[Teeny]

I think first time flippers should get a tax break too.

Lots of the time they are the ones who get burned, and having a little less tax to pay for carrying charges would help them out, I betcha.

[Lilybeans]

Originally Posted by wacahootaman

You obviously have not thought about these scenarios:

If I dont get the same tax relief that you have soon, I will gladly vote to overturn SOH in another referendum. Millions of other Florida homeowners will join me. Eventually we will prevail.

How do you address all of the millions of people that bought homes and stayed in them because they were promised the SOH by Constitution? Do you take away something from people who opted to stay in their homes and not move or sell out? How is it fair to people who have counted on the SOH all these years? Do you now tell them-hey, sorry you chose not to sell your home during the boom, sorry you chose to stay in your home for 20 or 30 years, but now we are going to break our promise and ********* on taxes? Is that fair?

[sunrico90]

Purchasing a home can a Russian roulette for many if they believe that the the state, county or even the market will have any feelings for what happen after the documents are signed.

Each buyer must evaluate their position and ensure that they can survive the
nightmares that are associates with owning a home Check the following tips and warnings:


Trying to weigh the risks of buying a home is like evaluating the risk/reward of any other major investment. But perhaps more so than with other investments, it's hard to keep your emotions out of it.


Step One
Determine the costs of home ownership (down payment, mortgage payments, insurance, real estate taxes). Many don't do this or realize that the original mortgage will escalate with time. Be prepare don't get caught of guard.

Step Two
Analyze your income relative to the monthly expenses of owning a home. If you're dependent on two incomes to maintain and pay for the house, analyze what would happen if one income were lost. This is key if one member looses his/her job or the family increases.

Step Three
Analyze the tax benefits of ownership versus the cost of renting. Depends on your financial position and future desires.

Step Four
Consider why you're buying the house. If your reasons are strictly emotional ("I want my own place"), you may not be able to justify the financial burden. This is one of the primary reason that individuals purchase a home and many times after a few months in the home the realize the true cost of a home.

Tips & Warnings

* If you'll be financially strapped to make ends meet buying a particular house, examine if you're overbuying (paying too much for a house given your financial situation).
*[b][ Don't buy a house just because other people (peers, parents, co-workers) say you're supposed to. They don't have to live with the payments - you do./B]
* Don't assume you can cut your living costs to the bone to afford a house. You can eat only so much macaroni and cheese.

What other tips or warnings can we add.....

[wacahootaman]

Originally Posted by Lilybeans

How do you address all of the millions of people that bought homes and stayed in them because they were promised the SOH by Constitution? Do you take away something from people who opted to stay in their homes and not move or sell out? How is it fair to people who have counted on the SOH all these years? Do you now tell them-hey, sorry you chose not to sell your home during the boom, sorry you chose to stay in your home for 20 or 30 years, but now we are going to break our promise and ********* on taxes? Is that fair?

That wouldnt be fair.

But it is also unfair to make someone pay 5 grand in property taxes on a median priced home while their neighbor pays $1200 in property taxes for the same valued home.

The tax burden has to be fair to ALL homesteads otherwise the priviledged few, will eventually lose their protection when the majority who are unfairly burdened by their discounts vote to equalize the tax burden.

It is in the interest of all SOH homesteads with big savings on their property taxes to work for tax relief for all of their neighbors who dont have that protection. Otherwise they will eventually lose their own protection.

[hiknapster]

MODERATOR Deleted

[/quote]

What?

The original question was "Who cares about first time homebuyers?"

I responded that not really anyone does, until the waitresses and auto mechanics, in other words, the service people, move away.

I never said anyone is lying or don't know what they are talking about. I suggest that you re-read these posts very carefully.

MODERATOR Deleted

[MrTudo]

Originally Posted by wacahootaman

Correction, this analogy is unfair to drunken sailors. Drunken sailors spend their own money fairly earned. The counties spend other peoples money forcibly taken from them in the form of taxes.

Big difference.

Absolutely

[MrTudo]

Originally Posted by hiknapster

Your so far off base it isn't even funny. We never owned a home in Florida. We were the workers that I mentioned that voted with our feet and moved out of state. The Fort Myers News-Press did a story on us In October of 2005.

Lillybeans: You are off base, too. I'm a 45-year-old woman that harbors no feelings of entitlement. I work everyday, my husband works 58 hours a week. We have a seven-year-old child.

We are not idiots. We saw housing prices out-stripped pay and got out.

Hiknapster, can you send me a link to that story or email it to me? I'd like to read it.

