Homeowners Insurance and Taxes (Jacksonville: how much, house, buy)

[srcog]

My family will be moving to the Jacksonville area for a job. I'm thinking we'll probably buy a house in the St. John's County area. We'll probably spend about $425,000 on a 4 bedroom.

How much can I expect the Homeowner's Insurance to cost? I know this is a big topic in Florida...I'm assuming the cost goes up closer to the beach, but how much more?

How much can I expect the property taxes to be, roughly?

Thanks!

[EricBoyd]

There are a lot of factors involved in determining insurance costs. It does indeed depend on the property location, whether it's in flood zone, it's proximity to the ocean. If the home is older, that's also a factor, due to older mechanicals, electric, plumbing. Once you get an idea on a few properties you're considering, you'll then want to call your insurance company with the property address and the home specs.

For taxes, if the assessed value is the same as the purchase price of $425k, then the taxes would be just over $6,000. It's been my experience, though, that the property appraisers are usually valuing homes lower than the actual market price, for taxing purposes. So, the home may only have a taxable value of $325k, which would make the annual tax bill about $4700. But, again, it depends on the property. The 2008 millage rates for St Johns Cty are here: http://www.sjcpa.us/Millage%20Rates.htm (broken link)

Hope that helps.

Good luck on your move!