Your 2026 Texas property tax bill is arriving — and the school-district homestead exemption is now $140,000 (Proposition 13), with another $60,000 for homeowners 65+ or disabled (Proposition 11, $200,000 total). But none of that relief applies unless the exemption is on file. Issac Harper — Texas broker and property-tax arbitrator — and Chloe Brooks walk through the 5 checks to run before you pay: homestead on file, 65+/disabled/veteran exemptions, escrow vs. paying yourself (and the escrow-shortage payment bump), the appraised value behind the bill, and your real payment options — early discounts, senior installments, and why January 31, 2027 (a Sunday) makes February 1 timely under Tax Code §1.06.In this episode:- The 3 facts first: bills due on receipt, last penalty-free day Jan 31, Dallas County bills held until after the Nov 3 rate election- TEACH: How a Texas tax bill is built — appraised value minus exemptions, times local rates- Check 1: Is your $140,000 homestead exemption (Prop 13) actually on file? How to file free (Form 50-114)- Worked example: a $400,000 Texas home — $4,000 vs $2,600 vs $2,000 school tax- Check 2: 65+/disabled +$60,000 (Prop 11), the school tax ceiling, veteran and surviving-spouse exemptions- Check 3: Escrow or you? Reading the escrow analysis and budgeting the shortage bump- Check 4: The appraised value — fix factual errors now, calendar your protest for next May- Check 5: Payment options — early-payment discounts (up to 3%/2%/1%), partial and split payments, 4-installment plan for 65+/disabled, and the penalty ladder (6% + 1%/month)https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC3H9FvDGOjFlicWiD3vZLZgPlaylist: https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLR9q3rB6m7sASpotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/5AFpa5EVdpWh0UplBhXrL4Apple Podcasts: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/daily-market-update/id6820718692iHeartRadio: https://iheart.com/podcast/347247850/Co-hosted by Issac Harper & Chloe BrooksQuestions about buying, selling, or your Texas home? Call 512-203-2245 · issac.harper@ireaf.com · Real Estate Broker/Realtor | TREC Lic. #0437275 | Mortgage Loan Officer | NMLS #2580938This episode is education, not personal tax or financial advice. Example rates and bills are illustrations, not quotes — check your own county appraisal district and tax office for your numbers.

The Fed held rates at 3.75%–4.00% today, Oct 28, 2026 — and the 30-year fixed mortgage rate sits at 7.14% on the daily tracker tonight. The 10-year Treasury yield ticked up to 5.03% after the decision — and that bond-market number, not the Fed headline, is what sets your mortgage rate. Lock or float after today's decision, what the Fed's statement actually said about December, and the plain-English playbook for buyers, sellers, and refinancers.In this episode:- The Fed's Oct 28 decision: HOLD at 3.75%–4.00%, vote 10–2 (Cook and Hammack dissented — they wanted a hike)- Mortgage rates today: 30-year fixed at 7.14% daily (last Freddie Mac weekly survey: 7.32%)- How the Fed decision actually reaches your mortgage rate — the 10-year Treasury + spread, explained plain- The statement decoded: "Inflation remains elevated" — and what the Fed refused to rule out about December- Lock or float: buyers under contract, buyers still shopping, and refinance candidates- December 8–9 FOMC outlook: the inflation and jobs reports that decide the next movehttps://www.youtube.com/channel/UC3H9FvDGOjFlicWiD3vZLZgPlaylist: https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLR9q3rB6m7sASpotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/5AFpa5EVdpWh0UplBhXrL4Apple Podcasts: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/daily-market-update/id6820718692iHeartRadio: https://iheart.com/podcast/347247850/Co-hosted by Issac Harper & Chloe BrooksQuestions about buying, selling, or refinancing in Texas? Call 512-203-2245 · issac.harper@ireaf.com · Real Estate Broker/Realtor | TREC Lic. #0437275 | Mortgage Loan Officer | NMLS #2580938This episode is education, not personal financial advice. Rates shown are national averages/examples, not a quote — talk to your lender about your loan.

Three statuses, three different roads, one front door. The final part of Status: Approved turns the products (Part 1) and the law (Part 2) into a plan: the exact documents that prove your status (green card/I-551, visa + I-797 + I-94, EAD and its category, SSN vs ITIN), the money papers, how to build U.S. credit from zero in about twelve months, how to paper a down payment sent from family overseas, and the worked monthly math for three fictional example families on the same $400,000 Texas home — an H-1B engineer in Dallas on conventional ($2,702/mo), a green-card holder in Houston on FHA ($2,790/mo), and an ITIN business owner in Austin on a non-QM ITIN loan ($2,404/mo after 20% down). Plus the five-reason denial autopsy, the Texas SB 17 buyer checklist, and Texas homestead/property-tax basics for 2026 (school exemption now $140,000). Rules as of October 2026.

In this episode:

- Cold open: three fictional example families — H-1B engineer (Dallas), green-card holder (Houston), ITIN business owner (Austin)

- Step 1 — Know your rung: the document checklist by rung; why an SSN card alone is not proof of status

- Step 2 — The money papers: VOE, pay stubs, tax returns; what brand-new arrivals do instead; visa validity vs the 30-year loan

- Step 3 — Credit from zero: secured cards, authorized user, rent reporting, non-traditional credit files; the honest 620/700 timelines; Nova Credit's narrowed 2026 bridge (Chase, UK/Canada only — Amex partnership ended 2025)

- Step 4 — The down payment: gift letters, wire paper trails, large-deposit rules, OFAC screening in plain English; reserves for visa holders

- Step 5 — Match status to product: conventional / FHA / ITIN math on the same $400K home, plus DACA and foreign-national DSCR matches

- The denial autopsy: the five reasons immigrant files die — and the fix for each

- The Texas layer: SB 17's practical checklist (AG enforcement rules still proposed, Oct 9, 2026) + homestead filing, the 10% cap, and protest basics

- Close: the 12-month roadmap walked aloud, month by month; HUD-approved housing counselors

Links:

- YouTube channel: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC3H9FvDGOjFlicWiD3vZLZg

- Playlist: https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLR9q3rB6m7sA

- Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/5AFpa5EVdpWh0UplBhXrL4

- Apple Podcasts: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/daily-market-update/id6820718692

- iHeartRadio: https://iheart.com/podcast/347247850/

New here? Subscribe to the Daily Market Update — a plain-English read on rates and housing every morning.

Co-hosted by Issac Harper & Sofia Piccard

Contact: 512-203-2245 · issac.harper@ireaf.com · Real Estate Broker/Realtor | TREC Lic. #0437275 | Mortgage Loan Officer | NMLS #2580938

Educational only — not legal or immigration advice. All example families are fictional. Rules as of October 2026; your lender's overlays may be stricter than the agency guides.

If you or your family came to America legally, what was — or would be — the hardest part of buying your first home here: the paperwork, the credit, or the down payment? Tell us in the comments.

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