Just got done with another successful appraisal protest at the Travis Central Appraisal District office.
Unlike the last time, I felt unprepared this year. Last year I procrastinated with sending in a request for appeal until, literary, the last day, the last minute actually, and since it was past their last pick time for the day at the post office, the stamp showed one day later and the district rejected it. Well, this year, I at least sent in the form on time. But then I didn't think I have hard enough data to prove the appraised value was too high.
My house was appraised this year at $190,400. Down from $192K from last year, but I still thought that was high, and especially after I checked the value on Zillow.com and it showed to be around $150K at the beginning of the year. That was a huge drop from $215K in February '11, according to that web site. And not all the areas of my neighborhood showed that drop, so I knew I had to challenge that appraised value.
But my data gathering didn't really start until few days ago. There was one house on my street, very similar to mine, just a bit larger, that was on sale for $189,500, for more than a month, but then it seemed to just disappear from the market. Yesterday morning, I was able to find out that it actually sold for $182,500, with $10K extra to the buyer for repairs. I was going for $187,500 based on that house. That was actually my only argument, but I knew I needed more.
Then just yesterday afternoon, I learned that I wouldn't be able to use a sale from this year to protest the value appraised (but I will for next year!). I was able to get some comps from couple of realtors, and I felt my case was slowly building up. I also remembered, just yesterday, that I might be able to get the appraised value from the refinancing I did back in December, but since it was a no-closing cost refi, the bank didn't order the appraisal again, and just used the previous value of $187,500. Still, I thought that might help, and took with me the refinancing packet from the bank that showed that market value.
So, my 3 arguments for lowering the value to $187,500 were:
1. Market value of $187,500 the bank used
2. Slightly bigger house on my street sold for $182,500.
3. Dozen of comps that sold, or were listed but never sold, in that price range.
I realize a $3K decrease in value is very little, <$100 probably, in taxes, but I felt if I don't challenge this every year, the value just keeps going up, and little by little that adds up.
My informal hearing was scheduled for 8.30am. Reading back on my experience from 2 years ago, I was reminded that I can pretty much show up for this informal hearing any time. I was also surprised that this year I was scheduled 3 months earlier than last time, so I didn't know if that would mean more or less crowds. I showed up at the office at 8:52am, signed in and set down. I was the only one there waiting. In less than couple of minutes someone came and called my property out (again, didn't want to butcher my name), a nice man.
We chatted small talk a bit while he pulled up the records, how he used to live in that neighborhood, I asked about when the county lines were made (there was a map above our heads)... He then briefly showed me the 4 comps the county used. For some reason I didn't receive a copy of those when I requested the appeal (apparently, bellow a check-box, I was supposed to write on a line that I want those copies - good to know for next time). The values were bellow $180,000. He said, based on those, he could go down to $177,400! That's $13K decrease! and I didn't even open my packet, or make any arguments.
There were two houses sold on my street, bigger than mine, so the county calculated their adjusted values, and they were around there. I commented how I didn't even showed him my papers, but he said with that many properties on sale, they can just go by those. So he did. I just signed two papers, and was out by 9:00am.
Another quick and positive experience at TCAD. Another happy customer!
Wednesday, July 25, 2012
Thursday, July 19, 2012
Citizenship: In Que for Oath Ceremony
I was checking today the USCIS site to see if my case moved to the next stage, which is Decision, but it jumped from being in Testing and Interview stage few hours ago to Oath Ceremony just now.
Oath Ceremony
On July 19, 2012, we placed your application in the oath scheduling que. We will send a notice when the ceremony is scheduled.....
Naturalization Applicants: you will receive your certificate at your oath ceremony. You can expect to be scheduled for an oath ceremony within 45 days of receiving your recommended approval...
So exciting!
Oath Ceremony
On July 19, 2012, we placed your application in the oath scheduling que. We will send a notice when the ceremony is scheduled.....
Naturalization Applicants: you will receive your certificate at your oath ceremony. You can expect to be scheduled for an oath ceremony within 45 days of receiving your recommended approval...
So exciting!
Wednesday, July 18, 2012
Citizenship: The Interview
Today I had my citizenship interview. And I passed! :) It has been long day...
