The Kerrville Board of Realtors Fair Housing and Diversity Committee hosted the first of two educational symposiums aimed at educating local and potential homeowners of multiple aspects of home owning and buying.
Local professionals in appraisal, insurance, title law, and financials gathered to give tips and advice to the public completely free-of-charge. The first event was held at the Hill Country Youth Event Center and was presented to a crowd of local realtors and homeowners.
“We want to bring you the most important, relevant information that has to do with the home-buying process, what you can expect, and just to be generally available to answer any and all questions that you have,” said John Sawyer, KBOR Fair Housing and Diversity Committee member.
Opening up the event with a breakdown of the appraisal process was Kerr Central Appraisal District Chief Appraiser, Sharon Constantinides.
“We’re supposed to appraise property as of January 1 of every year. So for example, if a property owner has a house burned down January 2, legally, they have to still pay taxes for it for the whole year again. But then again, if they were to build one or bring in a mobile home after January 1, they would not be taxed on it until the following year. Everything is on January 1,” said Constantinides.
Constantinides explained deadlines around applying for homestead exemptions to a property.
“With homestead exemptions, they allow you now to apply up to two years late after delinquency date. Veterans exemptions can go up to five years now. Now, agricultural exemptions, if they’re not filed until after the deadline, which is April the 30th, you can still apply until the day that the Appraisal Review Board certifies,” said Constantinides.
When a house is put on the market, an appraised value is calculated based on a variety of factors.
“We collect sales information and we compare that sales information to like-properties, and we update our schedules. We’re supposed to be within 95-105 percent of market value. So we’re always supposed to appraise at market value–what something would sell for. Willing buyer, willing seller,” said Constantinides.
Following the chief appraiser was advice from insurance agent Linda Arreola from Garrett Insurance Agency. Like Constantinides, Arreola provided attendees with insider information regarding getting better prices as a homeowner as well as emphasizing the importance of homeowner’s insurance.
“If y’all were around two weeks ago, you heard about the hail–you saw the hail. That’s why homeowners insurance is important. I can’t think of a better example than those large catastrophic things that can happen to your house. The most common coverage is going to be wind, hail, theft, fire, lightning, vandalism, and water damage,” said Arreola.
When an insurance company is deciding how much of a liability insuring a home is, they focus on one aspect of the house more than any other.
“One of things that you really need to look for that is going to affect your pricing is your roof. In Texas, that’s the big ticker. How old is your roof? What type of roof do you have? The older the roof, the higher your insurance premium’s going to be,” said Arreola.
Closing out the presentation by stressing the importance of having access to financial advice along with sharing the roles of a independent financial advisor, was Andrew Gay.
“I have a job because this kind of stuff is very confusing. Out there in the world right now–I don’t know if y’all noticed–but you’re inundated with information. Frankly, a lot of us don’t really think about who we take advice from, but you know there’s a reason we’re called financial advisors, right?” said Gay.
With an unlimited plethora of information being available and pushed through the internet and social media, knowing who to trust with your money is crucial.
“I have a certification called Certified Financial Education Instructor. It’s by a group called the National Financial Educators Council. And they have a lot of resources. And since I partnered with them, I have access to a lot of those resources–specifically about home-owning and real estate,” said Gay.
“Guess who usually gets that phone call when you get something in the mail and you don’t know what it means, or you’re trying to buy a house and you don’t know what TREC is, or you don’t know what a real estate contract is? It’s usually us. What I do and what licensed financial advisors do is provide objective advice. We keep up with the lending markets and interest rates,” said Gay.
To catch the industry knowledge and tips directly from real estate professionals in town, visit the next free-of-charge public real estate symposium hosted at the Doyle Community Center April 26. For more information, visit: www.kerrvilletexascvb.com/events/2025/real-estate-symposium.