San Antonio Area Property Tax Rates

They say it's bad for rankings to repeat a blog post, but the question of San Antonio area property tax rates keeps coming up, so, here's my past, but still current blog addressing that subject.

If you're moving to the San Antonio area, you’ll want to know about local taxes and the cost of registering your automobile and insuring your home. Here are the facts.

The area’s sales tax rate averages 8.125% but may vary a little between the various incorporated jurisdictions in and around San Antonio and Bexar County.

The real estate property tax varies between jurisdictions and is influenced mostly by the school tax component. Count on paying approximately 3% of your home's tax appraised value for the more costly school districts to as low as 2% or less for rural areas.

What about homeowner’s insurance? The cost will vary between insurers. As a rule of thumb, count on paying approximately .005 times your home’s value.

And now, what about the cost of bringing a non-Texas registered auto into the area? You’ll pay a registration fee of $60 to $90, a title application fee of $28 to $33 - depending on the county - and a new resident auto tax of $90. You’ll required to have the auto inspected. That will cost approximately $18.00.

Those are the facts.

We’re Stephanie and Randy Kelley, Realtors® of Keller Williams Legacy, San Antonio, Texas. If you have questions, need San Antonio realty or mortgage loan advice or assistance, or just want to chat a bit about the wonderful Alamo City, please call us at (210) 863-2661 or (210) 867-8743, or E-mail us at swkrealtor@aol.com or kelleybus@aol.com. Our SanAntonioHomeQuest.com Realty Solutions Team is always ready to help you with your home buying or selling needs.

The Fear Of Making A Wrong San Antonio Home Buying Decision

It's natural and understandable. Every home buyer is scared of making a wrong decision.

Why not? Buying a home is one life's most stressful decisions.

So, in today's oftentimes confusing market, how is the average home buyer insuring against making a wrong decision?

The answer is evident to anyone who works with realty consumers. Today's home buyer uses the Internet as the platform for becoming an informed and, hopefully, a more secure realty consumer.

Yes, the Internet is a good starting point; however, using the Internet as the sole information source to insure against making a bad decision is inherently risky, especially when it involves a critical financial decision like purchasing real estate.

Let's face it. The Internet is a deep well of facts and fallacies, and, for both the uninitiated and the repeat home buyer, getting the complete picture and sorting Internet truth from fiction is a daunting task.

Unfortunately, many Internet reliant home buyers become over confident. Empowered and emboldened with online information about home values, neighborhoods, and home buying processes and procedures, they charge into the realty market place, knowing much, yet rarely knowing everything they need to know.

So, what's a home buyer to do - stop using the Internet's vast realty research capability? Certainly, not! Use it skeptically? Absolutely - plus seek the advice and assistance of a reliable person who knows the difference between Internet fiction and realty fact.

The most reliable source for separating Internet truth from fiction is a trained, experienced, and licensed real estate professional such as a realty attorney, real estate broker, or a real estate agent. All can answer the questions, set the expectations, and activate the procedures that are so critical for a successful and frustration free home buying experience.

Naturally, most homebuyers seek out a real estate broker or agent.

Selecting the right real estate agent is critical. It's best to use someone with the Realtor® designation, signifying the broker or agent holds the highest legal and professional duty to protect realty consumer interests.

So, to relieve home buying fear and anxiety, there's a simple formula. A trusted Realtor®, plus the right knowledge base and tools, equals the right decision.

We help San Antonio area home buyers and sellers be informed and capable realty decision makers. We are Stephanie and Randy Kelley, Realtors® of Keller Williams Legacy. For the best realty services, call us at (210) 863-2661 (Randy) or (210) 868-9743 (Stephanie) or email us at kelleybus@aol.com or swkrealtor@aol.com. You're also invited to visit our website at sanantoniohomequest.com for reliable and informative home buying and selling information.

San Antonio Mortgage Loan News

Here's great news!

Have you recently been denied a mortgage loan to purchase a San Antonio home because your credit score wasn't high enough?

Maybe we can get you qualified.

W.R. Starkey Mortgage can help prospective home buyers who have a credit score of 580 or higher!!

Rates are great - Low 4%.

We can also help you refinance a home.

Apply on line www.shannoncollier.com

Shannon Collier
Senior Loan Officer
NMLSR # 232124
Office: (210) 545-9300 ext 235
eFax: 1-866-703-8734
scollier@wrstarkey.com
WR Starkey Mortgage, LLP
NMLSR # 2146
12500 San Pedro Avenue, Suite 100
San Antonio, TX 78216

Mortgage Loan Information For San Antonio Home Buying And Selling

Are you looking to buy or sell a San Antonio area home?

