Taxes Under $1000 In Manatee or Sarasota Counties (Tampa, Spring Hill: sale, insurance)

[blueherons]

Originally Posted by ClearSkyView

Joeyddog: From a lifestyle standpoint, a condo would be great for them. But they told me
they want to avoid HOA fees. (It's unfortunate how their earnings have dropped since retirement.)

..

Don't rule out an HOA.

Many HOAs in condos and townhouses can cover exterior maintanence, landscaping, flood insurance, basic cable, water, sewer, trash, etc.

For your aging parents, an HOA may be a good thing.

Use flood maps as a guide for flood insurance not as a rule. My mother's home, which was completely outside a floodzone at least two miles from the ICW and four from the ocean, was completely flooded by Hurricane Floyd. Sh likes to buy insurance so fortunately she was covered.

[ClearSkyView]

blueherons: We didn't realize HOA's could cover so much. We will definitely not rule out condos
if the costs are within budget.

One thing I didn't mention is that my father is a lot older than my mother. When he passes she
would be left with a lower income. That is really the basis for my focus on low cost of living
in this thread.

I see on the Dept of Revenue website that there is a $500 tax exemption for widows.
Does that mean her taxes would be cut by $500 per year?

[bbronston]

No. Your annual tax bill is really a statement of charges by many different taxing authorities. Each taxing authority has its own millage rate that is multiplied by the assessed value of the property (as determined by the county property appraiser) less any exemptions (this is the taxable value) the owner is qualified to receive. So, the exemptions reduce the taxable value which is multiplied by the millage rate for each authority on the page. It does reduce the tax but not directly as you asked. You can learn more at: www.manateepao.com but the easiest way to get a grasp of it is to look at a real tax bill. You can go to www.taxcollector.com and search for the tax bill of a property you see online. Just plug the listing's address into the search and you can view the tax bill.

[ClearSkyView]

Thanks bbronson for clarifying the widow's exemption.

I checked out manateepao.com and on the "Estimating Your Taxes Page" there's an explanation
of how complicated tax appraisal is. At the very end of the page they say:

"While we would like to provide a tax estimate that is meaningful, future taxes can no longer be calculated due to a multitude of variables, many of which will not be determined until Notices of Proposed Taxes are mailed. The best estimate of taxes available is the current amount reflected on the Tax Collector's website, www.taxcollector.com."

That of course is the advice that you gave me.

For anyone else's information, this is what I did:

First I got the property ID number (PARID) from manateepao.com for a random home in our price range from a real
estate website. Then I went to taxcollector.com and plugged it into the Property Search page. I selected all years.
The resulting list showed the tax payments from 1998 to 2011.
The taxes increased from 1998 to 2007, then decreased thereafter. There was a tax increase of about $400
to a new value of $1,893 when the ownership changed in 2003.

[ClearSkyView]

Continuing from my previous post, I notice that the taxes decreased from a peak
of $1963 in 2006 to $1181 in 2011 under the same owners. I can't see anything on
their page at manateepao.com that would indicate why that happened. I may be missing
something obvious. But it sure is interesting!

[bbronston]

Remember, taxes are based on the taxable value. The taxable value varies each year because the assessed value changes with the market, the exemptions can change (the additional $25K exemption for non-school related taxing authorities is a relatively new thing), and the millage rate changes a little from year to year, too. Looking at the tax amount alone doesn't really give you a complete picture.

[ClearSkyView]

On the home page of the Sarasota Herald Tribune website is an article about affordable
Sarasota neighborhoods that date back to the 1950's:

"Market snapshot: Carolina Estates in Sarasota"

(I'm not sure if I'm allowed to posts links yet.)

Doing a search on a real estate website I see that there are plenty of homes just under
$100,000 in Sarasota.

Perhaps Sarasota is a possibility for my parents, although Bradenton seems to have a
lot more of what they would need (such as ALDI's and lots of doctor's offices.)

[gypsychic]

Originally Posted by ClearSkyView

On the home page of the Sarasota Herald Tribune website is an article about affordable
Sarasota neighborhoods that date back to the 1950's:

"Market snapshot: Carolina Estates in Sarasota"

(I'm not sure if I'm allowed to posts links yet.)

Doing a search on a real estate website I see that there are plenty of homes just under
$100,000 in Sarasota.

Perhaps Sarasota is a possibility for my parents, although Bradenton seems to have a
lot more of what they would need (such as ALDI's and lots of doctor's offices.)

Most of those seem to be short sales, many of which need work.

I read the Carolina Estates article, sounds like a nice neighborhood, but the article said there was practically nothing for sale there, and I don't think anything under $100,00.

I do recommend looking around Bradenton - that area around ALDI is nice, I shop there all the time, plus the plaza across the way has a beautiful Publix - lots of convenient things in West Bradenton with easy access to beaches too. You might want to focus your search around there some (west Bradenton)

[ClearSkyView]

Originally Posted by gypsychic

Most of those seem to be short sales, many of which need work.

I read the Carolina Estates article, sounds like a nice neighborhood, but the article said
there was practically nothing for sale there, and I don't think anything under $100,00.

I do recommend looking around Bradenton - that area around ALDI is nice, I shop there
all the time, plus the plaza across the way has a beautiful Publix - lots of convenient
things in West Bradenton with easy access to beaches too. You might want to focus
your search around there some (west Bradenton)

We remember going to a doctor's office in west Bradenton (somewhere between Manatee Ave
and Cortez Rd.) It was in a well kept neighborhood of small older homes. It's a good
impression that's stayed with us.

With respect to houses needing work (roof, plumbing, etc), I could probably do some of the
work for my parents. Perhaps that could be a negotiating point with a seller.

From what I read about buying short sales it sounds like a process my parents probably
wouldn't want to go through.

I hope this thread continues. Every post has been great information that will give focus to
our search when we come down to speak to a real estate agent.

[Steppy]

Forget the taxes. Have you looked at the insurance rates in FL? That's a bigger problem than the taxes.