Pescatore Avrit Team

By now you should have received your annual tax valuation statement from you county appraisal district.

Where you shocked when you opened it? Some of our clients have seen in increase in their property values, one had their value go UP a whopping 8%!!!

In these tough economic times the counties are searching for any way they can to increase revenue and it may just come at your expense. But you can at least try to do something about it.

Below is a list of several counties appraisal district websites where you can find the forms necessary to file a protest of your appraised value.

Collin County Appraisal District www.collincad.org

Dallas County Appraisal District www.dallascad.org

Denton County Appraisal District www.dentoncad.org

Ellis County Appraisal District www.elliscad.org

Rockwall County Appraisal District www.rockwallcad.org

Tarrant County Appraisal District www.tad.org

You must file this form and have it postmarked no later than June 1st, just 16 days from now.

The first step is to start gathering evidence about your property, photos or statements that document structural problems the appraiser may have missed such as plumbing problems or foundation issues.

Then you'll want to get "comps" from a Realtor that is familiar with your neighborhood. This information will contain recent sales about properties that are similar to yours. Our client who saw that large increase should be able to fight his appraisal because of the three houses that sold in his neighborhood two of them were foreclosures, a sad fact in these times.

You may even want to spend a little extra money and hire a independent appraiser to value your home. This could bolster your case and allow you to ask the county appraiser how they came up with the higher value.

Lastly, remember that a county appraisal is purely factual and is governed by professional standards. This is not personal so don't be emotional in your protest, just state the facts as Joe Friday used to say on Dragnet.

If you need any help with obtaining your neighborhood comparables drop us an email. You can reach Terri at tprealtor@hotmail.com or Jane at javrit@msn.com

As always we're here to help you achieve your real estate goals, even if it's to fight your taxes!

This Saturday, May 2nd from 1-4pm, our team will be shining a spotlight on the Woodland Park neighborhood in Allen. This wonderful community consists of homes built by Grand Homes and Mercedes Homes and offers some of the best values in Allen.

It's proximity to Allen's Celebration Park, access to major thoughfares, wonderful schools and convenient shopping make Woodland Park a great place to live.

If you, or anyone you know, is looking for a family friendly neighborhood have them visit the Woodland Park Open House Weekend!

Our two listings include 802 Cascades, a gorgeous 4 bedroom, 2 1/2 bath 3 car garage home with so many upgrades and additions you won't believe it. The home sits on a tremendous lot next to a greenbelt, has a professionally added sunroom and sparkling pool! At 3640 square feet this home offers great space for an affordable price!

Our next house is located at 1003 Rushmore and is brand new on the market. This 3 bedroom, 2 1/2 bath, 2 car home has 2513 square feet and a wonderful floorplan to suit anyone's needs. The home features beautiful hardwood flooring, a large open kitchen, updated paint, a great backyard and so many other extras.

So if you've got some time on Saturday why not drop in a view these two fantastic properties. We'd look forward to seeing you!

Wow, it's spring time in Allen. The weather is getting warmer, last weekend not withstanding. The trees and lawns are turning green, however mine are still mostly weeds (I'm working on it)!

And then the realization hit me. Schools out in a little over two months. A quarter of the year is already gone! In two months time I'll have a high school graduate (one who finally got a job, thanks Bill from Saxby's Coffee) and a Junior at Allen High. Good Gravy I'm getting old.

I don't have to worry about summertime avtivities to keep my kids busy but many of you do.

I'd like to make a suggestion to investigate all the wonderful programs that the City of Allen Parks and Recreation department makes available to our community.

Starting with the annual Eggcellent Family Adventure this coming Saturday, April 4th. This event will take place at the Allen City Hall Civic Plaza and will feature an egg hunt, local community organizations and businesses giving free information and goodies, crafts, bounce houses and face painting. The event will take place between 9am and noon.

Since we're all trying to stretch a dollar these days another fun, free event put on by the city is the Summer Sounds concert series at the Joe Farmer Recreation Center Hillside Amphitheatre. This great, and did I mention FREE, concert series will be held each Monday evening at 7pm starting May 18th and running until June 22nd.

You can visit the Parks and rec website below for more information including the lineup. http://www.cityofallen.org/departments/parks_recreation/special_events/summer_sounds.html

Also be sure to reserve June 27th for the City of Allen's largest celebration: Allen USA Celebration.

Held each year to celebrate the 4th of July, this event is the earliest celebration of our national holiday in the area. Besides the spectacular fireworks show, this years musical entertainment will feature Smashmouth, a act that's sold over 10 million records. This years celebration, to be held appropriately at Celebration Park, will be FREE and lots of fun.

Also while we're talking of summer time planning, you'll definatly want to investigate all the low cost activities to keep your children occupied over the summer. I always dreaded hearing those two little words, "I'm Bored"! Again, the Parks and Rec department will offer a wide range of programs, enough to fit anyone's need. Registration will be on April 20th starting at 8am. You can view a complete guide at:

http://www.cityofallen.org/departments/parks_recreation/pdfs/Activity%20Guide.pdf

As always, if you or anyone you know need to buy or sell real estate, have them give us a call. We'll take care of them like family!

While viewing the City of Allen Website we came across a news release that named Allen as one of the safest cities in the nation.

Allen ranked number 9 out of 385 communites in a study release by CQPress, Congressional Quarterly, that used FBI statistics for the 2007 calendar year.

To view the entire list visit: http://os.cqpress.com/citycrime/CityCrime2008_Rank.pdf

Besides terrific schools, a vibrant economy, and terrific housing values, a dedicated police force promotes a quality of life in Allen that is very desirable when you're thinking of moving to a new community.

Our hats off to the fine professionals in the Allen Police Department. Thanks for keeping us safe.

Well, here it is the end of another year. And what a year it's been!

We've seen the highest gas prices ever and then a drastic plunge to 2003 levels as we cut back on our wasteful use of resources.

Our Allen Eagles football team traveled to Houston December 20th and rallied past Fort Bend Hightower to capture the Texas 5A Division 1 state championship.

We've seen the economy come to a complete halt in many areas of the counrty yet here in Dallas/Ft. Worth at a recent business summit, 11 of the areas top business leaders expressed that our area is still probably the best area of the country to weather the continuing economic storm.

Our local housing industry, while not as strong as in years past, has not seen the type of freefalling property vaules as some other parts of the country. There ARE STILL Buyers and Sellers in the market.

We, as a people, elected the 1st African-American President in our history to lead this country. And a lot of people have high hopes for President-Elect Obama. His plan for a comprehensive public works agenda to help our aging infrastructure and promise of a national energy plan may be what this economy needs to restore consumer confidence and stimulate consumer spending.

We can only hope that 2009 is better than 2008.

We hope that you have a Happy and Safe New Year!