Register Real Estate Advisors

TEXAS (Texas General Land Office) – The Texas Veterans Land Board (VLB) has voted to increase its home and land loan limits.

Texas veterans can now borrow up to $417,000 to buy a home and up to $100,000 for the purchase of land. Both options are available as low-interest loans.

The VLB has also reduced the minimum acreage allowed in its land purchase program. Lots as small as one acre are now eligible.

Information on the loan program can be found at the Veterans Land Board website.

Register Real Estate Advisors is a proud member of the Greater Houston Association of Builders. As the GHBA celebrates Professional Designation Month RREA decided to outline some of our Realtor Designations. At RREA, Shannon Register is both the Broker and Owner. A Broker’s License is probably the highest real estate designation available. We have several Realtors in our brokerage that are Broker Associates (they have a Broker’s license.) Another one of Shannon’s designations is the GRI – Graduate Realtor Institute. This designation includes training in marketing, brokerage, and general real estate buying and selling. The ABR – Accredited Buyer’s Representative Designation makes Realtors an expert when it comes to working with buyers. Shannon also has completed the Texas Realtor’s Leadership Program and is certified to work with the Texas Veterans Land Board. Many of our agents can work with Texas Vets. Shannon has been certified in new home construction sales. Through the local board of Realtors, she is a Social Media Pro. Through the National Association of Realtors she has her ePro Designation. In addition to all of these, Shannon holds the Short Sale and Foreclosure Certification and the Certified Distressed Property Expert Designation. Many of the RREA Agents have their ABR and CDPE. The Certified Negotiation Expert is another one that many of our agents have. This is an important one because you want whoever the Realtor is that is representing you to be a good negotiator. Shannon is also an Accredited Luxury Home Specialist. This designation is for Realtors who work with consumers that are purchasing homes over $400K in the Houston Market. When choosing a Realtor or Broker to represent you with your real estate needs, you want to choose one that is educated in that area and will work for you. To learn more about RREA’s agents, you can read their profiles at rrea.com/team.

Did you know that Veterans with qualifying service-connected disabilities are eligible to have some of their property taxes waived?  Yes, Veterans with disabilities can get property tax exemptions!  To qualify you need to be a Veteran with the following service-connected disability rating:

• 10%-30% – First $5,000 of appraised value
• 30%-50% – First $7,500 of appraised value
• 50%-70% – First $10,000 of appraised value
• 70% & over – First $12,000 of appraised value
• 100% Rating or Individual Unemployability – 100% of appraised value

These are some other qualifications:

• Surviving spouses & kids who are not married that are under the age of 21 (parent had to die on active duty) – exemption of the first $5,000 on the appraised value of their property.
• Veterans who have a disability  rating of 10% or higher & who are 65 years or older are entitled to the maximum property tax exemption.
• Veteran whose disability consists of the loss of use of one or more limbs or total blindness in one or both eyes is entitled to the maximum exemption of $12,000.
• The surviving spouse of a deceased veteran, who at the time of death had a compensable disability & was entitled to an exemption, is also entitled to that exemption if the surviving spouse is unmarried but cannot receive 100% exemption.
• The exemption applies to the property until it changes ownership or the person’s qualification for the exemption changes.

To qualify for any exemption as a disabled Veteran you will need to complete a Form 50-135 & mail it to the County Appraisal District.  Proof of eligibility must accompany the application.  Applications for the exemption must be completed between January 1 and April 30.

Did you know that over half of the agents at Register Real Estate Advisors are Texas Veterans Land Board Certified Realtors? If you are a Texas Veteran, our agents can help you buy property or a home at a lower rate than the traditional Veterans Loan.

If you are a Veteran and you’re thinking about moving to the Houston Area, you will want to know where the local offices are located for Veterans Services. Below you will find more information about those locations. If you are interested in talking with one of RREA’s experienced Texas Veterans Land Board Certified Realtors, pleaes call us today at 281.288.3500.

Conroe Community-Based Outpatient Clinic
800 Riverwood Ct. Ste. 100
Conroe, Texas 77304
936.522.4000

Michael E. DeBakey VA Medical Center
2002 Holcombe Blvd. Room 2A-112
Houston, Texas 77030
713.794.7785

VA Regional Office
6900 Almeda Rd.
Houston, Texas 77030
713.383.2756

Harris County Services
9418 Jensen Dr. Ste 200
Houston, Texas 77093
281.876.6600

Montgomery County Services
2247 N. First St. Ste 219
Conroe, Texas 77301
936.539.7842

TYLER (Texas Veterans Land Board) – Generations of veterans gathered Wednesday in Tyler to dedicate what Texas Land Commissioner Jerry Patterson called a “one-of-a-kind” home for Texas veterans. Patterson said Watkins-Logan-Garrison Texas State Veterans Home is “nothing less than a model for the future of long-term care.” What makes the facility unique? It’s the only state veterans home in Texas that consists of ten cottages, each centered around an open kitchen and one common building. Family-style meals will be served at the table, and residents can enjoy each other’s company afterward in a large living room with a fireplace. “The kitchen is the heart of any home,” Patterson said. “Instead of one large, hospital-like facility, Watkins-Logan-Garrison Texas State Veterans Home draws residents together around the dinner table every day, just like at home.”
The Tyler facility was built on 20 acres donated by the University of Texas Health Science Center at Tyler. A grant from the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs paid for 65 percent of the construction costs. The remainder was covered by a grant from the Veterans Land Board.
The home was named in honor of three local heroes, two Medal of Honor recipients and a Tuskegee airman: Travis Earl Watkins, James Marion Logan and Samuel M. Garrison. It joins seven other Texas State Veterans Homes across the state in Amarillo, Big Spring, Bonham, El Paso, Floresville, McAllen and Temple. For more on this story, listen to Edie Craig’s “Small Towns, Big Deals” report on this week’s Real Estate Red Zone podcast.

HOUSTON (Houston Business Journal http://houston.bizjournals.com/houston/stories/2009/09/28/daily35.html ) – A 1.1-million contract has been awarded by the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs to Austin-based RVI Planning to prepare construction documents for the fourth phase of development for the Houston National Cemetery.  The project at Veterans Memorial Dr. will develop about 20 acres of the 44-year-old cemetery into new burial sections and also calls for construction of a new public information center and restrooms, a committal shelter, access roads and parking, water distribution and irrigation systems, utilities, fencing, signs and landscaping.  Other improvements will include repairs to existing roads and storm sewers, upgrades to the existing electrical distribution system and improvements to the existing maintenance facility.  The design project is scheduled for completion in spring 2010.

AUSTIN (North Texas e-News) – A new law allows certain Texas veterans to apply for exemption from 100 percent of their local property taxes. The exemption applies only to the person’s residential homestead property.

Under HB 3613, which became law during the recent legislative session, the homeowner must receive 100 percent disability compensation from the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs to qualify for the exemption.

To apply, veterans must complete the State Comptroller’s Form 50-764 and submit it to the appraisal district office along with a copy of their driver’s license or ID card and a copy of the VA Disability Award Letter from the Department of Veteran Affairs showing the 100 percent service-connected disability.

I am a Realtor trained in the Texas Veteran’s Land Board.  If you are a Texas Veteran and need assistance with real estate, please do not hesitate to call me for help.  I can assist you with buying, selling, getting financing, and much more.  You can visit the Texas Veteran’s Land Board web site  below for more information about the programs they offer.

http://www.glo.state.tx.us/vlb/