Travis County Appraisal District

Today I went to an informal hearing to protest the appraised value of my home. I've never done it before, and I didn't know what to expect.

The deadline to file the protest was end of May, but they didn't schedule my hearings until October. The informal one was scheduled while I still had my right arm immobile, and I couldn't quite do all the research, and spread out papers, and write down calculations as I would have liked, so I skipped the scheduled hearing. Luckily, one can go to these informal hearings any time up until two days before the formal hearing. My formal hearing was scheduled for next Monday, so I decided to go to the informal meeting today.

Last year, my appraised house value jumped from $182K to $204K, but because my neighbourhood has a homestead exemption, it was only allowed to increase by 10%, so the value was modified to $200K. Then for this year they appraised it for $202K, which in the district's eyes is a decrease from $204K but for me it's an increase from $200K.

I spent a few hours last weekend getting my evidence in order. I came up with five points, and ordered them in what I thought was the correct relevance: Refinancing appraisal and square footage, comparable sales in the neighbourhood in the second part of last year, adjusted market value of the two sale comps of larger homes that the county used, and a flayer with comparables from a company which represents individuals at these protests.

Since I refinanced the house in February, the appraisal done at that time was my main support material. The bank appraised it for $187.5, and that's the value I was going after. But, I decided I would be satisfied if they meet me somewhere in the middle, ~$195K. The square footage of the house in the county's records was also some 37 SqFt more than the refinancing appraiser measured, and the blue print showed, so correcting that would also help lower the appraised value. I also did some calculations to get adjusted value for the larger homes that sold, and printed some graphs that showed the sale prices went down in the second part of the year (because the county's comparables were from the first six months). I made two copies of all the documents, stapled papers for each evidence separately, and labeled with paper markers. The copy for the county went into a manila folder where I used to keep my music sheets for adoration. (the only folder I had) :)

I expected to be at the district's office for at least an hour, given that I didn't have an appointment, and they told me there is always a wait. As I was pulling in, I saw two other people with their folders walk in, so I figured it's going to be busy inside. After I signed in, no more than couple of minutes went by before the lady called my name. Actually, she called out the property address, because she couldn't pronounce my name. She seemed very pleasant as we chatted on the way to her desk.

Her first observation as she looked at my account on line was that it went down from last year, which, as I said before, I didn't see as decrease. I told her about the refinancing and how the size is smaller than what they have. She tried to explain how they measure from the outside, and round the numbers, but all their measurements were pretty much the same as what I had. So, she recalculated it, and it came down by some 51 square feet, which automatically brought the value down by some four thousands.

Then she wanted to look at the bank appraisal papers. She checked the page with appraisers credentials and company stamps and then glanced at the page with the three other properties compared and the appraised value of my home at $187.5K. Then she just asked if I wanted her to change the record to that value. Just like that! She didn't even look at my calculations, graphs, other comparables.....I didn't need to present any more arguments. It was all over before I even realized. I was in and out of that county building in less than half an hour.

Ah, small victories. :)

Butterflies

Have you noticed in the last few weeks an increased number of butterflies in the air?

Apparently, these are (mostly) monarch butterflies on their annual migration to warmer Mexico for the winter.

I've become more and more aware of them while driving in the car. It just saddens me to see how many have ended their journey on my windshield. :(

The Splint Is OFF!

I am two-handed again! And I can type with both hands hands. Ah, the simple pleasures of freedom.

I had a visit with dr. Fincken yesterday afternoon. While waiting in his exam room, I noticed that on his diploma on the wall it says Doctor of Orthopathy Medicine. I've never heard of that expression before, so I asked the nurse what it means. It means he is trained much in the same way as M.D.s, with the emphasizes on muscles and skeleton! Yup, I landed with the bone doctor, who happened to be a general practitioner. So, I am glad I waited to see him this week, instead of my doctor who has little experience with fractures.

