes increase 45% due to a reassessment from the district, there is no way these properties can increase rents in a similar amount.        Residential rent is market driven and unlike commercial triple-net leases in which any changes in property taxes are automatically passed on to the tenants, residential leases don’t have such a provision and are absorbed by the owner unless the market allows for a rental increase….but then only at the expiration of the lease.

During the last legislative session, our company and industry supported a proposal that would have created a 5-year rolling average for appraisals.   This concept would, at least, provide some predictability for both taxing entities and property owners.    A 5-year rolling average would effectively cover up a lot of “sins” within the broken appraisal system.    If, or I should say when, a property is mis-valued (either high or low),  the property owner would have 5 years to plan for the change in taxes before the full impact hits his bottom line.    This same predictability would also benefit taxing authorities as it would smooth out the ups and downs of tax collections just because properties increased or decreased in value during one particular year.

Bottom line, we believe the implementation of a simple 5-year average on appraisal value used to assess taxes would provide predictability and create a more stable economic environment for real estate across the State of Texas.

The McDougal Companies continue to see progress in the Overton Park addition of Lubbock.   The pictures below show the construction progress on The Hotel at Overton Park, a 15-story luxury hotel & conference center scheduled to open mid-2009.     Also shown under construction is The Suites at Overton Park, a 4-story, 298 unit apartment complex offering same level structured parking for each resident.   This project will be completed Spring 2009.

(click on a photo to view a larger image)

Photos by Warren Warner
Lubbock Economic Development Alliance
June 2008

Welcome to McBlog. We invite comments from our residents, real estate clients, construction customers and all others with something to share about our company. We strive to respond to all comments and posts within 24 hours. Comments and posts in poor taste will either be edited or deleted at our discretion. But we do encourage constructive criticism and positive comments as each blogger deems appropriate.

We look forward to engaging you in a conversation.
Mike McDougal, President, McDougal Properties.

Posts are monitored and replied to by Dudley, our company mascot. He sleeps about 23 hours per day, so be patient, he will get to you when his schedule allows.

We are a family business in more ways than one. Ours is a company owned and operated by the McDougal family. It is a family of companies devoted to providing quality housing and it is a group of employees who see themselves as a family.

Our mission We strive to be the best in the housing industry by aspiring to the highest standard of service in a unique and friendly atmosphere.

Our values We are a family operated group of businesses that incorporates concerns for community, family, customer satisfaction, integrity and quality.

Our purpose We provide our customers with the highest quality of service in construction, housing and real estate.

Click on this link to view a 30-second video clip describing our company.
http://www.elocallink.tv/vp6/spon-vp6l.php?fvm=1&sponid=AzEEN1EwB20=

McDougal Properties has grown from one apartment community to a diversified property management company. Rental properties comprise the largest portion of the company’s business. McDougal’s multifamily division employs a management team that oversees more than 3 million square feet of rental housing! Customer service is and always has been the number one objective of McDougal Properties. Come explore why we’re bringing better living to you!