Helping Happy Families

Mike,

We wanted to send you a quick note and let you know how much we appreciate all you did to help us find our first home.  I know we probably ran you ragged with showings all over a fifty mile radius not to mention dealing with all our questions and our finance company. You always showed us great respect, never kept us waiting and took on these challenges with that great TOBIN smile (and corny jokes!)  If we ever need to sell or know of anyone looking to sell or buy, we’ll let them know to go to the best (that’s YOU!!).

Thanks again

The Krauss Family

Time to file your homestead exemption

It is time to file for your homestead exemption. Remember that there are no fees for filing and I have provided the link to do so.
You have till April 30 to file. It is very easy to do and will save you some money.

Denton County https://www.dentoncad.com/…/50-114-application-for-residenc…
Dallas County http://www.dallascad.org/forms.aspx the form is near the top 
Tarrant County http://www.tad.org/…/p…/homestead_exemption_request_2017.pdf
Collin County http://www.collincad.org/…/54-residential-homestead-exempti…

Congratulations on your new investment home

What a great time to invest in homes in Dallas/Fort Worth. Rents are on the increase and interest rates are very low. Congratulations to Milan and Palak to their investment home. If you would like to invest in real estate give me a call.

File Your Homestead Exemption

Property tax in Texas is a locally assessed and locally administered tax. There is no state property tax.  Texas offers a variety of partial or total (absolute) exemptions from appraised property values used to determine local property taxes. A partial exemption removes a percentage or a fixed dollar amount of a property’s value from taxation. A total (absolute) exemption excludes the entire property from taxation. Taxing units are mandated by the state to offer certain (mandatory) exemptions and have the option to decide locally on whether or not to offer others (local option).

Exemptions from property tax require applications in most circumstances. Applications for property tax exemptions are filed with appraisal districts. The general deadline for filing an exemption application is before May 1, in other words, by April 30.

Tax Code Section 11.13(b) requires school districts to offer a $25,000 exemption on residence homesteads and Tax Code Section 11.13(n) allows any taxing unit the option to decide locally to offer a separate residence homestead exemption of up to 20 percent of a property’s appraised value. The local option exemption cannot be less than $5,000. Tax Code Section 11.13(a) requires counties that collect farm-to-market or flood control taxes to offer a $3,000 residence homestead exemption.

There are no specific qualifications for the general homestead exemption other than the owner has an ownership interest in the property and uses the property as the owner’s principal residence. An applicant is required to state that he or she does not claim an exemption on another residence homestead in or outside of Texas.

Tax Code exemption requirements are extensive. Property owners should read applicable statutes carefully. Below are the relevant websites and/or homestead applications.

Dallas County
http://www.dallascad.org/News.aspx?ID=11

Collin County
http://www.collincad.org/downloads/finish/13-residential-exemptions/54-residential-homestead-exemption-application

Denton County
https://www.dentoncad.com/docs/forms/2016/50-114.pdf

Tarrant County
http://www.tad.org/templates/TAD/pdf/homestead_exemption_request_2016.pdf

Source: Texas Comptroller of Public Accounts; Texas Tax Code Section 11.13

Everyone's Upstairs Neighbors

Tired of apartment life, give me a call, I can help.

Pricing your house correctly

The other day an agent asked me how to price a home. It was a unique home and she said that they were going for about $130 per foot, which felt over-priced. I explained that the price per foot is just ONE of the factors that affect the final value. The most important part of pricing a home correctly is choosing your comparable sales. If you just use price per foot you will ignore the other factors that come into play in finding the correct value and getting the most for your home in today’s market. These factors include site influence (location), age, condition, internal and external obsolescence, and amenities, among others. If the home that you want to value is smaller and the other recent sales in the area tend to be larger and you use price per foot, you will under-price the home. The opposite is also true. If you are thinking about selling your home give me a call or email so we can talk about how to get the most for your home.

Nelson and Yvonne are home!

A great friend, Marci, reached out to me in the spring with the exciting news that her parents were moving back to Texas and asked for my help in finding them a home. After listening to what her parents wanted in a home, I put together a plan to get it. In a very competitive market, we were able to find the home that was perfect for them, and in a timely manner. Congratulations to the Maynard family on your new home!And welcome back to Texas! If you know of someone moving here to the DFW area please don't keep me a secret.