Robin Scott - Broker CRS ABR SRS Austin Texas REALTOR®

According to the Pew Research Center, more that three-quarters of adults born in Texas still live there making it the number one "sticky" state.

Other interesting facts show that Alaska only has a 28% retention of original residents.

Nevada attracts 86% of it's population from other states.

Only 19% of the population of New York are relocation.

And California which has a reputation for attracting people is 28th on the list of state that actually do.

Robin Scott, BROKER. Certified Residential Specialist, Accredited Buyer's Representative, Seller's Representative Specialist. Amelia Bullock Realtors. 512.589.7988.

COME MEET ME AND SEE THIS GREAT HOUSE. Sunday, July 19th. 2-4. If you live in the Austin area, I'd love to meet you and show you this awesome house I have listed for sale or lease.

Location, location, location. This is a great opportunity to live in one of the hottest & coolest areas is Austin in a new home - no rehabbing for you. Just move in and enjoy being walking distance to Central Market, 10 minutes to the medical center and 15 minutes to downtown Austin, Zilker Park and all the special events that take place. This is a new 3-story home with tons of upgrades: handscraped wood floors in living area, tile in baths, Silestone countertops throughout, stainless appliances, custom doors, crown molding, 6" baseboards, designer colors and fixtures, sprinkler system and more in a 1512 sq.ft. house with 2 master bedrooms - one on each floor. For sale at $369,999 and for lease at $1,999/mo.

Visit http://www.robinscottrealtor.com for a virtual tour.

Robin Scott, Broker. Certified Residential Specialist, Accredited Buyer's Representative, Seller's Representative Specialist. 512.589.7988.

It's the 40th anniversary of Neil Armstrong's walk on the moon. Do you remember where you were? Many of you may not have been a conception but I remember that afternoon very clearly as the astronaut Neil Armstrong planted the United States flag firmly in the soil of the MOON.

I was sitting in my grandmothers den watching the event unfold on the evening news ( live TV had not been introduced at that time) and annoyed that my friend was late picking me up. It was the summer before my senior year in highschool and my parents had moved to Houston. I was angry that I would miss my senior year with the friends I had known all my life and asked to stay with my grandparents for the summer. That evening I had been invited to a slumber party and couldn't have cared less about the historic event unfolding on the TV and yet I remember it all very clearly.

Several years ago I was privileged to hear Neil Armstrong speak. It was at a Brian Buffini event in Las Vegas. Were you there? Five thousand REALTORS were. The entire event was a great experience and my first time to Las Vegas which was spectacular fun but I went just to hear Neil Armstrong. This time I was prepared to pay attention. Apparently he didn't do public speaking until that time when Brian Buffini convinced him to. He seemed an incredibly humble man for someone who was a space pioneer and it was well worth the trip to see him and hear him speak. Did you know that Apollo 11 went to the moon and back with a 65k computer! That's all!

Robin Scott, BROKER. Certified Residential Specialist, Accredited Buyer's Representative, Seller's Representative Specialist. Amelia Bullock Realtors. 512.589.7988.

AREA MARKET STATISTICS

Statistics from MAY 2009 Compared to MAY 2008

Homes Sold 1,707 - down 19%

Median Sales Price $193,000 - down 1%

Active Listings 9,939 - less than 1% difference

source: Austin Board of Realtors

Robin Scott, BROKER. Certified Residential Specialist, Accredited Buyer's Representative, Seller's Representative Specialist. Amelia Bullock Realtors. 512.589.7988.

As the Travis County Appraisal District (TCAD) started their process of appraising properties I published a Blog with their calendar information.

Austins Property Tax Calendar

Then I published a small Blog about protesting. I own properties in Travis and Williamson Counties so I plan to Blog about experiences protesting in both counties.

Protesting Your Property Taxes in Austin

Since property values have diminished over the year, I decided to protest. First the county sent me their evaluation on my property value with an opportunity to protest in writing which I did. After looking at the recent solds (the county determines what the property value was on December 31 of the year in question which in this case was 2008) I determined that the county had over appraised my property and I filed the form of written protest.

Then the county sent me a letter reducing my property value by a small amount along with information on 5 homes to which they were comparing. It seemed great that from my written protest they had reduced the value but I researched the homes that they were using as comparatives and found that 4 of the 5 where not true comparatives. As an example, one of the properties stated in their information that the house had $44,000 in remodeling upgrades and improvements of which my property had none. Therefore, I decided to attend the informal protest.

This morning I went to the informal protest and learned about the TCAD system. Some of the issues I encountered were as follows:

1. One of the comparatives they had provided was from January of '08. That is an entire year earlier. That was even before the market crash and should not have been considered a fair estimation of value. I was told TCAD could use sold homes from January 1 through February of the following year. Good to know when the market starts to go back up.

2. In Texas, the price you paid for your home is not public information so even TCAD doesn't have it unless you tell them - or someone else does. So, when I printed out my multiple listing system (MLS) sold sheets, I blacked out the house numbers. It seemed to me that it was the right thing to do to protect the other homeowners. After all, the MLS sheet provided all the information on a legitimate sheet from a computer generated system. The TCAD agent told me that they couldn't use the information without the house number. In other words, I had to provide the address to benefit from the information. I didn't have it, but the MLS sheet does have the legal description on the page so the agent was able to look up the house address.

3. The main reason I took the MLS sheets was because they contained pertinant information such as the house had $44,000 in upgrades so a true comparative would have been to reduce the sold price by $44,000. The agent told me that he couldn't make any adjustments in the system. What! How is that a fair comparison?

Next I'm going to the formal hearing. I'm determined to get those taxes reduced. I'll keep you posted. Please send your comments.

Robin Scott, BROKER. Certified Residential Specialist, Accredited Buyer's Representative, Seller's Representative Specialist. Amelia Bullock Realtors. 512.589.7988.