Make Sure Your File Your Real Property Homestead Tax Credit Application by 12/31/12!

From Joe Wathen, my realtor of choice:

DON'T LOSE YOUR HOMESTEAD TAX CREDIT - ACT NOW!!

DECEMBER 31, 2012 is the deadline for filing your Application for Homestead Tax Credit. It does not matter whether you have owned your house one year or twenty years.  An application must be filed by the end of the calendar year.

If your application is already on file and approved, you DO NOT need to reapply.  It only takes a minute to check to see if you have filed and if you are approved.  Follow these steps:

Click on this link:  http://sdatcert3.resiusa.org/rp_rewrite/

Select your County

Enter your street number and street name. 

Do not include Street, Court, Drive, etc.

Look at the bottom of the page and see if your Homestead application was filed.  If it was filed, the entry will show the date your application was approved.

IF IT SAYS "NO APPLICATION" then click on this link for the application:

http://www.dat.state.md.us/sdatweb/Homestead_application.pdf

Also, even after you have filed and been approved, you may not receive a credit on your tax bill.  The credits only appear when the assessed value of the property has increased over the allowable limits each year.  With declining assessment values, you may not actually receive a dollar credit

each year.   To learn more about  how the Homestead tax credit is

calculated,  click on the link below:

http://www.dat.state.md.us/sdatweb/homestead.html

Joe Wathen, ABR, CRS, GRI

Your Real Estate Consultant for Life

Full time Realtor since 1988

RE/MAX Hall of Fame

RE/MAX Advantage Realty

and the Bob Lucido Team

cell 410-707-4994

off 240-295-6000x1523

Joe@BobLucidoTeam.com

www.BobLucidoTeam.com

REMX007*Nobody Does It Better

Taylor Legal is Hiring an Office Administrator

Taylor Legal is looking for an Office Administrator who can work independently, is tenacious, extremely organized, trustworthy and tech-savvy. Legal office experience is a must.  The position will be approximately 10-12 hours per week, M,W, F from 10-2. The hours are flexible with advance notice.

If you know a suitable candidate, have them email Katherine Taylor at ktaylor@taylorlegal.com with a resume, pay requirements and references.

Taylor Legal Will Donate to Hurricane Sandy Relief Efforts

We sincerely wish the best for those adversely impacted by Hurricane Sandy. In an effort to provide relief to those suffering from the storm and the aftermath, Taylor Legal will be donating 10% of our net profit from the month of November 2012 to Team Rubicon. Team Rubicon is a nonprofit organization primarily composed of former military members who volunteer in the field for disaster areas, including areas affected by Hurricane Sandy.

For more information regarding Team Rubicon, please visit their website at http://teamrubiconusa.org/.

What is Howard County 2012 Comprehensive Zoning?

          Zoning or rezoning in Howard County is primarily conducted in two ways.  Approximately every ten years, the County Council undergoes a legislative process called comprehensive zoning during which county officials review the entire county zoning map, hold hearings, and, ultimately, making a legislative decision about how to best assign zones throughout the county.  In between Comprehensive Zoning cycles, through a process called piecemeal rezoning, individual property owners can petition for a rezoning of a particular parcel of land if the property owner can establish that there was a mistake during the last Comprehensive Zoning cycle that resulted in an incorrect zoning assignment or that there has been a significant change to the area such that the current zoning category is inconsistent.  The Zoning Board (which, in reality, is comprised of the County Council members, but in this forum they are wearing different “hats”) then makes a quasi-judicial determination whether the facts support a rezoning of the property.

       The 2012 Howard County Comprehensive Zoning process has begun. The Howard County Department of Planning and Zoning ("DPZ") will be making recommendations for both "Map Amendments" and "Zoning Regulation Amendments" ("ZRA") to the County Council. A “Map Amendment” is a zoning change that will result in the assignment of a different zone to a parcel or parcels of property during the zoning review process (for instance, a "residential use" property could be changed to a "commercial use" property). A ZRA is a change to the text of the Howard County Zoning Regulations (for instance, the minimum lot size for a residence could be changed to allow more houses in a development).

         In addition to recommendations being made by DPZ, property owners can submit applications for Map Amendments starting October 15 through December 14.  Property Owners may also submit proposals for ZRA's. All of these applications will be reviewed by DPZ, the Planning Board and the County Council. Any requested change must be in harmony with the new General Plan for the County, called PlanHoward2030, which is now in effect and sets the parameters for zoning preferences and sets forth the general land use goals for the County for the next 10 to 20 years.

       Whether or not a property owner wishes to submit an application for a map amendment or ZRA, all residents of the County can find out what changes are being requested and attend the public meetings and hearings to weigh in on proposed changes.   

                             

From Florida: 11 Year Court Battle over $2212 HOA Bill

From the Tampa Bay Times: New Tampa homeowner wins judgment against homeowners association

HoCo Announces Comprehensive Rezoning!

Howard County’s Department of Planning and Zoning announced today that it will launch
 the countywide rezoning process and will be accepting proposals for zoning map and regulation
amendments between October 15 and December 14, 2012. For more information, see the announcement sent out by the county today (.pdf).

North Laurel Residential Development

From explorehoward.com: Proposed residential development in North Laurel gets mixed reviews