For about six months last year, Phillip and I would sleep with ear plugs. Not because of barking dogs, or because one of us snores, but because our air conditioning was so loud that it could wake you from the deepest of sleeps. And as expected, last October, it finally died. Thankfully we were prepared for it and already had saved money for its inevitable replacement, so all I had to do was call Les Sariol from Altruistic A/C & Heating and give him the go ahead to come and replace the entire system. I gotta say, I don’t love spending money on non-sexy home repairs, but I do love that my new system is so quiet that we no longer have to sleep with ear plugs.

You know what else I don’t love? Property taxes. It might feel like a strange connection, but your HVAC system and your property taxes are both things you should service/review yearly to avoid major headaches. Before you know it, two things are going to happen (maybe even around the same time): it will be 100 degrees again in Austin and you’ll receive your home’s Notice of Appraised Value in the mail. Not to worry! Spring is the perfect time of year to get a jump on things, and we’ve got a slew of tools in our belt to help make both of these as painless as possible. So that your A/C can keep you cool in the sweltering summer heat, you’ll want to make sure your system is working efficiently and identify if you should start putting money aside to cover a looming replacement. As for your property taxes, we can do a complete evaluation now to be sure you have all the appropriate exemptions in place and be prepared to review your value notice as soon as it arrives to decide whether it makes sense to protest the county.

If you guessed that this month’s Item of Value is a “two-fer,” you’re right! First up is an introduction to my trusted friends at Altruistic A/C & Heating who are offering a pre-season check-up at a fantastic price, which you can request at www.HindsiteAustin.com, along with some important tips to keep your A/C in top shape. And second, an insightful look at the tax timeline along with my offer of customized help when it comes time to determine if protesting is something that should be on your to-do list this spring (especially with all the recent changes Travis County has made in the process); I recommend you call, text, or email me as soon as you receive this year’s Notice of Appraised Value in the mail so we can discuss. Together we can focus on what’s most important and cut out the “noise”… no ear plugs necessary!