5:00 AM Alarm went off
I set the radio alarm, cell phone alarm, and home phone alarm. All 5 minutes apart, in that order. Since I didn't get a good night sleep the night before (because of a bizarre knocking noise that kept on throughout the night, me thinking it was an animal or termites or house moving because of all the rain - only to discover in the morning some bug was stuck on the window screen and was able to make so much noise by tapping her whatcha-ma-call-it claw thing in her mouth...) But I digress. I felt tired and went to bed early, 10PM the night before, but not being used to such an early bed time, had trouble falling a sleep. At some point, I heard my home phone alarm go off. I looked at it, and wondering why I didn't hear the other two first, I remembered that I never set the home phone clock correctly after the time change, and then panicked not knowing what time it really was, am I an hour late, ...and then looked over to my radio clock. It was 3:30 AM. It was just a dream! No alarm went off yet. Phew! I turned around, and, in what seemed like just a few moments, it was 5 and time for me to get up.
5:30 AM Left the house
The appointment was for 8 AM, in San Antonio. Which is just around the rush hour. I didn't want to risk it. Google Maps told me it should take about 1.30 min to get there. I gave me another 30 min cushion for the traffic, because I wanted to arrive 30 min before the appointment. Which meant, leave at this hour when there should be barely anyone on the road. But there was more traffic than I thought.
6:55 AM Arrived at the USCIS building in S.A.
Not a bad travel time at all. Under 90 min. No rush hour traffic in Austin, and just some delays for the last 10 miles. On the way, I listened to the CD with interview questions, and sipped on my coffee, trying to wake up. The location of this building is really not ideal for spotting when coming I35 N. To turn East under the highway, you come to an awkward stop sign, not a light. It's one of those two-way access roads, and there is a stop sign on the other side, too, with cars turning in directions you wouldn't expect them to. Then, that street merges into two others, and even though there is a sign right at the merge point for the INS building, there are two buildings with no obvious markings on them for what offices there are. Plus, some construction is going on over there, and there are orange blockades and no visitor parking signs... Needless to say, confusing, especially if you are running late. I was so glad I had time to spare. I asked couple of guards, who were getting ready to raise the flags, where to park, and then saw a huge vertical sign for address number of the building. I guess I just needed to look up.
7:40 AM Entered the USCIS building
To kill some time I drove around a bit, sat in the parking lot watching the sun rise (which is not really glamorous when it's behind buildings, fences, and power lines), and with all the moisture fogging the windows on the outside (again glad I didn't have to squirm through the windows while driving), I finally went inside. Went through the security screening, turned in my appointment letter, and set in the large waiting room. There were 4 other people in there already.
8:00 AM Announcement
In those 20 minutes, another at least 20 people walked in. Only 3 other caucasians. An officer then asked if anyone was without the appointment papers, and told us how they'll call us in a bit. The work day has started at the USCIS.
8:05 AM First name called
They started calling names, in no particular order it seemed. It actually even seemed as if they were calling people who arrived later, first. Possibly they just took the appointment letters from the top, as they were stacked when people walked in. Or maybe just those who were supposed to call us who arrived earlier were not ready yet.
8:20 AM My name was called
David, the officer handling my name, checked my green card, greeted me, and we took the elevator up to his office. We chatted on the way. He asked me if I still wanted to do this. Apparently, some people, he said mainly from the UK, change their mind at the last minute, even right before the oath ceremony. I said "yes, I am ready to get this over with". He seemed pleasant, held the door for me, pulled up the chair for me. When I set down, he told me I should actually remain standing until I take the oath! Should have remembered that from the video. I swore to tell the truth and nothing but the truth, and then set down.
We first went through the application, still chit-chatting every now and then, about how he almost went to Bosnia with the army, but instead ended up in Somalia. And about how he had to get up really early the other day, too, when he was staying in a hotel on an army base and they sing some song on the speakers and the crack of dawn. I was still not fully awake, so I don't remember what I had to say.
He asked me about my employer, marital status, children, if I had any taxes issues, tickets,...He asked if I had any travels since filling for the citizenship, and I understood he meant about all those travels I had in the last 5 years that I had to put in the application, so I said yes, only to realize after few moments what he actually meant. After giving good marks with red pen on all pages of the application, we were ready for the interview part.
