I bet most of the buyers that either you or I work with love a good surprise.  Not bad ones, but good ones.  The next ninety days offers the "last chance" for buyers to give themselves their very own Christmas Present.

That present comes in the form of the Homestead Exemption here in the State of Texas.

Texas is very big on home ownership.  The higher the rate of home ownership, the more interested those folks are in creating beautiful yards and neighborhoods to live in.

The Homestead Exemption... the Cliff Notes version... works like this.

There are many "entities" that line up to tax each residential home.  Cities, counties, schools, libraries, water districts, local community colleges... and so forth.  Sometimes the list may seem to be endless.

Each of these entities... for the most part... sees a portion of the value of the home in question... become "not taxable" or "tax exempt"... when the owners of that home qualify for, apply for... and then receive... their very own "Homestead Exemption."

When putting all of these "forgiven parts" of the value of each home together... a pretty good chunk of the assessed valuation of the home can end up "not taxable"... or "tax exempt.

An average estimate of the prcentage of tax savings... and remember... this is just an "estimate"... usually comes in at around twelve percent.  So... if the yearly real estate taxes on a home in Texas happens to be about $300 a month.. or $3,600 a year... if the Homestead Exemption hits in at around 12 percent... the total savings for the year could be approximately $36 dollars a month... or close to $400 a year.

In order for a home to qualify for a Homestead Exemption in the State of Texas... it must be "owned" by the owner as of January 1, 2010... and it ust be his or her primary residence.  If the owner takes title any later than that... the home does not qualify for Homestead Exempt status until January 1, 2011.

If you are in the market for a new home, and are ready to go from "Just Looking" to "Let's Get Serious"... call the DFW New Home Hotline at (817) 929-3400 today !