Eric joins John Schutze on the Austin Mortgage Report - Talk Radio 1370AM to talk about how you can protest your property taxes.

Eric and John talk about the recent rise in property taxes and why they are going up at such an alarming rate. Eric has a good story of how he got his property tax value reduced by $30,000!

Protesting your property tax assessment in Travis county , Williamson county and Hays county in Texas can be a frustrating experience. Understanding the process will give you a better chance to be successful.

1. Protest Online If That Is An Option For You

If you have a watermark on the notice you received that an online protest is available I suggest you take advantage of that option.  About a day after you file online…

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The Williamson County and Travis County Appraisal Districts have sent out their notices of appraised value. If you feel like your appraisal is too high you may want to protest the value this year.

For those of us who have been given the option to protest online that is the best place to start. In this short video I recorded a screencast showing myself completing an online protest. If you have any questions please let me know.

What are the steps to complete an online protest in Williamson County and Travis County?

  1. Make sure your “Notice Of Appraised Value” form has a watermark that says “Online Protest Available.”
  2. Type in your Quick Ref ID and Online Protest ID.
  3. Be sure to check the value is over market value AND unequal.
  4. Type in a…

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1. Someone who loves the neighborhood will represent your home

Wouldn’t it be great to have a Realtor who loves the neighborhood as much as you do answering calls from buyers or talking to possible buyers at your open house? Wouldn’t you like to have someone representing your home that knows where the trailheads are located, how many pools are in the neighborhood, what type of social events occur and who has the best pizza? We have been Avery Ranch homeowners for over 7 years and love living here. Nobody loves living in Avery Ranch more than we do and our enthusiasm for the neighborhood will make it easy for us to sell the neighborhood and your home to any buyer.

2. Your agent will know the schools and school zones

Most people are attracted…

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According to the Zillow 2014 Nationwide Survey of Real Estate Agents and Interior Designers, the number 1 investment for a home seller is Curb Appeal. And the second best investment a home seller can make is hiring a professional home stager.

You’ll never get a second chance to make the first impression. Buyers begin to make assumptions about the property right from the curb-side … even before they step in. So creating a strong first impression is a very important step in the process of selling your home.

Here are a few tips that will help you create a great curb appeal:

De-Clutter And Clean

A clean entrance can go a long way toward establishing a positive first impression. Remove extra objects from the entrance like kid’s toys and bikes.…

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We are in an interesting time for Austin real estate. There has been a lack of good homes going on the market over the winter. That lack of good homes along with a backlog of buyers who had been losing multiple offer bids last year have caused prices to go up significantly in some areas of town, particularly central and south Austin.

Inventory of homes is even lower than the statistics indicate. There are many homes on the market that are overpriced or in poor condition and therefore may never sell. The number of good homes, priced close to market value is significantly lower than market statistics would indicate.

All buyers need to be ready to view homes as soon as they come on the market. Even in the suburbs such as Cedar Park the great homes…

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If you’ve listened to talk radio in Austin you’ve heard a commercial for a Realtor sales guarantee. Some version of “If I don’t sell your home in 37 days I’ll buy it.”

How does that work and is that a good deal or a gimmick? Here’s how the Realtor sales guarantee has been explained to me.  

If I were to offer this guarantee first I would make you pay for an appraisal. Then I would make you pay for an inspection and make any repairs suggested on the report. After that we would come up with a guaranteed price that would be somewhere around 20% less than the appraised value. If your home is worth $300,000 I would offer you around $240,000 for a guaranteed price.

Is that a good deal or a gimmick? I’ll let you decide.

Would I buy your…

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As we headed into the year I was interested to see what would happen to our real estate market. There has been talk that the drop in oil prices and that effect on the Texas economy combined with Austin real estate becoming what some believe is unaffordable would cool off the market. That has definitely not happened.

At the end of December our inventory of homes was up .2% over December 2013. That may have indicated the real estate market would ease up a little in January. It doesn’t look like that is a long-term trend. As of today the inventory of homes is back under 2 months. Homes that are in desirable areas are still selling quickly with multiple offers just like last year, if not even faster.

As an indication our first listing as a new…

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The Austin and surrounding area real estate market is trending up and that can create problems with low appraisals. Many sellers are aware of the risk of receiving a low appraisal. Sometimes sellers have already spoken with another listing agent before they choose to work with me. When I ask the seller what other listing agent suggested they can do more often that not the seller says the other agent just shrugged her shoulders and said

“There’s nothing we can do about a low appraisal. We’ll have to hope for the best.”

Not true! There are some procedures we can do to help prevent a low appraisal from killing your sale. My background in mortgage lending and working with appraisers gives me extra insight into how they establish value. If you follow…

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The popular statistic of the day is Austin’s population is growing at 110 people every day.

Brian Kelsey, the founder of Civic Analytics, a company in Austin that researches and analyzes data spoke at the 2014 Austin Board of Realtors Realty Round Up. Analyzing federal income tax returns Mr. Kelsey determined there are actually 201 people moving to the Austin metroplex each day. But, the 147 people who move out of our area every day offset that number. That leaves us with a net population growth of around 54 people every day.

The Austin area is still growing fast but perhaps not quite as fast as some of the statistics would lead you to believe.

If you are planning to be one of the 201 moving here in the future please call or text me at…

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Kopa Real Estate | Austin Market Report Jan 2015

Can you believe it’s 2015 already? Let’s talk about what I expect to happen with the Austin real estate market in 2015. Throughout the holidays people wanted to ask about the 2nd article that came out saying Austin real estate is overpriced.

Is Austin real estate overpriced? When you see a headline saying we are overpriced it makes people think we are in a bubble that’s about to burst. I don’t believe our market is overpriced and I definitely don’t believe we are about to see a bubble burst.

For there to be a bubble you need to see speculation and easy money. Instead Austin real estate prices have increased due to population and more importantly job growth along with a low supply of housing, particularly in the central Austin areas. I also…

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