He started asking me questions, while still looking between his computer screen and turning over application papers, and not really looking at me directly. He even joked right before it that since I am one of his educated clients, he will give me the hard questions. He didn't. Here are the questions he asked, in no particular order:
1. What is the name of our national anthem?
2. How old do citizens have to be to vote for President?
3. What major event happened on September 11, 2001, in the United States?
4. Why does the flag have 13 stripes?
5. What ocean is on the West Coast of the United States?
6. What is the “rule of law”?
This last question was actually somewhere in the middle, and I guess I just heard "law" and automatically went to "What is the supreme law of the land?" question and answered - the Constitution. As I said, I was not fully awake yet. He paused his looking through the papers and looked at me, I realized what I said, and corrected myself. He just said "you got me there for a second" and continued with the questions.
Passed the Civics test!
Next was the English reading and writing test. I had to read:
- How many Senators do we have?
and then, after he said it, I had to write
- We have one hundred senators!
Passed the English test!
Then I had to print and sign in cursive my full name (and while telling me what to do, he explained that cursive is to try to connect the letters as best as I could - duh) on a piece of scrap paper, and then, again after his detailed explanation of which goes which, sign it in the same way on some document. And we were done!
I asked when I can expect the oath ceremony. Since I live in Austin, he said it would probably be on Sep 25th, with several hundred other people. I think he said at the Palmer event center - but I am not positive. I asked if I could maybe move it so that my mom, who is coming in mid October, could come, but he said they can't wait that long. Plus, he said that they will send me a notice letter just 7 days before the oath, and she would have her ticket long before that, so if that date changes, she still wouldn't be here. I'll just stick with what they give me - it's not that important to mom to come.
We shook hands, he congratulated me, and then escorted me down. Those 20 minutes went by so quickly, and I wondered out loud about it.
8:40 AM (I usually just wake around this time!) Walked out of that USCIS building
Hopefully for the very last time!
I am so relieved I am done with all the paperwork and preparations, and all that is left is the oath ceremony!
Woohoo!
5:00 AM Alarm went off
I set the radio alarm, cell phone alarm, and home phone alarm. All 5 minutes apart, in that order. Since I didn't get a good night sleep the night before (because of a bizarre knocking noise that kept on throughout the night, me thinking it was an animal or termites or house moving because of all the rain - only to discover in the morning some bug was stuck on the window screen and was able to make so much noise by tapping her whatcha-ma-call-it claw thing in her mouth...) But I digress. I felt tired and went to bed early, 10PM the night before, but not being used to such an early bed time, had trouble falling a sleep. At some point, I heard my home phone alarm go off. I looked at it, and wondering why I didn't hear the other two first, I remembered that I never set the home phone clock correctly after the time change, and then panicked not knowing what time it really was, am I an hour late, ...and then looked over to my radio clock. It was 3:30 AM. It was just a dream! No alarm went off yet. Phew! I turned around, and, in what seemed like just a few moments, it was 5 and time for me to get up.
5:30 AM Left the house
The appointment was for 8 AM, in San Antonio. Which is just around the rush hour. I didn't want to risk it. Google Maps told me it should take about 1.30 min to get there. I gave me another 30 min cushion for the traffic, because I wanted to arrive 30 min before the appointment. Which meant, leave at this hour when there should be barely anyone on the road. But there was more traffic than I thought.
6:55 AM Arrived at the USCIS building in S.A.
Not a bad travel time at all. Under 90 min. No rush hour traffic in Austin, and just some delays for the last 10 miles. On the way, I listened to the CD with interview questions, and sipped on my coffee, trying to wake up. The location of this building is really not ideal for spotting when coming I35 N. To turn East under the highway, you come to an awkward stop sign, not a light. It's one of those two-way access roads, and there is a stop sign on the other side, too, with cars turning in directions you wouldn't expect them to. Then, that street merges into two others, and even though there is a sign right at the merge point for the INS building, there are two buildings with no obvious markings on them for what offices there are. Plus, some construction is going on over there, and there are orange blockades and no visitor parking signs... Needless to say, confusing, especially if you are running late. I was so glad I had time to spare. I asked couple of guards, who were getting ready to raise the flags, where to park, and then saw a huge vertical sign for address number of the building. I guess I just needed to look up.
7:40 AM Entered the USCIS building
To kill some time I drove around a bit, sat in the parking lot watching the sun rise (which is not really glamorous when it's behind buildings, fences, and power lines), and with all the moisture fogging the windows on the outside (again glad I didn't have to squirm through the windows while driving), I finally went inside. Went through the security screening, turned in my appointment letter, and set in the large waiting room. There were 4 other people in there already.
