spiderman
-
Posts
76 -
Joined
-
Last visited
Content Type
Profiles
Forums
Events
Posts posted by spiderman
-
-
I understand that some HOAs charge different administrative fees when properties within a subdivision are sold. I've seen them called transfer fees, certificate fees or refinance fees - does anyone have a definition of these costs and what an average might be?
I purchased a home as a rental property last week in Fairwood subdivision in Cypress, the transfer fee was $75.
-
Does anyone have any experience with protesting at the Fort Bend CAD based on unequal appraisal?
My understanding is that at HCAD (Harris County), they will not consider unequal appraisal at the informal hearing, you must go to the ARB.
Is FBCAD the same way?
A co-worker has a patio home in Grand Lakes, all the other patio homes of the same size are appraised $7k less than hers.
We think there is probably a difference in the factors used in the mass appraisal in her record, is there any way to see what the factors are in the records for the identical homes in the hood?
We are hoping she can just go to the informal and get this corrected.
Based on the comparable sales data, these homes are under appraised at 91%, so we do not see any benefit in protesting based on comparable sales.
Just to follow up, my co-worker was able to get her valuation lowered in the informal hearing based on the unequal appraisal data with no problem
-
Got my new tax appraisal today.......while the rest of the country's home values are dropping, mine went up.
5 year old house up in value by $6,000. I live in Parkway Lakes.
I guess I shouldn't complain as I see only 1 or 2 empty houses in the neighborhood..........
Does anyone have any experience with protesting at the Fort Bend CAD based on unequal appraisal?
My understanding is that at HCAD (Harris County), they will not consider unequal appraisal at the informal hearing, you must go to the ARB.
Is FBCAD the same way?
A co-worker has a patio home in Grand Lakes, all the other patio homes of the same size are appraised $7k less than hers.
We think there is probably a difference in the factors used in the mass appraisal in her record, is there any way to see what the factors are in the records for the identical homes in the hood?
We are hoping she can just go to the informal and get this corrected.
Based on the comparable sales data, these homes are under appraised at 91%, so we do not see any benefit in protesting based on comparable sales.
-
Thinking of giving a gift certificate to a day spa, was wondering if anyone had any thoughts on what the best day spas were in the area.
I had always thought that Urban Retreat had a good reputation, but I had heard some reports they had gone downhill as of late.
Thanks for any and all input.
-
I am looking for an expierenced Real Estate Investor who is willing to teach and mentor me through my first stages as an Investor. I am 18 years old and have been through many workshops and real estate classes. I am a creative and out of the box thinker, so a mentor with the same qualities is preferred. I am taking next semester of school off to devote all the time I have to real estate because I believe that anyone can acheive anything they put their minds too. Two of my main goals I wish to accomplish are:
1. Be financially free before having a family so that I can spend all the time needed with my future kids.
2. Give back. To anyone who needs help. Through mentoring and making people's dreams become realities and starting up charitable companies.
I have many ideas and more and more pop into my head every day. I can not stop thinking about real estate I believe it is what I was made to do.
So if you are interested in helping me please post or email me at rimcelroy@hotmail.com
May want to check out the following
www.complete-property-services.com
-
I was discussing Harris County property taxes with someone who is, well, a republican, so pretty opposed to taxes in principle and practice, and also both a residential and commercial property owner. He was saying how terrible it is that MLS services automatically volunteer the amount a home sale goes for to HCAD, called it an invasion of privacy, etc. He said when he has bought commercial property that he always writes it into the contract forbidding any party to disclose the sales price to any outside party, and the next time he buys a house he is going to do the same.
Now, let's leave aside arguments about whether or not it is our civic duty to allow HCAD to know the sale price of our house so that they can appraise houses in the area properly so that we can be taxed properly to raise money for schools and roads. I am not wanting to get into a moral argument. I am just asking for the sake of curiosity, not is it morally right, but is it technically possible to have written into the contract for the sale of a house you are buying, that no one, including the MLS, disclose the sale of the house to any other party, even if that house already has an MLS number?
