[tallrick]

Originally Posted by macguy

.

People need to take an interest in things that effect their fellow citizens whether it directly effects them or not. As with the issue SOH's. Most would concede that SOH's is an unfair system, but they want what benefits them even if it is at the expense of others. Lets fact it, we live in a selfish uncaring society.

A side effect is that the quality home-grown people are mostly leaving the area because of this. The people actually comming to Florida seem to be extremely selfish and not very friendly. Seeing most of my friends move from Florida tells me that this area is extremely dysfunctional. To see the effects of not caring about others just look at the third world countries where many of the newcommers come from.

[macguy]

Originally Posted by Lilybeans

Firstly, It's Affected, Not Effected.

Secondly, no one is entitled to breaks just because it's their first home. You buy what you can afford and move from there. No one had it easy. It is foolish for a person just starting out to think that a $400,000 home is a realistic expectation.

We don't live in a selfish uncaring society. We live in a society where people suddenly think they are entitled to all kinds of things from the start, rather than earning them.

Like you with your SOH's? You are exactly right, you are just another person you thinks they have some special entitlement.

[wacahootaman]

For those of you who have big discounts in your property taxes because you have been in SOH for years, please consider this:

You may have to move some day to another place in Florida. (Job change, Family emergency, divorce, retirement to a condo, etc) And when you do your property taxes will soar for a lot less housing than you had before.

Also consider if you pass on your SOH protected family home on to your children their property taxes will probably quadruple or worse under this system.

Your number declines every year and the number of new home owners who do not have your discounts and have to pay outrageous property taxes grows every year. We have little sympathy for this double standard in property tax asesments where we pay three times the taxes for comparable housing that you do.

It is in your own best interest to relieve or equalize the tax burden across the board in all homesteads otherwise your cozy discount days are numbered.

[floridasandy]

all this negativity is getting to me. i live in sebastian and just about everybody is very nice here!

[wacahootaman]

Originally Posted by hiknapster

There you go, tallrick.

I guess no answer is your answer.

Of course, if they have no one to put out the fire threatening to burn down their homes, no one to teach their kids, no one to arrest the guy that did the home invasion, no one to bring their early-bird special, no one to give them their medication at Walmart, no one to fix their car, well, then they will be concerned.

It doesn't bother them much until it affects them.

Spoken by someone who can afford their property taxes. Someone who probably pays taxes on 1/2 of his homes' market value due to SOH protection.

Obviously this person is unaware that others are being taxed into bankruptcy and have to shut down their business due to high property taxes. That statewide property tax revenue to the counties have more than doubled in a time period when the population went up 10 percent,

The counties have spent this property tax windfall like drunken sailors on shoreleave and it is time that they curb this runaway spending. If their tax revenue has gone up 100 percent when their population went up 10 percent, why cant they get buy with a cut of 25 percent? That is not asking that much.

These scare tactic about no police, firemen and schools are dishonest, fear mongering to protect the countys cozy tax and spend excesses.

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.

[Lilybeans]

Originally Posted by wacahootaman

Spoken by someone who can afford their property taxes. Someone who probably pays taxes on 1/2 of his homes' market value due to SOH protection.

Obviously this person is unaware that others are being taxed into bankruptcy and have to shut down their business due to high property taxes.

You buy what you can afford. If people can't afford to live here, then go where it is affordable. When nothing sells here because the price is too high, then prices will come back to reality.

I do agree with county spending out of all control. The counties need to have some serious fiscal discipline.

[Lilybeans]

Originally Posted by wacahootaman

It is in your own best interest to relieve or equalize the tax burden across the board in all homesteads otherwise your cozy discount days are numbered.

What do you mean? Do you mean that someday, if the Constitution is changed, there will be no SOH by attrition? Let's face it, the only people really hurt by this are those that bought homes in the last few years at inflated prices, hoping to flip them for a quick profit.

[hiknapster]

Originally Posted by wacahootaman

Spoken by someone who can afford their property taxes. Someone who probably pays taxes on 1/2 of his homes' market value due to SOH protection.

Obviously this person is unaware that others are being taxed into bankruptcy and have to shut down their business due to high property taxes. That statewide property tax revenue to the counties have more than doubled in a time period when the population went up 10 percent,

The counties have spent this property tax windfall like drunken sailors on shoreleave and it is time that they curb this runaway spending. If their tax revenue has gone up 100 percent when their population went up 10 percent, why cant they get buy with a cut of 25 percent? That is not asking that much.

These scare tactic about no police, firemen and schools are dishonest, fear mongering to protect the countys cozy tax and spend excesses.

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.

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.

[wacahootaman]

Originally Posted by Lilybeans

What do you mean? Do you mean that someday, if the Constitution is changed, there will be no SOH by attrition? Let's face it, the only people really hurt by this are those that bought homes in the last few years at inflated prices, hoping to flip them for a quick profit.

You obviously have not thought about these scenarios:

"You may have to move some day to another place in Florida. (Job change, Family emergency, divorce, retirement to a condo, etc) And when you do your property taxes will soar for a lot less housing than you had before.

Also consider if you pass on your SOH protected family home on to your children their property taxes will probably quadruple or worse under this system."

I have owned land and payed property taxes in Florida for 40 years and I had to move in with my dad to care for him in his final years and lost my old homestead in divorce so now I am starting over.

I face doubled property taxes and a giant impact fee to boot.

Why should I have to pay property taxes on my home at double the rate that you do?

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.

[gwatersc21]

First time homebuyers deserve a little break. I have suggested, and been rebuked, that municipalites should give a prorated tax break to bonifide 1st time buyers or give a credit over several years for the first year's taxes. They would still pay based on whatever the methodilogy used but get a % credit back each year. This would offset a small amount of the tax burden but not give them a free ride. The municipalities adopting such a program would seem to benefit from greater home ownership. No takers on this idea so I will see....

OK...a disclaimer: I am a Realtor.