Ann Cordes

My husband got out of the army in 2000. After 2 years in school at Texas State Technical Institute in Waco he got a degree in computer networking and 6 weeks later found a great job. Happy Happy!! Joy Joy!

After a celebratory trip to Las Vegas we started house hunting for the first home either one of us had ever owned. At first we were going to buy some land and a manufactured home. We found land, picked out a home and started the deal. But then we decided the deal was getting too expensive. Land $16,000, home $80,000, improvements on land $18,000= $124,000. We wanted to stay below $100,000.

So we cancelled the deal.

Three months later in February, we started looking for an older home. We found one we were interested in. Like most buyers, we called the agent on the yard sign. Let's call him Agent A. He showed us the house and helped us make an offer, which was rejected. We told him " The lease on our apartment is not up until the end of July, so we will wait a couple of months and start looking again. We'll call you."

Two months later we decided to start looking again. But we decided we had not really clicked with Agent A, So we called Agent B. She called Agent A and broke the news that we didn't want to work with him anymore. Then she showed us houses, help us negotiate an offer and on June 30, 2003, we became homeowers ( ummm Owners).

Forward to April 2007. I get my license and become a Realtor. Now I realize how bad it feels when a deal falls apart or a buyer goes to another agent. I have spent a lot of time complaining about flaky buyers. Then suddenly I realized I was one! And I have talked with Agent A at broker opens and found out he is a pretty neat guy. Not at all stiff and formal like I thought at the time.

It makes me feel I owe him and the others a big apology. Or at least a confession. So here it is. And to all you agents out there, on behalf of all the flaky buyers out there, I would like to say " I'm sorry. I didn't know any better."

I you are like me and just got your tax bill fom the mclennan county Appraisal District, there is something you can do about it! Go to www.Mclennancad.org . Go to forms. Then go to Mclennan propest form. Print and fill out the form and return it to the appraisal district.

THIS MUST BE DONE QUICKLY! The deadline for filling was May 31st. But since the Appraisal district was moving their office and sent out the tax bills late you have more time, but not much.

You can call the appraisal district at 254-752-9864. But don't expect to get through, they are being flooded with calls!

Headline in the Waco Tribune Herald newspaper Wednesday June 10th "Home value rise surprises owners'. While it was not a surprise that taxes went up, it was a surprise how much. The man featured in the picture accompanying the story said his valuation went up $25,000! Which makes me feel lucky. Mine only went up a couple thousand.

The average homeowner saw a rise of 3.3 %, up from $111,808 in 2008 to $115,547 for 2009. The county's total tax base went up by 6.9%. But some suburbs of Waco saw a rise of 7 to 9 %.

One of the more desired ares of town, China Spring, actually went down. See the chart below.

Avg home value Avg home value % 08 Tax`value 09Tax %

2008 2009 Change Change

Bellmead $58,096 $59,939 3.17 $309068.,414 $337,988,961 9.36

Hewitt $129,648 $134,593 3.81 $585,100.002 $608,228,538 3.95

Lacy-Lakeview $80,339 $83,812 4.32 $248,625,989 $267,943,342 7.77

Robinson $118,465 $124,954 5.48 $500,417,509 $539,887,567 7.29

Waco $108,840 $109,447 .56 $6,009,289,503 $6,402,836,738 6.55

Woodway $177,253 $189,129 6.70 $773,716,936 $831,893,414 7.52

China Spring ISD $161,650 $159,205 -1.51 $509,585,886 $539,556,476 5.88

Waco ISD $89,547 $89,969 .47 $4,000,616,151 $4,246,363,563 6.14

Midway ISD $165,882 $171,504 4.65 $3,244,088,980 $3,510,264,731 8.20

Mclennan County $111,808 $$115,547 3.34 $10,155,281,829 $10,854,284,936 6.88

Every year the Heart of Texas Builders Association of Waco have a Parade of Homes to show of their new construction and this years' is coming up! It is both Saturday and Sunday the weekends of June 6/7 and June 13/14. Over 30 homes will be open to the public and in most cases the builders themselves will be there to meet you and answer questions.

All for the price of $5.00! Saturday hours are 11:00 to 5:00 and Sundays from 12:00 to 5:00. But if your want to drool over new homes and can't wait, click here www.hotbawaco.com Then click on Parade of Homes.

I was in my office at Keller Williams Realty in Waco talking to some of my co-workers when one of our top agents Jeff Bird walked by on his way out. He said " Dad and I are going to de-snake-ify a house." Dad is Ed Bird, also a top agent in the office. It seems they had gotten a call from an agent who had attempted to show their $500,00 listing in a very nice subdivision of Waco. The house was vacant. When the agent and her buyers walked in, they found 2 snakes curled up! Not sure what kind they were.

They called Ed and the title of this blog was his response. If you knew Ed you would say" Yeah that sounds like something Ed would say!" He is a cut-up and a great sense of humor. The other agent just laughed and said " Yeah, I think they would go look at it again."

Jeff and Ed went out there, but didn't see the snakes.

This may seem scary, but it is typical for Texas. In the spring we see a lot of snakes when they come out of hybernation. And skunks, and other critters. You just learn that if you leave them alone, they will leave you alone and everyone's happy.