At Westside Preserve in Midlothian, First Texas Homes advertises up to $20,000 in FlexCash on select quick move-in homes. The City of Midlothian's assessment roll for the same community puts a public improvement district balance of $35,321.98 on each Lot Type 1 parcel and $39,879.65 on each Lot Type 2 parcel. The incentive is paid once, at closing. The assessment stays on the property and gets billed every year until it is paid off.
So the useful comparison between a new build and a resale in Midlothian this fall is the incentive against the assessment, before either one is set against a resale price. Texas law already requires the second number to be put in writing. The timing of that paperwork is where a buyer has the most leverage.
The notice comes before the contract
Texas Property Code §5.014 applies to anyone selling property inside a Chapter 372 or 382 public improvement district. The seller has to give the buyer a written notice first. The notice has to be delivered before a binding purchase contract is signed, and the buyer signs to acknowledge receiving it. At closing, a second notice with current information is signed by both sides, acknowledged, and recorded in the county deed records. The Texas Real Estate Commission publishes this notice as Form 53-0, the Addendum Containing Notice of Obligation to Pay Improvement District Assessment.
The statute spells out the warning the buyer reads, in capital letters:
"AN ASSESSMENT HAS BEEN LEVIED AGAINST YOUR PROPERTY FOR THE AUTHORIZED IMPROVEMENTS, WHICH MAY BE PAID IN FULL AT ANY TIME. IF THE ASSESSMENT IS NOT PAID IN FULL, IT WILL BE DUE AND PAYABLE IN ANNUAL INSTALLMENTS THAT WILL VARY FROM YEAR TO YEAR DEPENDING ON THE AMOUNT OF INTEREST PAID, COLLECTION COSTS, ADMINISTRATIVE COSTS, AND DELINQUENCY COSTS."
The order of events matters. A buyer who signs a binding contract without getting the notice first has the right to terminate. If the seller hands over the notice before closing and the buyer closes anyway, the law presumes the buyer waived that right. When a sale didn't comply, §5.0145 gives the buyer two options. They can recover purchase-related costs plus interest and attorney's fees and reconvey the property, or they can take up to $5,000 plus attorney's fees. That suit has to be filed by the earlier of 90 days after the first PID installment notice arrives or four years after the conveyance.
This works in the buyer's favor. The assessment figure is supposed to be in hand before any signature, which is also when the incentive is still up for negotiation.
Two numbers on the same lot
Midlothian City Council approved the Westside Preserve PID 2026 Annual Service Plan Update on August 25, 2026. Its roll lists the 2026 annual installment at $2,762.63 for Lot Type 1 and $3,119.10 for Lot Type 2. Those bills are delinquent if they are not paid by January 31, 2027.
| Westside Preserve figure | Lot Type 1 | Lot Type 2 |
|---|---|---|
| Total assessment shown on 2026 roll | $35,321.98 | $39,879.65 |
| 2026 annual installment | $2,762.63 | $3,119.10 |
| Years of installments at the 2026 level to equal $20,000 | About 7.2 | About 6.4 |
At the 2026 installment level, the top FlexCash amount equals roughly six to seven years of PID payments. The statute says installments will vary from year to year, so the bottom row is a yardstick and not a forecast.
The assessment doesn't go away when the house is sold. Under Texas Local Government Code §372.018, it is a first-priority lien that stays in effect until it is paid, and the statute says "The lien runs with the land." The same section lets an owner prepay "at any time all or any part" of the assessment, along with the interest accrued on the amount prepaid. That makes prepayment a real choice, and it changes how a FlexCash credit can be weighed.
The financing incentive has fine print too. The Westside Preserve page advertises rates "as low as 2.99%" and, in a top banner, "as low as 3.49%." The banner's footnote calls it a "promotional 5/1 ARM rate offer," available on select inventory when the buyer finances with the preferred lender. A 5/1 ARM holds its starting rate for five years. The PID installments keep coming after that.
One spec home in the community was shown at $468,520, down from a listed $508,170. That is a $39,650 cut. It happens to be within a few hundred dollars of the Lot Type 2 assessment balance. Pricing and promotions on the page can change without notice, so a buyer should get any offer in writing.
