Which FLA counties have cheapest taxes+HOI rates? (Jacksonville, Tampa: HOA fees, insurance)

vaindioux · 05-24-2009, 10:42 AM

Hi

We live in Atlanta (North suburbs) and just paid our mortgage off. I have wanted to move to Florida for years, mostly for my love of tropical/sub tropical plants.
Home prices have considerably dropped in Florida since last I checked. But insurance and taxes still seem high.
We are looking in the wide central Florida area, away from the water, would have to be close to Orlando or Tampa or both (1 hour max commute to work OK).
Which counties shall I look into as far as lower taxes and HOI?
I looked quickly at Polk, Lake, Orange, Osceola and found lots of homes in our price range (120k-160K).
I have a related question. How come if HOI and taxes are so high in Florida, so many hispanics can afford to own here? Lots of Hispanic here in Atlanta and they don't have the high paying salaries but they can make it fine here as taxes and HOI are affordable. Just wondering!

Thanks a lot

Patrick

leaving texAss · 05-31-2009, 07:18 AM

i've noticed too that taxes and HOA fees are high. it's soured me on moving to the orlando area. looks like the tax and spend republicans are ruining florida too. LIBERTARIAN REVOLUTION NOW! KICK ALL THE TAX AND SPENDERS OUT OF OFFICE.

TorontoExpat · 05-31-2009, 07:31 AM

HOAs are a joke. Avoid whenever possible.

HOI on the other hand is a necessity and probably fairly priced due to hurricanes. I too would be interested to know the area with the lowest taxes and HOI rates.

stars99 · 05-31-2009, 07:34 AM

Insurance is lower in inland areas, but it also depends on other factors--what year the house was built, what type of roof it has and how recently the roof was updated.
Seminole county mill rates seem to be slightly lower than Orange. I don't know about the other counties, you can find all that on the appraiser's websites. I think Lake or Polk might end up being a bit cheaper for you overall than Orange or Seminole. Don't know about Osceola. Remember you get a homestead exemption on your taxes. If you want to be between Tampa and Orlando, Polk would work, although I can't guarantee that it will be exciting to live out there. It's better to just pick one city or the other based on a job than to try to live equidistant between them.

stars99 · 05-31-2009, 07:37 AM

I don't know about taxes, but from what I know the lowest insurance is in north Florida (on the peninsula, not the panhandle).

And I think the highest is in Dade & Monroe counties.

TorontoExpat · 05-31-2009, 07:44 AM

I'll grudgingly admit that Jacksonville is attractive in this sense. The lower priced homes when compared to the rest of the state combined with the $50,000 SOH exemption probably make it the cheapest in taxes.
What area specifically has the lowest -- Orange Park?

stars99 · 05-31-2009, 07:51 AM

I don't know that area. If you go to the Jacksonville appraiser site they'll provide that information.

Quote:

Originally Posted by TorontoExpat

I'll grudgingly admit that Jacksonville is attractive in this sense. The lower priced homes when compared to the rest of the state combined with the $50,000 SOH exemption probably make it the cheapest in taxes.
What area specifically has the lowest -- Orange Park?

stars99 · 05-31-2009, 07:56 AM

If your coming from Toronto, it might be easier to blend in as an outsider Central Florida than north FL It all depends on you and what you're looking for, but north FL is different than other parts of the state.

Quote:

Originally Posted by TorontoExpat

I'll grudgingly admit that Jacksonville is attractive in this sense. The lower priced homes when compared to the rest of the state combined with the $50,000 SOH exemption probably make it the cheapest in taxes.
What area specifically has the lowest -- Orange Park?

TorontoExpat · 05-31-2009, 07:56 AM

It's a suburb in a different county, which is why I believe it might be less tax. I'm too lazy to goto Duval County and Clay County and do the comparisons... later today though unless someone beats me to it.

stars99 · 05-31-2009, 08:17 AM

I saw on another thread that you have family in Jax so you probably know a lot more about it than I do.

Quote:

Originally Posted by TorontoExpat

It's a suburb in a different county, which is why I believe it might be less tax. I'm too lazy to goto Duval County and Clay County and do the comparisons... later today though unless someone beats me to it.