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I'm curious now. I don't really know how all this stuff works.
I just checked my neighbors on either side. One house is assessed at around $30K! They have the homestead and 2 senior exemptions.
Market value is also lower.
The other neighbor's - same market value as mine and she's assessed at around $80K with just the one homestead exemption. What gives?
They did buy their homes 30 years before I did though.
That's what really doesn't work about the current system.
Especially in an older neighborhood, you'll see values that are all over the place. If your neighbor bought their house 30, 40, 50 years ago and they've just staying in it the whole time, they're probably paying next to nothing in taxes (and maybe senior and widow exemptions on top of that).
But your house may have been bought and sold a few times over the decades and reassessed with each and every sale. You'll pay much more in taxes due to that fact.
So the houses can be identical, but one neighbor may pay the full going rate for taxes while the other pays barely anything .
I've had that happen. 2 identical houses - identical floor plans, identical lots - the old lady next door had been there for decades, she paid $500 a year in taxes after all her exemptions. She redid the entire interior of her house (new kitchen, new bathroom, etc.). Her house was worth more than mine which still desperately needed upgrading, yet I paid nearly $2000 a year in taxes because my house had changed hands a few times .
She had all the same services I did - police, fire, schools, garbage, road repaved, new city water hookup (like you), etc. - all for $500 a year! Quite a bargain !
Location: Lots of sun and palm trees with occasional hurricane :)
8,293 posts, read 16,160,105 times
Reputation: 7018
Quote:
Originally Posted by riveree
That's what really doesn't work about the current system.
Especially in an older neighborhood, you'll see values that are all over the place. If your neighbor bought their house 30, 40, 50 years ago and they've just staying in it the whole time, they're probably paying next to nothing in taxes (and maybe senior and widow exemptions on top of that).
But your house may have been bought and sold a few times over the decades and reassessed with each and every sale. You'll pay much more in taxes due to that fact.
So the houses can be identical, but one neighbor may pay the full going rate for taxes while the other pays barely anything .
I've had that happen. 2 identical houses - identical floor plans, identical lots - the old lady next door had been there for decades, she paid $500 a year in taxes after all her exemptions. She redid the entire interior of her house (new kitchen, new bathroom, etc.). Her house was worth more than mine which still desperately needed upgrading, yet I paid nearly $2000 a year in taxes because my house had changed hands a few times .
She had all the same services I did - police, fire, schools, garbage, road repaved, new city water hookup (like you), etc. - all for $500 a year! Quite a bargain !
Yep! I'm not sure it's fair. My neighbors also pay a lot (about $2-3K) less in HOI.
I'm actually the 3rd owner of that house. The previous owners were there 33 years, so I guess the original was there about 13 or so, more or less. I bought this in December 02. Not at peak, peak yet, but very close.
So is there no way for me to get my taxes lowered?
Yep! I'm not sure it's fair. My neighbors also pay a lot (about $2-3K) less in HOI.
I'm actually the 3rd owner of that house. The previous owners were there 33 years, so I guess the original was there about 13 or so, more or less. I bought this in December 02. Not at peak, peak yet, but very close.
So is there no way for me to get my taxes lowered?
Well, if your home is significantly different in some way - maybe all your neighbors have 3 bathrooms and you only have 1 - then maybe you can argue that your home is worth less per square foot, but you have to prove it.
How do you prove that your neighbor has a new kitchen that's all granite and travertine with a Viking stove, etc. and yours is linoleum and a hot plate ?? Surely your neighbor is not going to allow you to photograph their interior.
You can always try, there is a procedure in place to appeal your property taxes, but if it backfires, you'll be unhappy. Plus, the assessments are always a year behind, which makes it even harder. You get your new tax bill, but it's based on last year's figures (at least it is here in Jax- last year's sale prices determine this year's assessment), so now you have to "travel back in time" on top of it all .
Location: Lots of sun and palm trees with occasional hurricane :)
8,293 posts, read 16,160,105 times
Reputation: 7018
Quote:
Originally Posted by riveree
Well, if your home is significantly different in some way - maybe all your neighbors have 3 bathrooms and you only have 1 - then maybe you can argue that your home is worth less per square foot, but you have to prove it.
How do you prove that your neighbor has a new kitchen that's all granite and travertine with a Viking stove, etc. and yours is linoleum and a hot plate ?? Surely your neighbor is not going to allow you to photograph their interior.
You can always try, there is a procedure in place to appeal your property taxes, but if it backfires, you'll be unhappy. Plus, the assessments are always a year behind, which makes it even harder. You get your new tax bill, but it's based on last year's figures (at least it is here in Jax- last year's sale prices determine this year's assessment), so now you have to "travel back in time" on top of it all .
Ok where's that crazy professor with that time capsule when you need him!
This is why for me SOH is saving me.My assessment which is done by so called comparable sales went from $73,000 to $112,000 and now $125,000,my tax bill under $600.Without SOH I would be looking at a $2,700-$3,200.The new amendment will have all of us in this boat eventually.The moon is the limit.I am retired and could not afford this no increase in pension in 20 years.Have also lost healthcare.
This is why for me SOH is saving me.My assessment which is done by so called comparable sales went from $73,000 to $112,000 and now $125,000,my tax bill under $600.Without SOH I would be looking at a $2,700-$3,200.The new amendment will have all of us in this boat eventually.The moon is the limit.I am retired and could not afford this no increase in pension in 20 years.Have also lost healthcare.