I heard an officer at one of the local title companies say in a recent seminar I attended that he puts wording in the offer that states something to the following - "Buyer, Seller, and Listing Broker agree that the listing agreement will expire 24 hours before closing." When HCAD pulls in the MLS data for recent sales, the asking price will appear, bu the sales price will not appear, since the listing expired prior to closing, therefore the actual sales price was not input.
I think this has benefits for commercial proiperty transactions or high end (River Oaks) transactions for single family homes, I do not see much benefit for garden variety single family home transactions, unless you overpaid for the house you bought and want to conceal the price from HCAD and argue for a lower valuation based on comparable sales for other properties for which MLS sales data is reported.
-
Yes- these are the ones - do you know anything about them?
I live in the area. I can not speak to the quality of the construction, but that would be an obvious area of concern.
There are 2 units that are occupied. When the first unit moved in, the City red-tagged all the units. I think they just needed final inspections, the new occupants were able to get the red tags removed relatively quickly.
Based on a quick review of HCAD, it looks like 2 units are currently in foreclosure. It also looks like several units were purchased by investors, and are still not occupied - not sure if these are flippers, I have not seen any for rent signs.
I think the prior post made a good point about using an engineer to assess construction quality.
-
Townhomes that were built in 2006 by Valentine Homes. They are in foreclosure... they need quite a bit of work but I am enamored by the windows that are hard to find in Houston construction. Any experience or advice on homes by this builder? My parents are very worried that they used shortcuts when running out of money. I appreciate any feedback!
Are these the townhomes across from Baldwin Park at the corner of Anita and Chenevert?
-
Just noticed this on the HCAD web site - now that property values are dropping, they will not be doing a mass re-appraisal in 2009.
For the past several years, including 2008, HCAD has operated on an annual reappraisal cycle. Beginning in 2009, we will switch to a biennial cycle. We will continue to review the values of all properties each year, but in odd-numbered years such as 2009, will only make those value changes necessitated by new construction, unusual market conditions, or to maintain equity.
In the case of properties that change in value or have new ownership, a regular notice of appraised value will be mailed after 2009 values are complete (usually March or April). For properties on which there is no 2009 value change, even though the law doesn
-
For a few years I was using TurboTax, but then my tax preparation needs got tricky (and the software questions I wasn't understanding completely).
I have since been using a professional tax preparer.
the old fashioned way - do it myself, with the help of an Excel spreadsheet, and mail it in.....
-
Scott Terrace rules Xmas
Have not been out there myself this season, but a friend of mine said she drove out to Scott Terrace last nite and said the participation was way down this year.
-
Wow, you got the check written out to just you? Everyone I'm talking to tells me that anything more than $5 grand is getting cut to the homeowner and the mortgagee. And it takes forever to handle the paperwork that goes along with all that. A week, I wish!
It took about 10 days to get my insurance check for roof damage endorsed by Chase Mortgage and sent back to me - no paper work, I just attached a note with the check, included by mortgage account number, etc.
And I could have gotten it back sooner by enclosing a pre-paid express mail envelope.
-
KBR delays project in Katy Indefinitely
By HELEN ERIKSEN CHRONICLE CORRESPONDENT
Nov. 4, 2008, 2:33P
KBR's plans to build a new headquarters in the Katy area are on hold indefinitely, a spokeswoman for the global engineering, construction and services company said on Nov. 3.
"Construction on KBR's West Campus has been delayed due to current financial market conditions," said spokeswoman Heather Browne.
"Our commitment to build a west Houston office remains, however, no further decisions on the campus will be made until these market conditions improve," she said.
KBR, formerly Kellogg, Brown and Root, energized the local business community with a May announcement that it would build a large complex in the Katy area at the southwest corner of Interstate 10 and the Grand Parkway.
The new headquarters, which would house 4,500 employees, was touted to have a strong corporate and economic impact on the west Houston area.
The 910,000-square-feet project would include several low-rise buildings and was expected to break ground later this year.
Construction was anticipated to near completion in 2010.
