[lynxville]

I have a home in Wisconsin and Florida and I am retired. Trying to weigh the tax advantage and cost of becomming Fla. resident. My property taxes are much higher in Wi., car insurance and tags cheaper, but 7.5% state tax.

So I would save the state tax but lose on car registration (new) and insurance. Not sure how the property tax would effect me tax wise. I may be able to claim both property taxes on my federal taxs, but not state. But I would save on state tax on pension and social security.

I am going to run this by my accountant but would appreciate your opinions.

Lynx

[beachmouse]

You'd probably cut your homeowner's insurance a little on the Florida house if it was your primary residence.

[jdoty]

The best benefit is the $50k homestead exemption on your home's appraised value if you're a Florida resident.

[Retiredcoach]

Beyond the winter weather and the beaches, some of the best perks to living in Florida are the tax advantages for retirees. Yes, there seem to be many more nuisance taxes associated with Florida living and a higher than average sales tax rate, but these are minor in the total scheme of things for the senior citizen. There are no state taxes on your pension, your Social Security, or any state taxes on any outside income that you might earn. There are no estate nor inheritance taxes either. Combine this with the homestead exclusion, and most seniors will able to pay less to their taxman than in most other states.

[yamahastar]

Yeah, but the homeowners insurance is killing us.

[jdoty]

Originally Posted by yamahastar

Yeah, but the homeowners insurance is killing us.

I'm paying $1,300 per year for a pool home within 5 miles of the beach. Seems reasonable to me. How low do you want it?

[Energyguy5]

Can anyone give me the approx homeowners flood insurance cost of a $300,000.00 house on a canal?

Also here is a general question for you. I live in NJ and am thinking of moving to Florida and vacation every winter in Florida and love it, however, I am told that the summer humidity is so brutal that you can't go outside. The question is ...is it that much worse than say most places in the east like NJ, NY, PENN?

Your answers will be much appreciated.

[Soup Not See]

Originally Posted by Energyguy5

Can anyone give me the approx homeowners flood insurance cost of a $300,000.00 house on a canal?

Also here is a general question for you. I live in NJ and am thinking of moving to Florida and vacation every winter in Florida and love it, however, I am told that the summer humidity is so brutal that you can't go outside. The question is ...is it that much worse than say most places in the east like NJ, NY, PENN?

Your answers will be much appreciated.

There have been scores of the threads on the humidity in Florida, but you would be dealing with high humidity from approx. mid-April through mid-September with very little relief. Up north, you get some humidity June-Aug but with occasional breaks thrown in ... either be prepared to sweat or stay indoors.

[doggiebus]

The humidity isn't worse, it is just longer here. The Northeast may have 2-3 months that are humid, it can be humid from May through October depending on what part of Florida you live. The closer you are to the ocean there is a breeze that helps, Central Florida isn't a nice place to be in July.

[bigh110]

to anwser your question about insurance costs I own a older (1967) 2 bed 1 bath ground level "conch" house on a canal in the lower keys. here is what i pay for 111k worth of homeowners. keep in mind its in monroe county( most expensive county for insurance in fl) in the keys. citizens is my insurer( my only choice) i am required(mortgage company) to have 3 insurance policys as follows windstorm is $2000, fema flood is $925 and regular homeowners liabilty is $750 one good thing taxes are reasonable at just over 2k. I have one small discount for a hip and gable roof. if I had shutters and new roof that met 2011 standards I was told would it would lower it by at least 30% for the windstorm. the newer the house and/or the hurricane standards its built to (cat 3 or more) will really reduce the cost of windstorm policy. also keep in mind you only have to insure the value of your mortgage not the actual cost to rebuild the house if you wanna take your chances with momma nature! I'm from philly and get down to my shack in the keys every 2 months or so and I will attest the humidity really sucks for about 6 months of the year. for example: think its June and at 3am you leave the air conditioned bar for some fresh air and you step outside onto the deck and in 10 minutes u will be soaked with sweat just standing there doing nothing more strenuous than drinking a beer. but remember their is always the good ole AC and you can jump in the canal/ocean to cool off. last but not least being able to park a boat out back and go fishin or diving at will is PRICELESS