[Need_affordable_home]

1. Do away with the "save our houses" this places an unfair tax burden on first time buyers and snowbirds. What needs to be done is increase the homestead exemption to $50k, lower property taxes to 1.5% or lower. This means everyone will be paying their fair share of taxes.
2. Increase property taxes if you own more than one house. One house per person or household will get the $50k exemption and pay only 1.5% or less property taxes. It does not matter if you own a house elsewhere. Any more than one house and the additional house(s) have zero exemption and property taxes should be 3 to 4 percent. This will greatly discourage speculators from buying multiple houses and flipping them because the property taxes would kill their profits and at the same time, make more money for Florida.
3. If we cant do anything to lower house prices, what needs to be done is build affordable housing for the lower and middle class. This in fact is already being done. We still need more affordable housing. This will also drive the price down of other houses as affordable housing is competition. Discouraging speculators should naturally help lower prices further. We need some $50k small houses and condos for single person living in them and we need $100k to $150k houses for small families.
4. We have to do something about our serious crime problem. Start paying cops alot more and hire more cops. Make sure at least one house in every neighboor has a cop living in it. Patrol bad neighboors with cops. Crime will go way down.
5. Start paying essental workers like cops, teachers, nurses, etc more.
6. Raise minimum wage high enough so everyone can afford a $50k house and there wont be a problem with people being priced out of Florida.

Anyone else with ideas? I like the property tax idea best

[Tennessee gal]

I like most all your comments on making Fl a better place to live. However, I would like to make additional comments on #4 and Crime. Being in law enforcement myself, I would agree on more cops and higher wages. We are short on shift everyday and wages from pay check to pay check. However to really address crime we need to get the courts to sit different point system for prison. I arrest hundreds of repeat offenders who serve 3, 6,11 months and back to the streets and have rap sheets an inch thick.... I'm not talking about some DWLS. I talking about the repeaters of robberies, drugs, theifs, etc. SEND these crime causing people to the BIG HOUSE. Take them off our streets and neighborhoods with LONG prison terms instead of returning them to the street after a few months in jail to comment more crimes. That will clean up crime better than a cop living in the neighborhood. And then secondly, get Immergration to come pick up all illegals we arrest. 98 per cent of the time we have to turn them loose because Immergration can't or won't pick them up to deport. Even thought they were arrested for a crime such as drugs, robberies.....after they serve the time, they are turn loose back to comment more crimes. That will help cut crime also. The average person doesn't know we just have a revolving door at our jails. Judges and the courts of our state need a MAJOR overhaul on sending these criminals to PRISON. Then we would have a better Florida.

[sunrico90]

I also like your idea, but I don't think that your proposal will fix or eradicate our current situation (my opinion).

I will suggest e-mailing our governor and sharing the idea, also create a social group and advertise your idea and look for financial support from companies or individuals that will funds this type of idea. If you get the support and commitment from others you can make a serious positive change in our state.

Good Luck....

[FL_TN_Nana]

Provocative thoughts, NAH!

*Ok, I'd probably give up my SOH breaks for a $50k homestead exemption and 1.5% or less - for the good of all.
*People who own more than one house already may claim homestead exemption on their primary residence only (or at least that's the way it works for honest people!).
*I'm not sure I totally agree with you on #3...yes, people DO need affordable homes, but if you can't afford to buy, you rent. I don't see how a home can even be built, then sold at a small profit, for $50k if building materials and labor costs are as much as we've seen lately. (Shabby building with shabby materials perhaps? In that case you'd just be building more future ghettos or disaster zones.)
*To pay cops more and hire more, our taxes will need to INCREASE not decrease. You cannot keep asking for more government and willing to pay less. Besides that, OPD's starting salary is $38,000 + other incentives + overtime. Well over $40k to start -- not bad as far as I can see for a first year rookie. It goes up from there.
* Essential workers (cops, teachers, nurses, etc.) are not the only necessary people who make our economy grow. Agree, they need to make a livable wage, but so do secretaries, waitresses, auto mechanics, electricians, construction workers, and Disney employees.
*I don't think minimum wage workers expect to be able to buy a home. It's hard enough for them to pay rent without responsibility for other expenses and maintenance.

It would be nice for Florida to have equitable salaries and cost of living. But apparently there are enough potential employees for each position to keep salaries lower rather than higher. (Supply and demand!)

[bmurphy]

$50k houses I don't think are going to happen. The rest of the ideas it would be great to see but I don't think they would happen. Prices don't usually plummet just to make people be able to afford things.

