What to file after buying a house? (Austin, West: asbestos, construction)

[Doc75]

Could someone point me to a list of things I'll need to file after buying a house in Travis County? Or just any general advice you have.

It looks like I might need to file a Name or Address Correction form according to Travis CAD, but I'm not 100% sure if that's necessary.

I appreciate it.

[CptnRn]

Contact Travis County Appraisal District here, make sure they have your correct address information:

Travis County Appraisal Distric
P.0. Box 149012
Austin, TX 78714-901

And you will probably want to fill out and send in the "Homestead Exemption Form". It will result in a substantial decrease in your property taxes. Travis Central Appraisal District

[Doc75]

Thanks Cptn. I file the homestead now, even though it won't count until 2011?

[CptnRn]

Property Tax assessments were only recently sent out to home owners to give them a chance to protest the valuations. Tax bills will be sent out to property owners near the end of 2010.

You can look up what the current assessed value of yours home is here.

Travis Central Appraisal District

If you feel the value is too high, based on what you purchased it for then you should protest. The actual price you paid is all you need to prove in this situation. If the assessed value they show is less then what you paid, that is fine, you have no obligation to tell them anything about what you paid for the property.

They may send you a form asking what you paid. You can ignore it unless you paid less, then you should respond to them in order to get your appraised value decreased.

Enjoy your new home.

[pjoseph2]

For a given property, anyone know what the values for Class mean? This is broken down under Segment information.

This is cryptic building code that TCAD uses. Is there a table somewhere that explains all of the values? This has to (most likely) be about building quality.

Just trying to get a handle on the data. Thanks..

[FalconheadWest]

The classes are:
M - Solid masonry or concrete block
WA- Wood frame, asbestos siding
WP- wood frame, plaster or stucco (may have brick or stone accenting)
WS- Wood frame, vinyl or aluminum or fiberboard siding
WW- wood frame, wood siding (may have brick or stone accenting)
WV- wood frame, veneer brick or stone

The numbers after the above letters are for the quality of construction with top of the line being 8.

[pjoseph2]

Thanks.. That really clears things up.

The numbers are also graded as (for eg.) 5-, 5, 5+

What piqued my curiosity was a newly constructed house out there with a class of XX9. Breaking new ground

[trayanh]

huh, checked a few, and seems most are WV or WV, 6. got to find a street with rating 8.

Originally Posted by FalconheadWest

The classes are:
M - Solid masonry or concrete block
WA- Wood frame, asbestos siding
WP- wood frame, plaster or stucco (may have brick or stone accenting)
WS- Wood frame, vinyl or aluminum or fiberboard siding
WW- wood frame, wood siding (may have brick or stone accenting)
WV- wood frame, veneer brick or stone

The numbers after the above letters are for the quality of construction with top of the line being 8.

[TexasHorseLady]

The Homestead Exemption Form is to be filed after January 1 the year after the year in which you purchase the house, NOT right away after purchasing the home. You have to live in the house on January 1 of the tax year in order to qualify.

The title company will usually give you a copy with all of the closing documents, your agent will likely send you one in January the next year, and you can download a copy from the appraisal district website. If you are living in the house and your mailing address is not that of the property, the appraisal district will use your address as the mailing address; they will get your name as the new owner when the title company files the documents.

A whole lot of this is taken care of at closing, as most people aren't expected to know what they're supposed to do in this regard when they buy a new home, which most folks only do a very few times in their lives. When you're under contract and during closing, both your agent and the escrow officer will be in contact with you about what you need to do.