Friday, April 29, 2016

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.

Friday, April 15, 2016

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

Monday, February 29, 2016

Monday, November 9, 2015

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.

Tuesday, August 25, 2015

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.

Monday, June 8, 2015

Sold on the first day more than list price!

Sandra and her husband were introduced to me by her sister Olivia. When I met Sandra, she told me that she and her husband were going to move to San Antonio and needed to sell their home. Sandra and I discussed about what she wanted to accomplish in selling their home—multiple offers generating a high price, quickly. After doing a detailed analysis of the market in their neighborhood, I advised them how to price and market their home to get more than one offer on the table in the shortest amount of time. On the first day we had 4 solid offers at much higher than the list price. Needless to say Sandra and her husband were very happy! Take a look at what Sandra wrote to me—making clients happy is the best part on my job! “I enjoyed working with you Mike. Your professionalism and feedback provided the positive outlook I needed! We were so fortunate to sale our home with only one day on the market! We were truly blessed. Thanks for the memories. Sandra :)” If you would like to talk about how to get the most money for your house, just give me a call.

Sunday, April 26, 2015

Just Reduced the Price to $1800


$1,850/mo, 3Bd/2.5Ba Single Family House, 2361 sqft.

Mike Tobin | Keller Williams | 469-835-0540mike@teamtobin.com |
920 Orchid Dr, Lewisville, TX 75067
Great Rent home in Lewisville. Close to 3040
3Bd/2.5Ba Single Family House
$1,850/mo
Year Built 1998
Sq Footage 2361 sqft.
Bedrooms 3 Beds
Bathrooms 2.5 Baths
Parking 2 Garage
Lease Duration 1 Year
Deposit $1,850
Pets Policy Dogs OK

DESCRIPTION

MOVE IN READY! Spacious home that is well maintained with upgrades including granite counters and whole house water filter. Open living & kitchen with sliding door to large flagstone patio & BOB fenced backyard. Oversized master with huge walk in closet. Enjoy the game, office area. Two blocks to elementary middle schools. Low E windows, solar attic fan, and a 16 SEER HVAC means lower bills! Close to parks.
Lewisville
see additional photos below
Unit Features

- Living room- Dining room- Master bath
- Family room- Breakfast nook- Pantry
- Office- Range / Oven- Refrigerator
- Dishwasher- Microwave- Garbage disposal
- Yard- Fenced yard- Lawn
- Porch- Sprinkler system- Central A/C
- Ceiling fans- High-speed internet- Tile floor
- Granite countertop- Fireplace
Terms
Fridge included. Tenant responsible for utilities.

ADDITIONAL PHOTOS




Contact info:
Mike Tobin
Keller Williams
469-835-0540
mike@teamtobin.com

Posted: Apr 26, 2015, 9:12pm EDT