So. Is it worth it to get an official and current appraisal to then go back to the county and tell them their valuation is much higher than reality? I wonder if it would be a tax savings after having paid for the appraisal....
You can do the legwork for this on your own, save yourself the appraisal fee. Let me know if you want the details on how, or if you just want me to do it for you. 
No, no. You have more than enough going on. A message with the details on how would be great though!
I used to do this for my clients all the time, way back in the day when I was in real estate. Let me post a brief run through on how to go about it here, hopefully it will work for anyone who wants to go for it. DO NOT take this as legal advice, I am only a Collin County Homeowner who has disputed my value every year.
Go to:
http://www.collincad.org/On the left click on Forms, then on Formal Protest Form. Print the form. Most of it is self explanatory, I will show you how to get your evidence of lower value next.
If you do not have the tax valuation for your house handy you can also search their records on this site. Make SURE you have their information on your home, not what your builder gave you. My home is listed at the appraisal district as being over 300 sq ft smaller than it actually is. As this works in my favor, I do not correct them.
Search by street for houses in your neighborhood. Look at the square footage of the ones valued lower than yours. Chili, your house is actually one of the lowest valued price per square foot in the neighborhood so we will not be using this info for you.
Now go to Realtor.com.
Search for homes similar to yours, pick out the ones with the lowest prices that are in reasonable condition. 2-3 should be sufficient. Work out their p/sf (price per square foot). Also note the days on market for the homes. If there are any recently sold homes that is an even more solid figure to use, but in the current market that is usually pretty hard to find.
Go back to your handy dispute form and say something like "There are no comparable homes for sale in (Insert neighborhood name) but I did find similar homes nearby that are comparable (no pool, common areas, etc) that are currently for sale and priced considerable lower than you have valued my property. As these homes have been on the market for an extended period of time, and there have been no comparable homes sold, I think that it is fair to say they will ultimately have to lower their prices even further to actually sell the property. The value on my home is currently set at $XXX by your taxing authority, but I believe that they real value is closer to $XXX. I have attached to information on the properties I used to get my figure."
I have never actually been called in for a formal protest proceeding. What usually happens is that they will send you an offer of adjustment. If you do not respond then they assume that you have accepted that as your new value, or you can respond and then go in the have a formal meeting to try to get it lowered further.
Chili, I will send you an email with your info.
Disputed must be postmarked by May 31st each year to be considered, so don't miss your deadlines!
