All Forum Posts by: Stan Hill

 Brandon: I am 99% certain that is the case in Collin County. I remember we moved in our house in early 2000, did the homestead exemption some time later that year and were told it was retroactive to January 1.

@Hattie Dizmond

I'm with you, Hattie. When I left California in the late 90s, there was an actual industry that moved companies from California to Nevada. 

I was born, raised and lived 30 years in southern California. It's a beautiful state. I also know, having been involved in a family business there for years, the state is pretty hostile to business. Overall, to California state and local governments, business is an area to be shaken down, grabbed the ankles, turned upside down and shaken to see what can come out.

I couldn't help but laugh when I saw Toyota was moving its US headquarters here. I believe some other company, smaller but still about 400 jobs, also moved here from California. Texas is the economic frontier California was 30-40 years ago. While we don't have the beautiful beaches and mountains, I am still happy to live here. It would literally take winning the lottery for me to move back to California where the rest of my family lives.

Mike, the problem with that is that Texas doesn't have a state income tax. As such, it would be difficult to pass.

Reform also depends on where you are standing. In Garden Grove, you're probably not terribly concerned about the toll road madness in the Dallas area. As a family with 4 cars, we have spent up to $280 in a month on tolls just getting to work and living our lives.

Don't get me wrong, I'd love to see some limitations on tax growth. And frankly, more people would probably stake out your position on property taxes.

@Chris Martin

Chris, excellent advice. I have gotten to where I Google TONS of stuff. I had a message light come on on a washing machine. I googled it and found a youtube video on how to fix it. It was ten minutes, a screwdriver, no parts and I'm sure I saved at least $100 on a repair men. A few years ago I got tired of paying roofing guys $150 - $300 to replace missing shingles. Another youtube video showed how easy it is. Admittedly, I still don't like crawling up there sometimes. But when I tell the guys I usually do it and have extra shingles, the price drops drastically. 

I would include the following:

a) tenant is completely responsible for maintaining garbage disposal. 

b) tenant will pay first X dollars for repairs. However, this one can be tricky. Let's say there's a slow water leak under the kitchen sink or another incident where the tenant may want to put off calling. Either be careful with the wording or leave it off.

I have to say: I don't practice what I preach- yet. I have three pretty awesome tenants who rarely call. I've simply resisted adding caveats or raising rents because they are so low maintenance. These are simply items I will put in my next contracts with new tenants.

@Ned Carey  Excellent, Ned. My personal scenario is this: if it's so awesome I gotta get it now, I'm probably too emotionally involved with this property, need to back way off and take a good, cold hard look at things. There's always going to be another awesome deal out there.

@Frank Caputo I would ask what the HOA fees and what exactly they cover. For example, we have two small 615 sf condos and the HOA fees are about $270 month. Wow, pretty high! Yeah but that covers all utilities, basic cable and HVAC maintenance. Your property being in a low income area, it likely isn't that inclusive an HOA. However, it is still important to know where you stand and what the costs cover.

 I don't see a lawyer taking this non-case on contingency. The application wasn't completed in full, so you can't even consider them as a tenant. End of story.

@Kimberly H.

Already doesn't want background check. Trust your PITA instincts. PASS.

@Nilesh Makhija

Nislesh I have definitely had questions asked that lead me to believe all of what you stated is true. I think that Texas may also have different regulations on banking. I was on the phone one bank in California- I think it was Union Bank. All was going well until I mentioned Texas.