[Jammie]

NAH, like the others, I think you have some pretty good ideas there. One of the things I personally disagree with is singling out teachers, nurses, and cops to have increased salaries. Basically, of the three professions, officers are the only one who lay their lives on the line every time they go to work. But then we'd also need to consider the prison guards who often have some threatening situations. It's a lot like Fl Nana said, you can't keep raising public salaries while you are cutting taxes.

As far as building affordable houses for people, it is possible to do. At the risk of offending all of you who are tired of hearing "This is how we do it back home.) We have a program that is called the "Governor's Houses". I believe it was started by Bill Janklow when he was governor. The prisoners who are in minimum security build the houses so there is no labor involved. The cost of the house is something like 35,000, up from 25,000 a few years ago. There is an income guideline but it isn't that stringent. Also, you cannot possess over 100,000 in property or $$. You buy your own lot, have your foundation set (or some have basements dug) and you put your house on it. Some people add a garage throughout time when they get a few extra $$ together. Since Florida has such high impact fees and lots in some areas are astronomical, that would need a bit of tweeking to have it work down there.

[Need_affordable_home]

I like the idea of using prisioners for free construction labor, we can reward them with credit towards reduced prision sentences. Perhaps every day they spend on construction, they get one day less prision time. Dont use violent offenders, too dangerous. Use those white collar petty criminals and wire them with ankle bracelet so they cant just run away.

How much is land in south FL? Lets say $200k an acre. We can use tenth acre plots for mobile or manufactored houses. Each plot will have $20k worth of land and mobile homes can be had for $30k for a decent 3 bedroom sized one. For $100k you can have a CBS house instead of a mobile home. This should really ease the affordability crisis and allow teachers, cops, firemen and nurses making around $40k a year to afford those houses.

As for property taxes, raise them for owning more than one house. This will discourage speculators that drive prices up.

[Jammie]

NAH, that sounds like a good idea. Wow, that's a lot for an acre of land! You're right~I don't think they ever use the hardened criminals for work like that. They always have a couple of guards and a carpenter present, too. Most of the inmates aren't major criminals, but may have gotten caught with pot or something. Actually, you don't even have to reward them. Gov. Janklow had started a few good programs and the inmates were just happy to be out of their cell and have something constructive to do. One of the other programs he instituted is called "Pedal Power from the Pen." My husband had been the contact person in our area from the start of the program until just a few months ago. He personally gathered over 10,000 bicycles that weren't being used by people. You'd be surprised at how many generous people are in the world if they know they can help someone. The prisoners fix them up, paint them, and the police departments distribute them to children. Along with a bicycle, each child receives a helmet which is paid for by the State Bar Association. There are many people who don't have a driver's license who also get the bikes, along with many elderly people. But I'm getting a bit off topic here. What I'm basically saying is that I seriously think you have some good ideas there and if people would only be willing to work together, there shouldn't be anyone who is homeless. I do question putting mobile homes on the lots though. I always thought they were cute, but the weather channel reported that there have been 23 deaths because of the tornadoes this year already. 21 of them occured during the night, but all 23 fatalities were in mobile homes. I was surprised to hear that, but it does make you think twice about living in one.

And of course no one is expecting the cost of houses to be lowered just because NAH or myself doesn't have a half a million dollars lying around to buy one. But when a good portion of working people can't afford to buy a house for their family, something is wrong. When people have to live in fear from month to month that they won't be able to keep their home because of high insurance and taxes and mortgages and they're working two jobs, it's time that people start coming up with solutions.

[tallrick]

50K homestead exemption is a joke when a house is "valued" at 500,000. Come on, you still have a 9,000 dollar tax bill. Here's my solution. Base taxes on a percantage of the purchase price, adjusted to the inflation level or the income level of the owner(s). Make hometsead a percentage of value, like 50%. The counties and state are so stupid, they think they will lose money from lower property taxes. The money will be regained in sales taxes. Let's see, 2% versus 7% of spending...and we citizens should DEMAND reduced government. Floridians are overworked, and too selfish to get together and fight. If we targeted the politicians who fight against us, the others would come in line. Definately get rid of 'save our homes" Any lawyers out there with enough guts to get this declared unconstitutional? Can you take a break from your 300.00 an hour jobs and do some good for a change? We can take back Florida if we want, but those in power are on the gravy train getting rich. They know we citizens are spineless or powerless to hold them responsible.

[ios]

What a wonderful idea! It would be great to happen everywhere. But it is really just a little impractical. Do u think so?

And also good luck to you~