Christmas Cheer, Texas Style

Your holiday adventure continues as you get back on the bus and head over the river and through the woods to Johnson City’s 22nd annual Lights Spectacular. Sit back and relax with a cup of warm apple cider and enjoy the carols and light displays as your driver maneuvers through the stunning lights along historic streets. The tour will return you to Oak Hill around 9:30pm where visions of sugarplums, sparkling lights and memories of Christmases long past will dance in your head. So grab someone special this Christmas season and take it all in on THE 2011 MAGIC OF CHRISTMAS TOUR OF LIGHTS

A holiday busload of family fun awaits you this year as L’Avventura Dolce rolls out the welcome wagon for the first annual Central Texas Magic of Christmas Tour of Lights. This year’s tour will leave from Oak Hill and take you on a relaxing voyage full of Christmas delights. The first stop on this Yuletide voyage will have you strolling through over two million twinkling points of festive cheer at the Marble Falls Christmas Walkway of Lights. The Walkway of Lights could be just the ticket when you are faced with the loss of Zilker Park’s Trail of Lights.

Killeen Real Estate Deal of the Week

Killeen Realtor, Dan Villarreal of Premier Properties, shares another Killeen real estate deal of the week...

This 4 bedroom, 2 bath home at 3604 Selena in southwest Killeen is an awesome deal at only $89,900.  The VA foreclosed home offers four spacious bedrooms, two full bathrooms and a large living room that's open to the kitchen and formal dining room.  In the living room is a beautiful fireplace and close by the kitchen is a computer nook. 

For more information on this and other Deal of the Week, visit Dan at www.FtHoodTexasHomes.com

stop...Elvis time

New Laws and the Homestead Exemption in Texas

Hey, Guys, here we are at the beginning of September and you know what that means...thanks to the hard work of your political heroes in Austin, a whole mess of new laws (nearly 700 of them) go into effect.  Following is an explanation of just one of the new laws that has an effect on real estate and what we do every day:

AUSTIN (Lubbock Avalanche-Journal, KXAN.com) – A state law that took effect yesterday has changed proof of residency requirements for homeowners applying for the property tax homestead exemption.

The new law requires applicants to provide a copy of their Texas driver’s license or state ID card and vehicle registration receipt. The documents must show the same address as the property for which the exemption is requested.

Applicants who do not own a vehicle must provide a copy of a utility bill with the correct address. They must also provide an affidavit stating he or she does not own a vehicle.

The new requirements also apply to applications for the over-65, disability, disabled veterans, homeowner’s surviving spouse and manufactured (mobile) home exemptions. They do not apply to homeowners who already have homestead exemptions.

Elvis Slept Here...

 

On this date in 1977 Elvis Presley left this world that he had impacted so much. All around the world fans will be celebrating his life today. As a tribute to the King of Rock and Roll, I would like to share this blog about Elvis Presley in Killeen, Texas.

For nearly six months in 1958, Elvis Presley was stationed at Fort Hood while completing basic and advanced military training. He left an entertainment career, where he was at the top of his game, to serve his country as a tanker. What a great American.

While Elvis was at Fort Hood, he lived with his parents on Oak Hill Drive in Killeen, a small town right outside the base. I grew up in Killeen and the fact that Elvis once lived here was a part of our small town lore. An older lady who lived on Oak Hill when Elvis lived there loved to share a story of how he used to have to get out of the car a couple blocks up the street, sneak down to the creek that runs behind the houses (including her house) and work his way down to the back of his parent's house to avoid all the girls on the street out front.

The house at 805 Oakhill in Killeen was listed for sale in 2003 and I had the pleasure of showing it. At that time it was in very good, mostly original condition. The kitchen and bathrooms were 1950's classics with all the modern ammenities of that time. The house sold agian in 2006 and that buyer "updated" the entire house (kitchen, bathrooms, etc.) to modernize it, and in essence destroyed what it is that made it a piece of Elvis history. In 2009 the house was listed and sold again, this time as a foreclosure.

While Elvis' time here may have been short, the effect on what was then a very small military and farming community was long reaching. Today, Killeen is still a military community, though no longer tiny, supporting one of the largest military bases in the free world. As such, the majority of our clients and customers are new arrivals to the area. One of the things I enjoy most is driving my new buyers by the "house where Elvis lived" and watching their shock that someone as large as Elvis once lived in a town as small as Killeen.

Richard W. Overall, Jr REALTOR
http://www.overallrealtor.com/

Can You See Yourself as a REALTOR?

Killeen-Ft Hood Area Home Prices Down Slightly

The Texas Association of REALTORS® has just released the Texas Quarterly Housing Report for the second quarter of 2011 which reflects what's going on in 47 of the state's markets. This latest report shows that while recent real estate prices indicate strength in the Texas market as a whole, the Killeen-Ft Hood market has not fared as well.

