Thanks for Coming!!

The Speakeasy we hosted Saturday night was a lot of fun...thanks to all who came; the costumes were fantastic....Once I get the chance to upload the photos I took, I will post a few. Getting to meet more of my neighbors is something I enjoy, and doing so always reminds me of how much I love this neighborhood. I can see perhaps an annual Speakeasy at our house.....
Thanks to all who brought goodies, and all local businesses who contributed gift certificates....
And of course, thank you Tommy and the involvement committee who organized the whole thing.

Silver Lining in Property Value Decline?

I checked my tax assessed value on the Hillsborough County Property Assessor's site (http://www.hcpafl.org/www/index.shtml) and was really shocked to see what my assessed value had dropped to.....I know it's not a sales price, and it's due to flucuation...and in this market, we will not be selling for some time anyway......but as a gauge, it's scary to think houses could lose value this quickly. I won't go into actual numbers.......it's public information, so anyone can access anyone's assessment. My shiny, happy moment was when I did the "Tax Estimator" tool......and I wasn't even accounting for the extra $25K in homestead exemption from the new tax amendment. It made me smile...just a little......and I think if this valuation is still standing when TRIM notices come out this summer, I might even dance that envelope around the living room for a bit.....instead of the usual immediate hiding in a drawer treatment.