Here's some mortgage loan basics you need to know:

Today (24 August 2011), mortgage interest rates are at an all time low. Bankrate.com cites the following national averages:

• 30 year fixed 4.19%


• 15 year fixed 3.43%


• 5/1 ARM 2.92%

Here are the loan limits for Federally insured mortgage programs for single family homes in the San Antonio area:

• VA $417,000


• FHA $332,500 now, but goes down to $287,500 on 1 Oct 11 (better act quick if you're a buyer)

Contact us if you have questions about applying for a mortgage loan or to get our recommended lender list.

We’re Stephanie and Randy Kelley, Realtors® at Keller Williams Legacy, San Antonio, Texas. If you have questions about San Antonio real estate or just want to chat a bit about our wonderful Alamo City, please call us at (210) 863-2661 or (210) 867-8743, or E-mail us at swkrealtor@aol.com or kelleybus@aol.com. Our experienced Realty Solutions Team is always ready to help you with your home buying or selling needs. Visit us at http://sanantoniohomequest.com .

Zillow Home Valuations For San Antonio Homes For Sale

For our friends at Zillow, here's an explanation of this blog's purpose.

It isn't intended to slam your excellent service in any way. Simply, its purpose is to answer a very good question recently posed to us by a some San Antonio home buyers.

Their question is this. How accurate is Zillow's Zestimate® home valuation program for San Antonio homes?

The answer is easy - Zillow's accuracy is very low.

How do we know? Zillow says so; in fact, on the Zillow.com website, it acknowledges its Zestimates® are not very accurate for almost all Texas homes.

So, why can't we rely on Zillow's Zestimates® for Texas homes?

Here's why.

Zillow uses a secret formula to calculate a home's estimated value. The formula relies on complete and accurate data from counties and cities. Although the formula is secret, it's not hard to guess that recent sales price data for homes sold in the area is a vital component of the calculation.

Now, in most states, getting that information is no problem because it's legally required to file a home's sales price as a matter of public record. But, Texas is one of the few states in the Nation where that's not required. So, when Zillow's Zestimate® program looks for the publicly recorded home sales price data for Texas cities, it comes up empty handed.

What's the result of missing that vital data when calculating a Zestimate® for a Texas residential property. Usually, the outcome is an unreastically low Zestimate valuation.

So, if you want to know what a home is worth in Texas, there are two alternatives. The best choice is to hire an appraisal by a licensed real estate appraiser. The second best choice is to ask a local Realtor® who has access to the most recent homes sales data from the local Multiple Listing Service (MLS).

If you are looking to sell or buy a San Antonio home, we'll be glad to provide our best home value opinion. Contact us if you need one.

We’re Stephanie and Randy Kelley, Realtors® at Keller Williams Legacy, San Antonio, Texas. If you have questions, need San Antonio realty or mortgage loan advice or assistance, or just want to chat a bit about our wonderful Alamo City, please call us at (210) 863-2661 or (210) 867-8743, or E-mail us at swkrealtor@aol.com or kelleybus@aol.com. Our SanAntonioHomeQuest.com Realty Solutions Team is always ready to help you with your home buying or selling needs.

Facts For San Antonio Home Buyers

Here are some facts for home buyers thinking about moving, or on the way, to San Antonio.

San Antonio has long been identified as one of America's most unique cities.

It isn't small, in fact, it's the nation's 7th largest city, yet there's still a small town feel in many of its unique and culturally diverse neighborhoods.

The city goes by many names - San Antonio (of course), The Alamo City, Military City USA, The River City, and, most recently, America's Military Medical City. Just don't call it San Antone (San An Tone). The natives hate that pronunciation!

San Antonio is the home of 3 major military bases and some smaller military camps and posts, so, as you'd expect, it has a relatively young military age population. City-Data.com cites 34.7 years as the median resident age. The neighborhoods closest to the military bases tend to have a much younger population.

Of course, as a sun belt city, it is a major relocation site for retiree families seeing a warm climate and relatively low cost of living.

Speaking of cost, for buyers needing a mortgage loan, there's an ample supply of trustworthy lenders. Landing a loan is another issue. Underwriters are picky-picky-picky nowadays. They seem to go out of their way to deny loan applications. Naturally, buyers with the very best income and credit scores have no problem obtaining their loans. On the other hand, even the smallest blemish on a buyer's credit report or an irregular income flow can be the kiss is death for getting a mortgage loan. So, before you go San Antonio house hunting, talk with a lender about your chances of getting your mortgage loan.

What about the availability of newly built and resale homes?