[Delray Patty]

Well I can see this is a heated issue and I'm almost afraid to get into "it"..but here goes
mytake on tall of this...I personally like the $25,000 homestead exemption for all those
who live in Florida and also the 3% tax cap....I know it's difficult for young couples and
people starting out to buy a home here..but its' the same all over. There probably does
need to be an overall in the tax system but not at the expense of those who have lived
here a long time vs. those who live here part of the year....I get very angry (maybe I'm
just envious) when I read articles about People complaining about the taxes on their
condo or home here and are not year round residents...Well you know what, I would love
to have a place somewhere else too, maybe in the mountains somewhere to escape the
Fl. summers, but guess what? I can't afford to run two homes so maybe they should sell
the condos or homes here (although this is not a time to sell unfortunately) and just
rent...In the long run it would be cheaper to rent, you wouldn't need insurance, pay
taxes, worry about hurricane damage...just pick up after your 3 or 4 month stay and go
back home. Think about it, You wouldn't have to worry about the tax nonsense down
here. And the added benefit is, if you didn't like where you were renting, you could rent
somewhere else the following season, try the West Coast, Those who are very wealthy
and have these mcmansions on the water are not complaining much why should they,
it's probably one of many homes they own. I'm glad they are taking another look at
this legislation that was on the Jan. 29th ballot....I could sit with 4 or 5 friends and every
one had a different take on it and how it would affect each of us. So many did not fully
understand it. Heck the way it is now, I can afford to "move up" to a bigger unit because my taxes would triple so I'm stuck too. We live in a 55 plus community and we
are not thrilled living here...HOA like little condo commandos, a real pain, but it's what we
could afford when we moved here. Love the area and have made a lot of really nice friends. I do hope they can come up with legislation that will give everyone a break, but
sorry folks I don't feel sorry for the wealthy snowbirds....

[Delray Patty]

I forgot to mention that I do feel for the young people and first time homebuyers out
there...What I would like to see is more affordable housing built for them. Right now it's
really tough starting out down here in So. Fl....pay wages are laughable. and by the way
when we first moved here from Pa. I was amazed at the prices of produce..Silly me thinking that with a warm climate fruit would be year round and great tasting..Ha, not on
your life, Food here is more expensive than in Pa. and N.J....oh, and one other thing that
really annoyed me was an article in the Sun Sentinel and on the local news last week
about all the damage to the sand on Singer Island and other spots up and down the
coast....Sorry folks (here I go again on my soap box) but if you want to take a chance
and live on the "water" then you have to expect these things from Mother Nature...I'm
a firm believer in not building on the beach. It's such a shame that you can't walk
through some towns and not see the beach....Highrises and mcmansions hide our
beautiful Florida shoreline and sorry you can't use our beach, it's private...and when the
beaches need renourishment all of the people in the county pay for it through our taxes,
but you can't use "their" beach because it's private. How wonderful again for the RICH.

[macguy]

Originally Posted by Delray Patty

Well I can see this is a heated issue and I'm almost afraid to get into "it"..but here goes
mytake on tall of this...I personally like the $25,000 homestead exemption for all those
who live in Florida and also the 3% tax cap....I know it's difficult for young couples and
people starting out to buy a home here..but its' the same all over. There probably does
need to be an overall in the tax system but not at the expense of those who have lived
here a long time vs. those who live here part of the year....I get very angry (maybe I'm
just envious) when I read articles about People complaining about the taxes on their
condo or home here and are not year round residents...Well you know what, I would love
to have a place somewhere else too, maybe in the mountains somewhere to escape the
Fl. summers, but guess what? I can't afford to run two homes so maybe they should sell
the condos or homes here (although this is not a time to sell unfortunately) and just
rent...In the long run it would be cheaper to rent, you wouldn't need insurance, pay
taxes, worry about hurricane damage...just pick up after your 3 or 4 month stay and go
back home. Think about it, You wouldn't have to worry about the tax nonsense down
here. And the added benefit is, if you didn't like where you were renting, you could rent
somewhere else the following season, try the West Coast, Those who are very wealthy
and have these mcmansions on the water are not complaining much why should they,
it's probably one of many homes they own. I'm glad they are taking another look at
this legislation that was on the Jan. 29th ballot....I could sit with 4 or 5 friends and every
one had a different take on it and how it would affect each of us. So many did not fully
understand it. Heck the way it is now, I can afford to "move up" to a bigger unit because my taxes would triple so I'm stuck too. We live in a 55 plus community and we
are not thrilled living here...HOA like little condo commandos, a real pain, but it's what we
could afford when we moved here. Love the area and have made a lot of really nice friends. I do hope they can come up with legislation that will give everyone a break, but
sorry folks I don't feel sorry for the wealthy snowbirds....

You resent people who are successful and have made money? You don't want a chance to better yourself and maybe have a second home or some rental property or investment property? Maybe get yourself a nice piece of commercial property? Maybe build some family wealth? You don't get rich saving money in a tin can. Down here though they have it so you are almost guaranteed to stay poor.

Some years ago my next door neighbor was moving so I bought their house. No big deal, but I would not do it today. If you are now poor in Florida you are destined to stay that way, and that is a fact. The tax laws make it almost impossible for you to do real estate investing, the way that most people accumulated wealth in the past. Just out of curiosity, why do feel a permeant resident has more value then a snowbird? Or over any one resident for that matter? I am just curious where such thinking comes from?