8:00 AM Announcement
In those 20 minutes, another at least 20 people walked in. Only 3 other caucasians. An officer then asked if anyone was without the appointment papers, and told us how they'll call us in a bit. The work day has started at the USCIS.
8:05 AM First name called
They started calling names, in no particular order it seemed. It actually even seemed as if they were calling people who arrived later, first. Possibly they just took the appointment letters from the top, as they were stacked when people walked in. Or maybe just those who were supposed to call us who arrived earlier were not ready yet.
8:20 AM My name was called
David, the officer handling my name, checked my green card, greeted me, and we took the elevator up to his office. We chatted on the way. He asked me if I still wanted to do this. Apparently, some people, he said mainly from the UK, change their mind at the last minute, even right before the oath ceremony. I said "yes, I am ready to get this over with". He seemed pleasant, held the door for me, pulled up the chair for me. When I set down, he told me I should actually remain standing until I take the oath! Should have remembered that from the video. I swore to tell the truth and nothing but the truth, and then set down.
We first went through the application, still chit-chatting every now and then, about how he almost went to Bosnia with the army, but instead ended up in Somalia. And about how he had to get up really early the other day, too, when he was staying in a hotel on an army base and they sing some song on the speakers and the crack of dawn. I was still not fully awake, so I don't remember what I had to say.
He asked me about my employer, marital status, children, if I had any taxes issues, tickets,...He asked if I had any travels since filling for the citizenship, and I understood he meant about all those travels I had in the last 5 years that I had to put in the application, so I said yes, only to realize after few moments what he actually meant. After giving good marks with red pen on all pages of the application, we were ready for the interview part.
He started asking me questions, while still looking between his computer screen and turning over application papers, and not really looking at me directly. He even joked right before it that since I am one of his educated clients, he will give me the hard questions. He didn't. Here are the questions he asked, in no particular order:
1. What is the name of our national anthem?
2. How old do citizens have to be to vote for President?
3. What major event happened on September 11, 2001, in the United States?
4. Why does the flag have 13 stripes?
5. What ocean is on the West Coast of the United States?
6. What is the “rule of law”?
This last question was actually somewhere in the middle, and I guess I just heard "law" and automatically went to "What is the supreme law of the land?" question and answered - the Constitution. As I said, I was not fully awake yet. He paused his looking through the papers and looked at me, I realized what I said, and corrected myself. He just said "you got me there for a second" and continued with the questions.
Passed the Civics test!
Next was the English reading and writing test. I had to read:
- How many Senators do we have?
and then, after he said it, I had to write
- We have one hundred senators!
Passed the English test!
Then I had to print and sign in cursive my full name (and while telling me what to do, he explained that cursive is to try to connect the letters as best as I could - duh) on a piece of scrap paper, and then, again after his detailed explanation of which goes which, sign it in the same way on some document. And we were done!
I asked when I can expect the oath ceremony. Since I live in Austin, he said it would probably be on Sep 25th, with several hundred other people. I think he said at the Palmer event center - but I am not positive. I asked if I could maybe move it so that my mom, who is coming in mid October, could come, but he said they can't wait that long. Plus, he said that they will send me a notice letter just 7 days before the oath, and she would have her ticket long before that, so if that date changes, she still wouldn't be here. I'll just stick with what they give me - it's not that important to mom to come.
We shook hands, he congratulated me, and then escorted me down. Those 20 minutes went by so quickly, and I wondered out loud about it.
8:40 AM (I usually just wake around this time!) Walked out of that USCIS building
Hopefully for the very last time!
I am so relieved I am done with all the paperwork and preparations, and all that is left is the oath ceremony!
Woohoo!
Tuesday, July 17, 2012
Memory of Queen Elizabeth Park
I was looking through some National Geographic pictures, from all over the world, and as soon as I saw this one.
And I instantly knew where it was from: Queen Elizabeth park. Because I've been there! And got almost the same pictures, sans their quality, of course. :) They still have the same place mats and chair covers.
.
And I instantly knew where it was from: Queen Elizabeth park. Because I've been there! And got almost the same pictures, sans their quality, of course. :) They still have the same place mats and chair covers.
.
Alas, no big trips this year for me, so far. I still have 10 days that I have to use up, or loose them, so I'll probably go for a week to Mexico with mom when she comes in the fall. And the rest of those 10 days...maybe I just take each Friday off!
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