hail damage to your home

That was quite a hail storm last week. Not sure how your place fared, but I did have one tree clip the corner of one of my houses. Not too much damage, but still will be quite a job to get it fixed. When talking to my insurance company about it, I mentioned that I had another house in the area with no visible damage (from the ground) but definitely was in the path of the hail. They suggested that I get it checked out by an insurance adjuster just in case, b/c they may see something that I won’t be able to.

So if your house got hit by the hail, it may be good to call your insurance company to check it out just in case. You don’t want a small problem now to turn into something bigger in the future.

great website for austin data

I found a great website today, http://www.city-data.com/. On it you can find out all kinds of information about any city in the US. The info is demographics, real estate, incomes, rankings, activities, pretty much any thing you can think of. I've seen a lot of sites that list informatioin for cities, but never one this comprehensive.

It also has some pretty cool 'Top 100' rankings by city. Rankings range from best colleges to fastest growing to longest commutes.

Check it out, you'll enjoy it!

watch out for offers to get you a copy of your deed

I've been getting a new kind of junk mail recently, and have been getting some every week or two. They are offers to get me a copy of my deed. The mailing says how important it is to have a copy of my deed, and in this they are correct. However they want to charge $60 to give me a copy of it.

There is no reason to pay someone to get a copy. First I have a copy of the deed to my house already in the closing package that I got from the title company when I closed. Even if I had lost that, I can call the title company and they can send me a copy of it. And say I forgot who the title company was, deeds are public records so I can get a copy from the County.

Just another scam to watch out for. If you get mailings like this or other, please feel free to run it by me first before paying for anything. I'll consult for free! billconover@america-lending.com

luv the Triangle

I'm a big fan of the Triangle. The developer is doing it right by bringing in quality retail tenants. I've been meeting a lot of clients recently at Flipnotics there. It's a great little coffee shop and locally owned.

enjoy!
Bill

keep those pests out of your house

With summer upon us you're probably spending more time in your yard mowing the grass tiding up the landscaping, etc. Since you're already in the yard doing work it's a great time to think about keeping all those pests that want to seek refuge in your house.

I'm talking mainly about four main pests that we have here in Texas: rats and mice, cockroaches, termites and carpenter ants. The first rule when dealing with the first two is to block the access points to your house. Look for any openings where they could get in. Check for loose siding, holes in walls or roof, under eaves, foundation vents, openings to crawl space (if you have one) or loosely hung doors and window. If you see any of these openings go ahead and close them up with something that animals can't chew or squeeze through.

If you think you have a problem with rats, mice or coackroaches then it's time to start with some baiting for the roaches and baiting and/or trapping for the rats and mice. If the problem persits, calling a pest control company will be a good idea.

As for termites: make sure you have termite treatments done at regular intervals to help prevent them. You can do a quick inspection around your house too. Inspect the exposed area of your slab for 'mud tubes' that look like dirt soda straws. Termites build these to access your house as they hate the sunlight and being exposed to the air. If you see these I'd immediately call a pest company to help rid you of them.

For carpenter ants: the most important thing you can do is to cut all tree limbs, bushes and other plants away from your house. That way they can't 'drop in' on you unexpected. Also check for little piles of dirt around the house which indicates that they are present. Again if you see this indication, call a pest control company immediately.

Hope you found this helpful. Please let me know if you have any questions.

Bill
www.summit-properties.net

tax form from yesterday

Thought this might be helpful from yesterday. If you're looking to protest your tax valuation, you can use the form at the link below.

http://www.window.state.tx.us/taxinfo/taxforms/50-132.pdf