Lance LaCour, president and chief executive officer of the Katy Area Economic Development Council, worked closely with KBR to negotiate details of the project.
On Nov. 3, he said he is optimistic about the project's future.
"Of course, we would like to proceed with the same timeline but we understand the company's position," LaCour said. "We feel the project will happen."
Meanwhile, the Houston-based company has said even with the Katy-area campus it would maintain its downtown presence.
KBR has corporate offices at 601 Jefferson St. The company also has offices at 500 Jefferson St. and 410 Clinton Drive.
KBR said in late October that the global economic slowdown has not had a significant impact on its business operations, but some projects would be delayed.
Officials could not say when construction would commence on the Katy area complex.
According to financial reports, KBR's third-quarter profits increased by 35 percent with net income rising to $85 million, or 51 cents per share, in the three months ending Sept. 30. This compares to $63 million, or 37 cents, a year ago.
I was looking forward to this project, Only time will tell now.....
Another factor that could impact this complex is the possibility that KBR could be sold or acquired any time after 4/30/09, which is the 2 year anniversary of the spin off from Halliburton. A new owner may have better options (e.g other underutilized facilities) than building this new complex. Depending on the severity of the economic downturn, potential for large projects to be cancelled, etc. KBR could become an acquisition target, as it has a lot of cash (approx $9 per share).
-
Since we own all the houses we remodel I don't really have experience as a "general contractor".
So, out of curiosity, how much do you think a general contractor should make as "profit" on a $10,000 bathroom remodel or a $25,000 kitchen remodel?
I'm looking forward to the contractors on the forums opinions as well as homeowners who have sub'd out their own remodels and people who have hired people.
flipper
I pay $250 plus 10% of agreed subcontractor costs to the property management company for low end rental rehabs.
-
We just got back from our formal hearing this afternoon with the Appraisal Board and I have to say, walking out of there I felt like the jackboot of HCAD was planted squarely on my neck. I am just about beside myself with the way that worked out.
My wife and son and I all woke up with horrible head colds on the day of the informal so I called HCAD and asked to reschedule and was told that it was too late and I couldn't reschedule on the day of and that I could just show up for the formal. OK Fine. So my wife and I put together our little packet and went down there today.
We had pictures of all of the comps in the neighborhood, we had spreadsheets, we had press clippings from HAR, and we had dozens of photos from the house 4 doors down that sold in November and has the same floorplan and square footage as ours but with a much more nicely remodeled inside and a very pretty deck and spa in back.
HCAD had our "market value" listed at $398,000 and was using sales values from February and March of 2007 for 4 of the 5 "comparables" that they were using. I thought our case was a slam dunk. Our appraisal last year after our remodel was $315,000. This year the assessment went up to $361,000 after the 10% cap and the very small amount of remodeling that was finished after Jan 1 of last year.
In the hearing I pointed out that the almost identical house just down the street from us sold for $330,000 in November and had pictures showing that, aside from their hot tub, our house and that house were almost identical on the inside and in square footage. We made the case that our house was comparable and on an equal square footage basis should be valued at $326,000, which is consistent with all of the other sales of similarly sized homes around December 31 in our neighborhood of which we also presented photos and evidence.
Then they asked if we had any more questions, we said, "no" and then they literally just threw out three different numbers and settled on the lowest one: $382,000.
I asked how they came up with it and they said that it was just the "opinion of the board" that $382,000 was a fair number, so while the "market value" went down, the assessed value didn't change. Jimminy Crickets!Here is a picture of my little house (2049 sqft):
Here is the house 4 doors down that sold for $330,000 in November (2024 sqft):
This house sold for $426,000 in February 2007 (2082 sqft):
Which is more comparable to my house? A or B? If you are HCAD, and apparently the Appraisal Review Board, your answer is "B" and I have no idea how that can possibly be considered accurate. I thought it was generous on our part to even think our house was comparable to the one next door, much less the modern thing two streets over.
What is labeled as an "independent" group sure did feel like a rubber stamp.
