Talking with Taylor

Volume 1, Issue 4 September 2011

New Homestead Exemption

changes - Keep Yourself Updated!

The application process for a homestead exemption in Texas is about to grow more complex.

Earlier this year, Texas Legislature approved new standards of mandatory disclosure for any kind

of homestead exemption. Starting Sept. 1, those new rules go into effect. Prior to Sept. 1, a

homestead exemption was relatively easy to obtain; a property owner simply filled out an application.

Now, home buyers will have to follow new rules and provide more proof that they are eligible for

the claimed exemption.

In order to receive a homestead exemption for property tax purposes, applicants must now provide

a copy of their TX driver’s license or TX state-issued ID and a copy of vehicle registration receipt

with their application. In addition, the addresses on each of the documents must be the same as the

address for which the homestead exemption is sought.

The new requirement that takes effect on Sept. 1 is required for any one of the several ways property

owners can qualify for a residential property homestead. These include: General residential exemption;

Over-65 exemption; Disability exemption; 100% disabled veterans exemption; Extension of exemption

for a surviving spouse; Exemption for a manufactured (mobile) home.

Source:

To avoid any confusion, www.hcad.org will be updated

with these new requirements on Sept. 1, and will help

with all questions!

Moving? Concerned

About School Districts

for your child?

www.GreatSchools.org is a national website, providing beneficial resources parents of all ages. The

feature that I use the most for my clients is the review and rating overview. While not all schools have too

many reviews yet, it still helps parents out who are not familiar with local school districts. Visit the web

site (signing up with Great Schools is free!), pass the word around, write your own reviews, and take

advantage of this site! The reviews are mainly from other parents, which is one of the best tools to

researching any school for your child. Great Schools also provides state test scores, community

involvement and volunteering ideas, homework help and activities, parenting dilemmas and challenges,

a mobile app, and even gets in to prepping for college.

Congratulations on your successful move!

Kayla Rowbury, Katie

Harvilchuck, and Aaron Parsons

I hope everyone had a great summer, and that you’re back

in the swing of things! Ready for football games I hope!

September

Overview

Homestead Exemption Changes

School Districts

9/11 - 10 year Memorial

Taylor’s Treats

Local Restaurant

Spotlight:

My favorite restaurant to share this month is Cluckers. For those of you who don’t live in the Tomball or Cypress area, Cluckers is a

burger/wings/almost-anything sports bar. The Cypress location is more convenient for me,

so they definitely get my business. I always like to order fried pickles (If you still haven’t tried

these - You must at Cluckers!), crunchy chicken tacos with spicy ranch, and curly fries. Their

regular fries aren’t bad, but the curly ones are much more crunchy. Stop by for a yummy

happy hour, wings for a football game, or just a quick lunch!

Taylor Skidmore Texas Realtor® 8817 Louetta Rd. Spring, TX 77379

Direct: 281-728-6806

Email: taylor@realestatewithtaylor.com

Web: www.realestatewithtaylor.com

Blog: blogs.har.com/TaylorSkidmore

New Food Pyramid?

It’s not so much a pyramid anymore though...it’s a plate. Half of our

meals are supposed to be fruits and veggies, and the rest is protein,

grains, and dairy. That’s right, no

sweets...sad day. It also is supposed

to keep us focused on portion control -

one of the best habits to get into. So

without further ado, here is the “new

food pyramid” - What’s your take on it

and have you started following these

portions?

Memorial: Sunday, September 11,2011 We probably all know that this September 11th will be 10 years since the US was attacked. But,

in case you haven't heard, over the past 10 years many decisions, plans, and controversies have arose

as to what to “do” with Ground Zero. It was finally decided that the new World Trade Center will have 5 new skyscrapers, a National September 11th Memorial and Museum, a transportation hub, a retail

complex, and a performing arts center. The Memorial will have two reflection pools in place of the two

original twin towers, each etched with all 2,980 victims from the attacks of Feb. 26, 1993 and Sept.

11, 2001 - These pools and the forever-engraved names will be revealed on the 10 year Anniversary of

9/11. As for the rest of the grounds, the museum will open next September and progress on the 5 sky-

scrapers are still in effect. The anticipated 1 World Trade Center (Building 1 of the new 5) will be the tallest in America - To read more details and updated progress, visit www.wtc.com and

www.911memorial.com. As for the 10 year anniversary this September, these major stations will air

their own tributes on Sunday evening:

7:00 pm:. Making the 9/11 Memorial (History Channel)

7:00 pm: 9/11: 10 Years Later (CBS)

7:00 pm: 9/11: In Our Own Words (MSNBC)

8:00 pm: 20/20: 9/11 Anniversary (ABC)

8:00 pm: The Space Between (USA)

9:21 pm: Twin Towers (USA)