About Smith County, TX

The United States Department of Housing & Urban Development (HUD) just increased its FHA Loan limits. As of March 5, 2008, the loan limits for Smith County was raised to $271,050 for single family residences. This is a significant increase from the previous loan limits. Fannie Mae & Freddic Mac also raised their loan limits to $417,000 for single family.

Data from Greater Tyler Association of REALTORS show that the median sales price in Smith County for January 2008 was $145,000. The average sales price for the same period was $180,251.

What does this mean for potential homeowners? This means that more will have the opportunity to become homeowners, especially those living in high cost areas. To find how the new loan limits in your area, click here select your state and then enter your county.

I guess we can thank President Bush for signing the Economic Stimulus Package Bill.

Smith County is ranked #25 out of 254 Texas counties and covers 932 square miles. Smith County is in the heart of East Texas with Tyler, Tx being its county seat. Smith county contains several other growing cities:

• Arp
• Bullard
• Chapel Hill
• Flint
• Gresham
• Lindale
• Troup
• Whitehouse
• Winona

Many of the above cities, have seen substantial growth within the last 5 years and have many new subdvisions. The population of Smith county is well over 170,000 and still growing. According to Greater Tyler Association of REALTORS, the average sales price for Smith County in 2007 was $170,119.

Smith County is an excellent place to retire with several cities designated as "Retirement Communities".

It seems that milions of US taxpayers will be receiving a Rebate soon. All to help speed up the slowing economy.

Those eligible are:

1. Single tax payers w/ Adjusted Gross Income below $75k - $600
2. Joint filers w/ Adjusted Gross Income below $150k - $1200 (Parents will receive an additional $300 per child). There is no limit for the number of children.

If you make more than the income cap, then you might get a partial rebate. The rebate checks will not have to paid back and should start rolling out in May.

To make sure that you don't miss your rebate, you must file your 2007 Tax Return.

For those looking to purchase a home, a wise decision would be to save the rebate for your down payment or closing costs. If you are still not quite ready to purchase your home because of credit issues, I suggest taking a look at your credit report and taking care of any delinquencies.

Since the housing market is slow, now is the time for a buyer to buy because in our market (East Texas), it is a buyers market. Now is the time to buy!!

I live 80 miles east of Dallas and 100 west of Shreveport. How great is that?

Welcome to Lindale, Texas!

Lindale is a community of about 4000 people. We are located 10 miles north of Tyler, Texas... in the heart of the Piney Woods! The sign on the outskirts of town says "Lindale: Good Country Living". In Lindale you can find everything from beautiful custom homes in gorgeous neighborhoods to farm and ranch property.

In the city of Lindale we have a huge Target distribution center right on I-20. We have one of the best school systems in the state. The students of Lindale consistently achieve high marks for state wide testing. The high school band is recognized all over the state as well.

We have excellent health care facilities located here and if you require more "in house" care there are two of the finest hospitals located in Tyler. We have a Super Wal Mart and Lowes Home Improvement.

We are located just 80 miles from the DFW area and 100 miles from Shreveport.

Due to the current market, I discourage buyers from taking out home equity lines of credit. Who knows when the market will snap back? It also depends on how the market is in your area. Currently in East Texas, the market is not as bad as the news portrays it to be. We are still selling homes. However, some homes are taking longer to sell and buyers aren't getting the price that they would have a year ago. That's why I discourage gambling with your equity in your homes.