The median price of homes in the Killeen-Ft Hood market was $121,800, 2.71% lower than the same quarter of 2010. Statewide the median price was $150,400, 1% higher than the same quarter on 2010.  The average price of homes in the Killeen-Ft Hood area in 2011-Q2 was $126,780, 5.36% lower than 2010-Q2 versus Texas as a whole which had an average price of $201,288, or 4.6% higher than the second quarter of 2010.

The decrease in the average price of Killeen-Ft Hood, Texas homes seems to indicates more activity among lower priced homes. This interest in lower priced homes includes many investors buying foreclosed and distressed properties at below market value. Investors are returning to real estate as a preferred investment vehicle due to instability in other investments, such as stocks and bonds. 

Another important market indicator is the inventory of homes available for sale compared with the demand to

buy homes. The Killeen-Ft Hood area had 7.1 months of inventory in the second quarter of 2011 compared to 6.9 months in Q2-2010. Statewide, Texas had 8.1 month of inventory in the second quarter of 2011 versus 7.2 months of inventory in the second quarter of 2010.  A market with 6 to 9 months of inventory is considered to be in balance.

To find out more about the Killeen-Ft Hood real estate market or for information on how you can take advantage of these great home prices, please visit http://www.overallrealtor.com/ or call me today at 254-394-6637.

VA Foreclosures in Killeen, TX

Being that Killeen is home to Fort Hood, the largest military installation in the free world, it is no surprise that more Killeen homes are bought using VA guaranteed home loans than any other loan type. As such, and as might be expected, there are also more VA foreclosed homes in the Killeen area than any other type of foreclosed home.

A VA foreclosure happens when a veteran purchased a home using his/her VA entitlement to get a VA guaranteed loan and then defaults on the note. The name VA guaranteed loan is somewhat misleading since the guarantee is not to the veteran that he/she will get the loan, but guarantees the lender against loss of principal if the buyer defaults. The veteran must meet certain eligibility requirements from VA and financial qualification requirements from the lender.

When a veteran loses their home to foreclosure, it is taken back by the bank or lender servicing the loan at a trustee's sale (held the first Tuesday of every month on the courthouse steps). The lender then makes a claim to the VA, exercising their guarantee. The VA settles with the lender and takes ownership of the property. Once VA has ownership of the property, they turn it over to the VA Property Management Contractor (currently Bank of America) for disposal. Bank of America assigns the property to one of a network of local real estate offices to prepare the home for market. The process from the trustee's sale (actual foreclosure) to the house being available for sale can range from a few weeks to several months or longer.

If you are interested in VA, or any other Killeen foreclosures (and surrounding areas) you can get a complete FREE list of Harker Heights, Copperas Cove and Killeen foreclosed homes at http://www.overallrealtor.com/102/FREE-Foreclosure-List. You can also sign up for free daily email notices of new and changed foreclosure listings.

Motivation with Rory Vaden

How about a nice motivational wrap-up for the evening...

Have a wonderful evening, everyone

Property Tax Exemptions for Disabled Vets

Here in Killeen (and the surrounding Ft Hood area) we are very accustomed to seeing men and women who serve their country every day. Before I go any further, let me ask you to take a minute this week and just say thank you to one of these brave individuals.

Did you know that the state of Texas says thank you to those veterans with service-connected disabilities who own property in Texas by offering a property tax exemption up to 100%.  Following is information from the Texas Veterans Commission website:

Who qualifies?
Veterans with the following service-connected disability rating:

• 10%-30% First $ 5,000 of appraised value
• 30%-50% First $ 7,500 of appraised value
• 50%-70% First $ 10,000 of appraised value
• 70% & over First $ 12,000 of appraised value          
• 100% Rating or Individual Unemployability = 100% of appraised value     

Additional eligibility:

• Surviving spouses and minor children who are unmarried and under 21 years of age of a person who dies on active duty in the U.S. Armed Forces are eligible for an exemption of the first $5000 on the appraised value of their property.
• A veteran who has a disabilityrating of 10% or higher and who is 65 years or older is entitled to the maximum property tax exemption.
• A veteran whose disability consists of the loss of use of one or more limbs or total blindness in one or both eyes is entitled to the maximum exemption of $12,000.
• The surviving spouse of a deceased veteran, who at the time of death had a compensable disability and was entitled to an exemption, is also entitled to that exemption if the surviving spouse is unmarried but cannot receive 100% exemption.
• The exemption applies to the property until it changes ownership or the person’s qualification for the exemption changes. 

How to get it?

Fill out Form 50-135 and send to County Appraisal District. Proof of eligibility must accompany application. Applications for the exemption must be completed between January 1 and April 30. 

If you would like more information about what the Texas Veterans Commission does, just click the link http://texas-veterans.com/