Why the "tax rate" line on a community page won't settle it
Builder pages show a single tax-rate figure, and those figures don't line up neatly with what sits on each parcel. Westside Preserve's page lists a 1.99% tax rate and $1,200 in annual HOA dues. The page doesn't say whether that 1.99% includes the PID installment. For a home priced at $468,520, a Lot Type 1 installment works out to about 0.59% of the price.
Here is what the other active Midlothian communities show:
| Community | Builder | Listed tax rate | Special district detail found |
|---|---|---|---|
| Westside Preserve | First Texas Homes | 1.99% | City PID; 2026 installment $2,762.63 or $3,119.10 |
| Hawkins Meadows | First Texas Homes | 2.39%, no HOA | No PID or MUD line item on listing |
| Villages of Walnut Grove | Bloomfield Homes | 2.00 per $100 | Builder states no MUD or PID costs |
| Mockingbird Heights | Bloomfield Homes | Not stated | No PID or MUD amount on listing |
| BridgeWater | Highland Homes | Not stated | No district status verified |
| Redden Farms | Various | Not stated | PID hearing for Improvement Areas 3 to 6 on August 11, 2026; per-lot amounts not published in agenda |
Hawkins Meadows has no PID line on its listing, yet it shows a higher rate than Westside Preserve, which does carry a PID. That gap suggests the banners aren't calculated the same way. Midlothian's management districts add yet another layer. Midlothian Municipal Management District No. 3 shows $0.40 per $100 as of October 4, 2026. Ellis County's 2025 schedule lists MMD No. 2 at $0.60 per $100. Which parcels fall inside which district takes a parcel-level check.
The base rates are clearer. Midlothian's adopted FY2026–27 city rate is $0.64 per $100. Midlothian ISD adopted $1.02969 per $100 for 2026–27. That adds up to about $1.67 per $100 before county and special-district levies. Under S.B. 1106, which took effect January 1, 2026, PID assessment totals and installment data now go to appraisal districts for the property-tax database. That should make the parcel-level number easier to find.
What the county median is measuring
Ellis County's August 2026 snapshot from MetroTex shows a median price of $435,000, up 8% from a year earlier. MetroTex's September 10, 2026 market update puts the August DFW median at $390,000, essentially unchanged from a year earlier. The county number blends new and existing homes sold through the MLS, and builder sales negotiated outside NTREIS aren't counted. So the increase doesn't show resale appreciation in Midlothian on its own.
The other August numbers point to room for negotiation. Ellis County homes averaged 77 days on market, with 1,366 active listings and 4.5 months of inventory. Across DFW, the sold-to-list ratio dropped to 94.8% in August from 95.2% in July. A resale seller in a subdivision without a PID is up against the builder's banner, and that banner covers only half of the new home's cost picture. A resale home inside Westside Preserve carries the same lien, and its seller owes the same §5.014 notice.
Before signing on a Midlothian new build
- Ask for the §5.014 notice or TREC Form 53-0 before any binding contract.
- Find the parcel's lot type and total assessment on the city's current roll, and check for any prepayments.
- Ask the sales consultant, in writing, whether the listed tax rate includes the PID installment.
- For a 5/1 ARM incentive, model the payment from year six on, with PID installments still running.
- Put the FlexCash amount next to the assessment balance and consider whether prepaying part of it fits your plans.
FAQ
Does the PID balance get paid off when the house sells? The statute says the lien runs with the land until it is paid. Whether a balance gets cleared at a particular closing depends on the contract terms, so review those terms with a Texas real estate attorney.
Can a buyer walk away if the notice came late? If a binding contract was signed before the notice arrived, §5.0141 gives the buyer the right to terminate. Closing after receiving a late notice waives that right.
Will the installment stay the same every year? No. The required notice says installments vary with interest, collection, administrative and delinquency costs.
This article is general information and not tax, legal or financial advice.
When an incentive sheet and a PID roll describe the same lot, our team puts them side by side before you sign anything. The Escalante Group can pull the parcel's assessment, request the notice early, and help you set the builder offer against comparable Midlothian resale homes. Contact Us to start with the numbers.