So for you it works out well, and I don't begrudge you that, but it's obviously a flawed system.
If EVERYONE was only paying $600 a year in property tax, imagine what a mess we'd be in. How would we pay teachers and police and firemen, etc.? Where would the money come from when we need new roads or a new bridge?
It just doesn't make sense.
And this new amendment has me concerned. I see how it can benefit the rich - they can move every few years and claim the Super Exemption and not have a care in the world about their property taxes. The middle class however, will probably not move as often. Florida is not so cheap anymore and people may slow down with their house jumping. So if you claim the Super Exemption, you open yourself up to unlimited reassessments each year (no 3% cap), if you stay in your house for 10, 20 years, what will it look like then? Will you be worse off than if you just left your home with the SOH exemption?
I looked at the Super Exemption calculator on my city's website, and they only offer you a very limited range of cost of living increases.......hmmm.......why is that ?
So for you it works out well, and I don't begrudge you that, but it's obviously a flawed system.
If EVERYONE was only paying $600 a year in property tax, imagine what a mess we'd be in. How would we pay teachers and police and firemen, etc.? Where would the money come from when we need new roads or a new bridge?
It just doesn't make sense.
And this new amendment has me concerned. I see how it can benefit the rich - they can move every few years and claim the Super Exemption and not have a care in the world about their property taxes. The middle class however, will probably not move as often. Florida is not so cheap anymore and people may slow down with their house jumping. So if you claim the Super Exemption, you open yourself up to unlimited reassessments each year (no 3% cap), if you stay in your house for 10, 20 years, what will it look like then? Will you be worse off than if you just left your home with the SOH exemption?
I looked at the Super Exemption calculator on my city's website, and they only offer you a very limited range of cost of living increases.......hmmm.......why is that ?
I would guess because everyone is paying their fair share it will go up very little. And if property values go up, they go up. What do people want to do live in a house for years paying almost no taxes then when they sell make some kind of big score? If the live in a valuable house they need to be paying some taxes. Can't have it both ways.
If they are living in a community and using public offerings, police, schools, fire and so on, why would they have a right to a free ride just because they have lived in the house 20 years? SOH was an experiment that in practice has proven to be a flawed idea.
Lowered your assessment or lowered the millage rate?
Jacksonville has lowered the millage rate in the past, so all our bills went down a little, but I've never seen them lower the assessments.
Riveree - they lowered the ASSESSED value by $12,000. I was surprised, since I didn't realize any county would actually do this, and we have actually made improvements to hour house this year. I think they probably lowered everything around here since real estate sales have slowed so much.
"And this new amendment has me concerned. I see how it can benefit the rich - they can move every few years and claim the Super Exemption and not have a care in the world about their property taxes. The middle class however, will probably not move as often. Florida is not so cheap anymore and people may slow down with their house jumping. So if you claim the Super Exemption, you open yourself up to unlimited reassessments each year (no 3% cap), if you stay in your house for 10, 20 years, what will it look like then?"
I haven't made up my mind about the new tax proposal yet but I think the above assessment is backwards.
First, the middle class moves more frequently than the rich. The middle often seek larger houses as their income improves or families grow and when their neighborhoods start to "go downhill". The rich tend to buy huge houses in upscale neighborhoods and see no reason to leave.
Second, the SOH cap makes it difficult for the middle class to upgrade houses because the new increase in taxes increases the monthly payment so much. That is why there is less "house jumping". It is also hindering a lot of middle class buyers from out of state who aren't buying any of the overabundance of houses on the market because of the new tax burden on top of insurance rates. The smartest thing the state could have done was make SOH portable. I don't know why they didn't.
I think the rich benefit far more from SOH than an exemption. It gives the biggest tax break to longtime residents living in the wealthiest areas. The higher the value of the home, the bigger the tax break. Owners of modest homes only see small breaks. Whereas the owner of a $200,000 house will see a huge reduction from the super exemption and the owner of a $600,000 home will not see as much.
This was in the Miami Herald a while back: "Last year, 1,000 Florida homeowners saved more than $25,000 each in countywide property taxes because of the amendment. The values of their homes ranged from $1.5 million to $42.5 million.
The list includes gilded heirs and industry moguls. Others are among the state's most recognizable citizens, including golfer GregNorman on Hobe Sound, singer Gloria Estefan in Miami Beach and Palm Beach residents Rush Limbaugh, Tampa Bay Buccaneers owner Malcolm Glazer and Jimmy Buffett.
In 2004, the 500 biggest SaveOurHomes tax breaks in Dade and Palm Beach counties totaled a combined $22 million in taxes -- more than the tax revenue for 25 of Florida's 67 county governments."
That's 22 million in tax money that the wealthiest didn't have to pay thanks to SOH. Gee, maybe I have made up my mind after all.
Riveree - they lowered the ASSESSED value by $12,000. I was surprised, since I didn't realize any county would actually do this, and we have actually made improvements to hour house this year. I think they probably lowered everything around here since real estate sales have slowed so much.
That's great Gypsy, maybe it will be a spreading trend .
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?? Surely your neighbor is not going to allow you to photograph their interior.
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