HOUSTON – Home Sweet Home.
It’s what Matt Dernoga and his partner have been saying to each other for the last 10 days.
“We saved for a long time, and we were very picky. And so, we’re really happy with this. I think we made very few compromises,” explained Dernoga.
And now that the boxes are unpacked and the kitchen is picture-perfect – it’s time to talk about taxes and property value.
“I’ve spoken to my husband just the other day, and he said, ‘What was the thing that the guy at the tile company said that we had to do for taxes? I cannot remember what it’s called. I think it was the homestead, thing,’” said Dernoga.
So we took Matt’s questions to Michael Berlanga, a real estate broker and senior property tax consultant to get answers.
Am I eligible for a Homestead Exemption?
“You’ve got people over 65, you have disabled veterans, a partial-to-full disability, and you have the surviving spouses of disabled vets,” explained Berlanga.
There’s also a General Residential Exemption, but you have to be in your home on January 1 and Dernoga moved in after that. So it turns out in this case – the Homestead exemption wouldn’t apply.
Not all houses are equal – so what does that mean for you and your property value?
“If you look around, you see homes that are in new construction and homes that look like they’ve not been renovated since they were built 80 years ago. So. It’s an interesting sort of area right now,” explained Dernoga
Experts say, this does play a role in your property value and you can always see the appraisal the district is using by filing a protest.
Document what annoys you
While Matt is in love with his home, experts say, ask yourself what irritates you about your home or neighborhood because the answer may save you money.
“There are a lot of things happening, here with, like new commercial spaces opening up a lot of homes that are getting renovated in that type of thing. But it’s so patchwork. So, for example, you know, I walk my dog down the street and the sidewalk disappears into someone’s front yard,” Dernoga said.
Which is why you always want to take pictures of any problems that you think may lower your home’s value.
“You want to show them something because many people are more visual. So when you go in front of the appraisal review board – you want to make sure they can see it. Some are more visual and the other half are more analytical. So pictures are going to gain more empathy in making an adjustment,” Berlanga.told KPRC news.