I know it's not a lot of money in taxes, but Mrs Cottonmather0 and I are thinking about looking for a lawyer to see if we have a case for arbitration. Do we? It feels like the ARB didn't even listen to anything we said at all, they just threw us a small bone and knocked an immaterial amount off of the HCAD amount without changing our assessed value at all. It felt like an absolute sham, in my opinion.
"INDEPENDENT" - selected by HCAD, paid by HCAD, performance evaluated by HCAD, need the money, afraid they will not be selected next year if they stray from the HCAD line,......what's not fair about that!
I had a somewhat similar experience last year, my noticed value went from $310k the prior year up to $412k, had a novice HCAD person for the informal who would only go down to $400k, went to the board and ended up with $402k, very arbitrary process IMO.
This year was the polar opposite - noticed value was $424k, had a very professional and experienced HCAD employee in the informal, she worked numbers on her calculator for 10 minutes or so and was able to offer me $361k - which I gladly accepted.
-
Here's a little area of the future KBR campus and the surrounding area. Looks like we're getting another hotel and some more retail nearby. (And another hospital?)
Will the current credit crunch affect the timing of this project?
-
So according to this page: link, a express bus service from downtown to iah will start in august. any more information about this?
"Express bus service from Downtown Transit Center to Intercontinental Airport starts in August. Looking at this map, I hope that it will have a few stops added in 2012
-
I was browsing the HCAD web site and noticed that my protest hearing(s) have been scheduled.
I went to iFile and downloaded the evidence summary. I noticed that the "Subject Appraisal Ratio" is 1.11. This appears to be the ratio between the "Subject HCAD Noticed Market Value" (which is what my 2008 appraisal value is now) and the "Subject Indicated Market Value".
Does this mean that reducing my appraised value by 11% is a slam dunk? For example, if my "HCAD Noticed Market Value" is $111,000, and my "Subject Indicated Market Value" is $100,000, does it mean that HCAD will lower my appraisal from $111,000 to $100,000 once I point this out in the informal hearing?
This is rental property in Montrose, there is quite a large variation (28%) between the lowest and comps on the HCAD comparable sales analysis.
I had my informal this week, and the answer to my questiojn above is yes. But it gets even better if you are in HISD. the "ISD ratio" for HISD is 0.99, which means HCAD will multiply your "Subject Indicated Market Value" by 0.99 and offer that as their opening position, then hopefully you can negotiate downward from there.
-
I was browsing the HCAD web site and noticed that my protest hearing(s) have been scheduled.
I went to iFile and downloaded the evidence summary. I noticed that the "Subject Appraisal Ratio" is 1.11. This appears to be the ratio between the "Subject HCAD Noticed Market Value" (which is what my 2008 appraisal value is now) and the "Subject Indicated Market Value".
Does this mean that reducing my appraised value by 11% is a slam dunk? For example, if my "HCAD Noticed Market Value" is $111,000, and my "Subject Indicated Market Value" is $100,000, does it mean that HCAD will lower my appraisal from $111,000 to $100,000 once I point this out in the informal hearing?
This is rental property in Montrose, there is quite a large variation (28%) between the lowest and comps on the HCAD comparable sales analysis.
-
I have really thought about.
1. I would need it fast enought for the HOV to come into work Downtown.
2. It would have to be big enought to support me. (I'm 6'2 and 290 lbs)
3. THe Metro Bus Drivers downtown scare me to death. I drive a pick up now and they are always pulling in front of me with no regard..........
I ride a Honda Reflex (250cc), mainly ITL, tho I do get on the freeway occasionally. It will do 70-75 with no problem, and is not too heavy/relatively easy to maneuver in street traffic. Gas mileage is 60-65 mpg.
Based on your size, and riding the HOV, I would recommend something larger, like the Burgman 400/650 or the Honda Silverwing. Gas mileage would be lower (I have heard the Silverwing gets somewhere in the 40s mpg), and you would sacrifice some maneuverability in street traffic, but the HOV/freeway ride would be much more comfortable.