He examined my elbow movement capability, which was poor. I have a locked elbow and muscles that have not been stretched in three weeks. Then I got an X-ray and he said it looked really good. The bone had not moved, which is always a good thing. To be on the safe side, before letting me take the splint off, he wanted to consult with his orthopedist who was not available at the moment. All of his books said the splint should stay on for 6 weeks (yaiks!), but he thought it was too conservative.

So, until he gets the consult, I had to get back into the cast. Very reluctantly, but still with a sense of peace. The doc was going to call me that evening with a yay or nay. When he didn't call by 6 PM at work (I left his office at 5), I tried to dial in home and check my messages, but managed to turn off the answering machine by punching in the wrong numbers. Oh great, I thought, now he won't be able to leave the message! I had another night of interrupted sleep. On a related note, my left earlobe got injured from sleeping on the left side all the time, and has a painful red sore spot for the last week.

The good news came this morning. There was a message from the doctor at work phone (he never called last night) that I can loose the splint and the sling and start working on the motion of the elbow as much as possible! Yay, I am free again. :)

When You Pray For Patience...

...you may get what you asked for.

I've been counting down the days I have left till my 2 week follow up doctor's appointment. I was hoping he would tell me I can take the splint off early. In every challenge where I felt frustrated or self pitied, I would pray for patience and tell myself "You only have X days left till seeing the doctor" and "This too shall pass."

When I first scheduled the 2 week follow up, the doctor was all booked for the day that was 14 days after my initial visit, so I had to schedule for the 15th day, which was today. Then yesterday they called me from his office that he had a death in the family and is out today.

They were able to reschedule me on the short notice with my primary doctor later today. I waited some 20 min in the main waiting room, which was full with sick people with masks on their face, and I again felt anxious to get this over with. Then there was more waiting in the smaller room and a brief visit with the nurse. Then I heard the doc's voice outside saying her son has had a seizure in school and she had to leave right then. She came in to tell me the same and then took off. If the boy has the flu (his seizures are often triggered by fever), she is not coming back tomorrow.

All the doctors at their office were all booked for the day, and it was the same at the other location. I started to feel what this was. It was the answer to my prayer for more patience. So, when they almost frantically tried to book me for today at some facility in Round Rock or for an after hour urgent care clinic, I said no, I'll wait. I'll try again tomorrow with this doctor, and if she doesn't come to work then I'll try on Tuesday with the doctor who originally saw me. That will be one day before the three week mark, so I'll have bigger chances of having this thing taken off and not having to visit the doctor yet another time.

Yup, that's what you get when asking for more patience. :)

It's All Relative

The past two weeks with my right arm immobile were challenging. I long to wash my face with two hands, be able to sleep on my right side, use both hands when making a U-turn, and type with both hands.

But it's only one arm that I don't have a use of.

The other day in a restaurant I set next to a young man in a powered wheel chair. I observed him maneuver his dinner. His right arm was almost completely paralyzed, and he was using his left arm to hold the fork. Even the left arm was only partially functional, with the wrist locked in one position. He used the right arm as a support to prop the left arm to reach his plate and then bring the fork up to his mouth. He has probably done this for a long time, and has developed his system. It doesn't look easy, and it probably isn't.

Seeing this greater challenge I realized my situation is not that bad. It's all relative.

Fall Style

In this image I am sporting the latest fall fashion - pun intended. :)

The first week of fall I had a clumsy fall off of a ladder while painting the trim on the house. I fell with entire weight onto the right arm on the concrete, and cracked a bone in the elbow. I will have to wear this contraption for 3-4 weeks.

Fortunately, I am in no pain, but the life with only one, left arm functional, is far from normal. Any activity, from dressing up, grooming, driving, eating, using a mouse, even typing this, is a challenge and takes twice as long. The hardest on me was not getting enough sleep because I could only lay in one position and not be able to turn. Once a week I had my brother cook me a meal, because I can't even make a sandwich. I had another friend make me dinner two times, for which I am very grateful.

Overall, this has been a very humbling experience for this girl who thinks she can do everything herself and doesn't want to depend on anyone.