Home Tracking is an automated method to continuously track key performance information about your home over time. The service will be available in early 2009. There are four substantial benefits in doing this;

1) The first is to stay aware of changes in the local market. Increasing values are sure to follow the declines we have experienced in recent years and you will want to stay aware of such trends. In addition, if there are risky conditions in the area, you’ll want to be aware of them when it comes time to sell, so you can correctly price your home.
2) If you purchased your home in 2005 through 2007, you may be due a significant reduction in your assessed value, but you have to make an appeal in most cases.  This can lower your property taxes by hundreds, if not thousands of dollars each year.
3) Did you buy your home with less than a 20% down payment? If so, you are paying Private Mortgage Insurance (PMI) fees. The amount of your fees depend on your FICO score and the loan-to-value ratio (also known as LTV). LTV is calculated as follows; loan amount divided by sale price equals LTV. If you bought your home for $100,000 and took out a 90,000 loan your LTV would be

      90,000    or 90% LTV.
     100,000

      PMI insurance can range from $50 per month to several hundred dollars per
      Month.

4) When your LTV is lower than 80% you can sometimes qualify for a lower interest rate on your home mortgage rate.

Items 2, 3 and 4 can keep dollars in your pocket, but you have to be proactive and have a Home Tracking process that will allow you to do it easily. So, are you going to leave money on the table for your tax collector, the PMI Insurance companies and your mortgage lender, or keep it in your own pocket?

I’ll tell you a personal story of how I got lazy. I fully intended to appeal my taxes on a home I bought in Riverside County, California. The Riverside Assessor was brilliant and sent out a notice that my property taxes had been automatically reduced (temporarily) by about 10% due to market conditions. This saves me over $500 per year. It made me complacent because I probably could have gotten a 20% reduction had I been aggressive. But, it does show that money can be saved.

Your can track your property today at HomeSmart Reports www.homesmartreports.com by running a manual report and it could save you a great deal of money and also keep you up on the current market conditions in your area.