-
I posted another topic last week entiled TAXES help please! where I stated that the house i just purchased for 93000 10 months ago is now at 114840 thanks to appraisal district. i posted asking weather or not this could be protested etc. But it got me thinking i pay about $74 on private mortgage insurance if my market value is now 114840 i believe i now qualify to cancel pmi, because now i guess my loan ration is different. Has anyone ever canceled their pmi when their market valued increased? Would another appraisal company value the same way the district does? the reason my properety value went up is because my lot value went from 3500 to 20,000.
And so I had another question, if I protest now and possibly get my appraised value down to closer to what i paid, then in a few months pay to get the home reappraised, would the independant appraiser look at my property records as far has my tax values etc or will he just look at the other houses in my area that now have a market value like or over the 114840. since the values just went up there hasnt been any house sell for that in my area (subdivision).
I would love to be able to cancel that pmi, and save on my property taxes, and or do both at the same time. Is any of this possible ? have you done this ? , know someone who has done this ? or have
any suggestions weather this is possible or im just wishful thinking. thanks Emily
I did this very thing on 2 houses I own in Montrose several years ago (seems like about 2000 or so), in one case I even got to pick the appraiser, in the second case the lender picked the appraiser. Houses typically (but not always) appraise for a couple of thousand dollars more than the HCAD value, but not always, so you might be just on the cusp and your home may not appraise high enough to make the 80% threshhold.
I belong to a couple of real estate investment groups, and have heard some anecdotal stories of cases where homes did not appraise for what the investor thought they would after repairs, due to the downward impact of foreclosure sales making appraisers more conservative in their appraisals.
As stated in the prior posts, the first step is to see what your lender's requirements are, there may be a seasoning requirement before you can get rid of PMI. And there may be much more scrutiny now as a result of all the real estate shenanigans that have occurred in the past few years.
Best of luck, hope you can get it dropped
-
My sister and her husband just moved out of SCR, they had built there 2+ years ago. When looking at selling, they would have had to take a $20-$30k loss based on comps in the area. So they decided to rent, and it worked out well. They ended up getting $200/month more than they were asking because 2 tenants outbid each other, and on a 2 year lease. I can't really make sense of that in my head - having to take a loss on the sale but being able to rent for basically more per month than the people could have bought it for. Oh well, it worked out. One more thing - they are doing the rental with one of those property management companies that does everything for you, mostly because they live out of state now and can't deal with it.
Just be sure to look at the comps in your area to get a good picture of what market value would be.
Credit is tight right now, fewer people can qualify for a mortgage than in the recent past, so the pool of qualified buyers is shrinking and the pool of renters is growing. So rents are higher relative to buying than in the past, as long as our job market holds up this should continue for a while. Also, Pearland is one of the strongest rental markets in the Houston area.
-
we checked out lease rates on similar houses, and our cash flow will break even (mortgage, tax and insurance).
Maybe i need to add a small amount for wear/tear to the total (that'll put us in the negative)
thanks....something for us to consider!!!
One more impact on your cash flow to consider, in case you have not already, is that the property taxes on your Pearland house will increase as you will lose the homestead exemption in the year after you move out and convert it to a rental.
Best of luck on the deal
-
Want to get some advice here...
We currently live in Pearland (Southgate Subdivision on CR59 - behind Macys). We are planning to move inside the loop, to be closer to work.
Should we sell our house or lease/rent it out? Our house is 2 years old. Basically, with all the growth in the area, if property value will increase in the next 3-5 years, we will lease it out and sell then. If the increase is marginal...we will sell.
What do you all think the potential property value in pearland will be in 3-5 years?
Thanks
Franklin
Will you have negative cash flow if you hold the house and rent it out? I am not familiar with Pearland, but in many areas newer, mid and higher end homes the rental income is not enough to cover the mortgage, taxes, insurance, leasing fees, vacancy, etc. Plus tenants tend not to take as good care of the property as you would, so you may run into make ready costs when you decide to sell down the road. These negative cash flows may outweigh speculative future higher property value.
Property Tax Protest Services
in Houston Real Estate
Posted
I handle my own protests, but I have heard a lot of positives about Jason Rodrigues of Harding and Carbone