[OysterCatcher]

I thought you said you were going to be a snowbird? How are you going to take care of all that property, animals, trees or whatever and farm if you're not going to be there for half the year or more???

And another thing I wanted to comment on, you mentioned a concern about it being too hot in Tallahassee. Believe me that will not be a concern if you are there Nov-Apr, just the opposite I can assure you.

Do yourself a favor, first figure out what it is you want to do. Then spend some time on weather.com and look at the monthly climatic averages of certain places. Finally, read and research some of the "Snowbirding" threads on this site. That will answer many of your questions and save you headaches. Best of luck.

[mrsfixit99]

Originally Posted by misty88

We are zoned agricultural yes, as is the majority of the area, hence the lower tax rate. The agricultural exemption that I am refering to is called "Greenbelt" Here is some information from the Putnam County Tax Assessors office: Agriculture Classification

That is the exemption where you have to be raising split hooved animals or growing pines or oaks. We applied because of the amount of oaks and pines in the 30 acres, but were denied because there wasn't the amount needed to qualify. They have some type of formula that they use. We could have leased some of the land to cattle raisers and then we would have been granted the "greenbelt" exemption, but we choose not to go that route.

Mortgages are somewhat difficult on raw land that has no improvements as it was when we first bought the property. Since then we have cleared the 10 acres, put in electric, septic, wells and a home, barns and outbuildings. Therefore, that wouldn't be a problem in obtaining a mortgage, other than your own financial situation.

There is also a program here for obtaining mortgages for rural properties. It is the USDA Rural Developement Mortgages. I really don't know too much about other than hearing about it from some people who got their mortgages using that program.

Nancy the realtor would be much more knowledgable on the property taxes, exemptions and mortgage info, than I am. LOL, but I just wanted to give you the little info that I do know. LOL

Thank you, that was very helpful info.

I'll understand it all better when I actually contact a broker, and a bank to discuss it all.

I appreciate all the info you've given me though, and I will get in touch with your broker.

[mrsfixit99]

Originally Posted by OysterCatcher

I thought you said you were going to be a snowbird? How are you going to take care of all that property, animals, trees or whatever and farm if you're not going to be there for half the year or more???

And another thing I wanted to comment on, you mentioned a concern about it being too hot in Tallahassee. Believe me that will not be a concern if you are there Nov-Apr, just the opposite I can assure you.

Do yourself a favor, first figure out what it is you want to do. Then spend some time on weather.com and look at the monthly climatic averages of certain places. Finally, read and research some of the "Snowbirding" threads on this site. That will answer many of your questions and save you headaches. Best of luck.

Ok, here is the situation with "snowbirding". I want to sell the house here, my husband is dead set against it. It is not negotiable. His rationale is that the house is in terrible shape, which it is, and we'd take a real beating on it.

Secondly, he wants to have a place to go back to just in case we decide we hate it down there. If OTOH, if we decide after a year or two that we're just thrilled and delighted with FL living, he's willing to put it up for sale.

I can see the logic in this. Begrudgingly, but he has a point.

I don't plan on keeping animals of any kind. About the yard work, yes, that is a concern. We would have to have someone to at least mow the grass once a week. I'm sure it could be arranged.

We also have my 82 year old mother to worry about. She still lives on her own in an apartment in Brooklyn, but her landlady is 85 and not in the best of health. It's a 2 family house and if the landlady dies, she'll wind up here with us.

Our house is not equipped to deal with an elderly person who can't walk stairs any more. We have 2 tiny bedrooms and a bathroom upstairs, but they're not big enough for anything but a single bed. So we can't sleep up there. If we put her downstairs we're looking at a major remodel, including having to add a bathroom. This will not only cost a lot of money, but it isn't worth it. The house is a wreck, and it will raise our taxes even more.

This is called being caught between a rock and a hard place...

My goal is to buy a place in FL big enough for all of us, maybe with an in-law suite or with enough bedrooms and bathrooms so she can have her own space.

So in addition to grass mowing, I will have to look into services for the elderly so she could stay down there year round. She doesn't drive, she would need someone to shop for her, maybe take her to a doctors appointment, that's about it.

About it being too hot in Tallahassee, I was thinking long term about the "summer" being to hot, not the winter. I will do as you suggested and check the winter temps for that area. But to me, 50 degrees is shorts and T-shirt weather and it's still a whole lot better than being here when it's -5 degrees out and I have ice half a foot thick on the driveway.

At this point I'm exploring my options. And option #1 is to insure I don't have to spend the rest of my life in this horrid state.

[dancer373]

You might look at Pinetta in Madison County,FL. It's 1 hour from Tallahassee, 30 minutes from Valdosta (with cheap gas), 1 hour from Lake City. 15 miles to either I-75 or I-10. It's rolling rural and has trees.