San Antonio Real Estate - Christina Whipple

The Texas Homestead Exemption, in addition to providing legal protection regarding your home, can also save you money on your property tax bill. A homestead exemption reduces taxes by lowering a home's taxable value. All school districts offer a $5000 homestead exemption, and some taxing units offer a percentage exemption of up to 20% of a home's assessed value. Homeowners can lower their property taxes by applying for these exemptions for which they are eligible. You must OWN your own home and occupy it as your principal residence on January 1. You can have only ONE principal residence and ONE homestead exemption.

A special form is needed to apply for homestead exemptions. The form must be completed and returned to the appropriate appraisal office not before January 1 but no later than April 30. You can download the application from http://www.window.state.tx.us/taxinfo/taxforms/50-114.pdf, fill out the form, and send it in to your appraisal district.

Don't fall for misleading solicitations to file your homestead exemption. There is no fee to file a property-tax homestead exemption. Shortly after the purchase of a home in Texas, you might receive letters on official-looking stationery offering to file your homestead exemption for you for a fee. Even some people who have lived in Texas their entire lives confuse these letters as a form from a state agency requiring a mandatory fee.

The actual process is both free and easy so take a few minutes to save yourself hundreds of dollars on your tax bill.

In the past, homeowners who protested property-tax values and were unsatisfied with the Appraisal Review Board's (ARB) decision had only one recourse, appeal the ARB's decision to district court. But the cost of filing in district court could be high, with $5,000 being the average cost of filing.

But as of Jan. 1, 2006, a new, less-expensive, way to appeal the decision rendered by the appraisal review board is available: binding arbitration. Binding arbitration may only be used in cases concerning property values and you may not resort to arbitration if you were denied a tax exemption. Also, you may not use binding arbitration if the property is valued at more than one million dollars.

However, if you do go forward with binding arbitration, be aware that once a decision regarding your appraisal is reached the agreement is binding, hence the term, and must be accepted by the appraisal district and the property owner.

The process is farily simple. The property owner is responsible for paying a $500 deposit up front, which covers the cost of arbitration. Then, the two parties, homeowner and appraisal district, must agree on an arbitrator or one will be randomly selected by the Texas comptroller's office, which administers the appointment of arbitrators. The arbitrator will decide only the value of the property, and that decision is final. If the arbitrator's decision is closer to the value the property owner claimed, the property owner's deposit will be returned (less a $50 administrative fee). If the arbitrator decides a value nearer what the appraisal district claimed, then the $50 administrative fee and the arbitrator's fee is paid out of the property owner's deposit, and any remaining funds are then returned to the property owner.

"Credit Score Truths and Myths"

Your credit score is the single biggest factor in getting a new home loa! If your score is above 720, you can possibly qualify for a $1 million home with very little money down. If your score is below 500 and you have $1 million in the bank, you may have trouble qualifying for this exact same home. Your interest rate will certainly be different.

Credit scores are central to the loan process. Nearly every lender uses them.?The better your credit, the lower the risk to the bank, the lower your interest rate.

Most lenders use your FICO score to determine whether or not you qualify for a home. It's such an important issue that you and your clients?should understand the basics of the credit reporting system and the many myths surrounding it.

Credit scores give lenders a fast, objective and impartial snapshot of a person's credit risk based on their credit history.

That's why lenders use FICO credit scores when making credit decisions. The higher the individual's score, the lower the risk to lenders when extending new credit to that person. Its fast, easy, and, usually, effective.

 Over the past several months, I have been writing about the investment oportunities in the San Antonio residential real estate market. Statistics indicate that the next several years will see continued growth in this market segment as a result of population expansion. Today, I noticed that CNN Money has listed San Antonio as first for projected growth in the next two years.

CNN Money Article

For the next 2 years, the San Antonio market is projected to grow at between 7% and 8% annually. Please contact me if you are an investor looking for residential purchases in the San Antonio area.

Christina Whipple
www.ChristinaWhipple.com