San Antonio has an ample supply of home builders eager for business as well a many available resale homes. Historically, the area's real estate market has favored new home builders because their freshly built products have proven more competitive than resale homes. A recent offsetting trend has seen San Antonio area builders putting less available new home inventory on the ground, indicating the builders are now satisfied with marketing to buyers who can afford the time to contract for a to-be-built home.

What about commute time to affordable neighborhoods? Basically, the Alamo City's commute times and distances are nothing compared to other large metro areas. Although the San Antonio metropolitan area is large and very spread out, buyers can usually find quality affordable housing within a 20 to 30 minute commute to work.

How about recreation and shopping amenities? No problem! San Antonio is one of the nation's top destination cities for tourism and shopping.

Finally, what about friendliness and newcomer acceptance? Again, no problem! Cities with large military populations aren't known to shut out newcomers. After all, San Antonio is Military City USA. So, don't expect a newcomer to find rejection. Everybody's welcome!

Do you want more information? Just let us know and we'll fill in the details.

We're Stephanie and Randy Kelley, Realtors® of Keller Williams Legacy, San Antonio, Texas. If you have questions, need San Antonio area realty or mortgage loan advice or assistance, or just want to chat a bit about our wonderful Alamo City, please call us at (210) 863-2661 or
(210) 867-8743, or email us at swkrealtor@aol.com or kelleybus@aol.com. Our sanantoniohomequest.com Realty Solutions Team is always ready to help you with your home buying and selling needs.

San Antonio CPS Energy Asks All To Conserve Power

All local news media have passed along this 2 August 2011 power conversation request from San Antonio's CPS Energy.

Rate payers are asked to take steps to conserve their electric power usage between the hours of 3:00 P.M. and 7:00 P.M.

Why? The Electric Reliability Council of Texas (ERCOT), warns there is a risk of overloading Texas' power grid because of the extreme heat wave gripping the state. Overloading the grid will necessitate initiating rolling power blackouts throughout the state.

Here's what's recommended:

Turn off unnecessary lights, appliances and electronic equipment.

Set thermostats to 78 degrees or higher.

Use the dishwasher, laundry equipment and other appliances only during non-peak hours, preferably during the late evening and night time hours.

Instead of using high energy consuming ovens and range tops, microwave food whenever possible.

Keep drapes and blinds closed.

More information is available at http://cpsenergy.com

This public service blog is brought to you by Stephanie and Randy Kelley, Realtors® of Keller Williams Legacy, San Antonio, Texas. If you have questions, need San Antonio area realty or mortgage loan advice or assistance, or just want to chat a bit about the wonderful Alamo City, please call us at (210) 863-2661 or (210) 867-8743, or email us at swkrealtor@aol.com or kelleybus@aol.com. Our sanantoniohomequest.com Realty Solutions Team

August 2011 San Antonio Realty Market Report

2011's very hot and very-very dry San Antonio July has passed.

Because of South Texas' drastic drought, we're lucky the Alamo City can still claim its River City nickname. But tourists and natives need not fear, the San Antonio River is flowing well and the famous River Walk is open for business as usual.

Has the area's unusually arid summer cooked its realty market. Not at all. In fact, compared to the preceding summer seasons, July's closed home sales and August's pending sales reflect a relatively active real estate market for San Antonio and the surrounding communities.

August usually heralds the end of realty high season around here and, based on many years experience, home buyers and sellers can expect to see a cooler, more casual, and less aggressive low season for new and resale home sales.

Will the coming fall and winter season see the market continuing many months of favoring home buyers over sellers?

Perhaps not, because there are increasingly strong indications that the market is drifting toward a more balanced condition.

Specifically, the homes for sale inventory has decreased markedly. That means less competition for sellers and fewer opportunities for buyers.

Also, 2011 has seen the return of the area's typical 2% to 3% home value appreciation rate. That means sellers are less likely to consider low ball offers and more likely to expect a sales price that's closer to their asking price. Consequently, in the near term, buyers can expect to encounter less seller flexibility and harder negotiations.

Clearly, San Antonio has weathered the late great recession very well. The area's past economic and demographic trends and its long term projections reflect a large and vibrant metropolitan area with a strong, stable, and growth oriented personality.

The Alamo City area realty market is expected to follow suit.

That's all for our August 2011 San Antonio realty market report. We encourage reader comments and recommendations about how to make our reports more informative and useful.

We're Stephanie and Randy Kelley, Realtors® of Keller Williams Legacy, San Antonio, Texas. If you have questions, need San Antonio area realty or mortgage loan advice or assistance, or just want to chat a bit about the wonderful Alamo City, please call us at (210) 863-2661 or (210) 867-8743, or email us at swkrealtor@aol.com or kelleybus@aol.com. Our sanantoniohomequest.com Realty Solutions Team is always ready to help you with your home buying and selling needs.