[faithfulFrank]

Retiredcoach,

You are correct that I am not living there yet....one of the reasons I am active here is to learn more about my future state and to give me a "Florida fix", especially during our cold NY winter, (that will soon be over).

I do not yet know enough about the economics of Florida to debate it. I have read here on the forum that wages are supposed to be lower, and I've also read about it being called a "sunshine tax". I assume that there is not as strong of a union presence there as there is here.

I also see much opportunity there in Florida for those who have skills and want to work hard. I am not where I am today because someone "gave" me a cushy government/ union job. I've risked my life and saved a few lives in my career as a firefighter, and know I've earned every penny.

That being said, I've also invested well, worked hard doing many side jobs, teaching myself every facet of homebuilding, remodeling, rental property ownership, etc. I've flipped houses, done years of extra contracting work, etc.....all that time living within my means, avoiding debt, etc.

I do plan on doing some work down there......I'm happiest with a tool in my hand, and I see A LOT of opportunity there for people who know how to fix and how to build, and enjoy getting their hands a bit dirty. When I am down there, I'm not taking "extended vacations" exactly. Far from it. I've been busy working on my house down there, and have also done work for others. There is SO much work down there for those who can be trusted to do quality work at a fair price.

Usually I am only down there for 3 weeks at a time, and I end up working from early morning to late at night. Mind you, I'm not complaining...I LOVE that, and for me, that IS a vacation. The point is that I have run into MANY people down there, who did not plan on working too much there, but before they knew it, were making A LOT of money in the trades, turning down more work then they were saying yes to.

People almost seem to beg for people who will work hard, KNOW what they are doing, KNOW how to do it right, and are willing to do quality work at a fair price. I've been that kind of person for over 30 years....I cannot see me doing anything different when I'm down there. I turn down more work up here then I take, and I suspect it will be the same down there.

Would my life be different if I grew up in Florida. I don't know. I suspect that there is less difference between the two states then we might think. We have many people on welfare here....NY gives great benefits....we have high unemployment here.....we have high utility costs....our gas is higher...(our water is lower)....I honestly do not know.

In either state I'm willing to bet there are some good paying jobs, and some skills that people are willing to pay good money for. The key is to find them, learn them, then do them well.

In response to the question on renting....too many variables to give one answer for all. I'd say rent until you know you want to stay in one place, then either stay renting there, or buy if the price is good and you wish to build long term equity. There is no one answer for everyone.

Frank D.

[tallrick]

The problem is simple, it was caused by the real estate bubble. The Florida tax system was biased to protect low-income homeowners by the homestead exemption. Once instituted it was raised periodically, to about 50-75% of median home prices. When it was raised to 25,000 in the 80's, you could still find a home for 50,000 or less, a nice home. The problem was that greedy counties and the state opposed future homestead exemptions, and the flawed "save our homes" system was instituted. Basically in the 90's the tax system was primed for disaster. Values rose, and those not homesteaded got a larger tax burden. Poor counties where homes are worth less have the highest tax rates. So when idiot speculators drove up prices, taxes skyrocketed. Fools from higher-priced states think nothing of spending thousands on taxes. So they climbed and climbed. The whole state became overvalued, and we are in the current mess. This is what happens when outside investment goes into real estate. The solution is simple, reduce the tax rate, or raise the homestead exemption to a percentage of property values for everyone. Tax non-homestead properties based on income produced and/or services used. Better yet get rid of property tax altogether. That will not happen as Government refuses to allow private property ownership.

[Magnulus]

Originally Posted by faithfulFrank

I also see much opportunity there in Florida for those who have skills and want to work hard. I am not where I am today because someone "gave" me a cushy government/ union job.
Frank D.

Having skills in Florida doesn't matter for much unless you've got very technical or mechanical skills (auto mechanics can make good money down here, especially if you are willing to rip people off). Otherwise, nobody cares. How hard you work doesn't matter as much as how little money you'll work for.

My brother can go out and earn more money hauling away dead trees and replanting yards than the average desk jockey. He has two degrees, one of them in statistics, but that doesn't matter in Florida. You mention firefighters- in some parts of Florida firefighter pay is lousy and won't even come close to buying you a house. People that risk their butts every day and they can't afford a house... that's just wrong.

The taxes in Florida aren't all that high. My dad has a 400,000 dollar home, he doesn't get Save Our Homes, and taxes are comparable to some other states. Maybe even less. It's the pay, housing costs, and overall quality of life that aren't as good. You don't get alot for your tax dollars.

[mhoward48]

Originally Posted by verobeach

I have a house worth $500,000 and we pay $4,600 taxes. In Northern VA we paid over $6,000 and in Chicago we paid $7,000. Florida is a bargain.

Hi could I ask you if you just bought your house in Fl? I am just trying to determine, if you as a new purchaser have to pay a lot more then someone who has owned it awhile. We want to move to Fl, but are very concerned if we can afford the taxes and Insurance.

We moved from Calif to Washington. We found the property taxes in Washington a lot higher then our Calif ones where.

Thanks

[rich renter]

well looking at townhomes around the 150k mark seem to have taxes between 3500 and 4000 which is totaly ridiculous, when you count in hoa, insurance and taxes your payments will not be far off what you can rent the place for and thats not even counting your mortgage! As a first time buyer i will wait for this broken system to be fixed.
I can just see the property aparaiseres eyes light up thinking fresh meat when they find out your a first time buyer, 'better get him on a high rate now and help compensate long time residents tax deductions'

sorry for the little rant

[bdpop]

They need to get rid of save our homes and tax everyone at the same rate. How did these municipalities get along before the housing bubble when taxes were significantly lower.

[brown1218]

Its amazing how everyone always says the taxes are higher in other states. The bottom line is the average middle income family can no longer afford to live in Florida. Its not just taxed but also Insurance. The state is driving familys out , and most are realizing the can move to another state and earn the same wages, have nice schools, own a home with lower taxes and insurance. People will always move to Florida, most will not make it. The ones that will are the wealthy. If the state doesnt fix the problems, people will be out of jobs. Most of the condos that are being sold on the beach are secondary residences. How will the locally owned places stay in buisness. How will your servers and bartenders earn a living. What about the people who have lived in Florida thier entire life, is it far for them to move away, just so people can move there because the taxes are lower.

[wacahootaman]

One overlooked factor is that the State only reciently required that the counties assess property at 100 percent market value. Before most counties always had their assesments lag way behind market value.

With the real estate bubble, the value of property in Florida soared and so did the property taxes.

If you were a new home owner, not protected by long time benifits of the Save our Homes exemption you got clobbered by property taxes. If you were not covered by homestead exemption or inherited property, you got savaged too.

So the counties got this huge windfall in new revenue that most did not truely need but they spent it anyway and then some ,and now are screaming disaster if they have to cut spending to pay for tax reduction.

[sodaking663rd]

There is some serious class envy going on with some people in this thread. Also comparing gas prices from Daytona to Alexandria isn't near the state average. Alexandria gas prices are on the very high side for va - whereas I doubt Daytona Beach is on the very high side in fl.
Ultimately though the answer for the high property taxes is because there is no state tax so it all averages out to be close to the same. keep in mind that houses are much cheaper in fl than in the northeast but along with the cheaper housing comes higher insurance and property taxes AND lower wages.

[totsuka]

It's the local and state government in Florida that is driving up the property taxes. They are pretty greedy and corrupt. Everyone in government is just concerned with increasing their salary and retirement packages. Very little goes to improving the schools. It's just a way of life in Florida which more and more looks like South America with it's long history of corruption.