Property Taxes and Hurricane Insurance...Can someone clarify? (Miami, Homestead: sale, home owners insurance)

[Jersey_Cuban]

I tried doing a search for this, but couldnt find a consise answer to my question.

I am trying to wrap my head around property taxes and insurance in Miami (southern Florida in general I guess.) Say I buy a house for $350K in Miami somewhere. What does the average property tax and insurance (including Hurricane insurance) look like. I have heard horror stories about how the insurance is as much, if not more than the taxes.

Can someone shed some light?

Regards
-I

[tamcim72]

I sold my home in '06 for $390k (unicorporated PBC), my last insurance bill was $5k w/ $15k deductible and 0 claims. Basically I paid all hurricane repairs out of pocket. My taxes were only $2500 but new owners were expected to pay about $$6k-$7k. I would easily estimate a minimum of $1000 month property taxes and insurance. It's a scary though seeing $350k doesn't buy much anymore.

[bale002]

As a rule of thumb, you can calculate your annual property tax at 2% of your purchase price.

So $350k purchase price, around $7k per year in property taxes. If you qualify for the homestead act, the increase in your assessed value is capped at 3% per year, so, assuming millage rates remain the same, your property tax cannot increase more than 3% per year.

As a very rough rule of thumb, HOI can also be estimated at 2% of the value of the property, so another $7k for a total of $14k a rule in property taxes and HOI.

Of course, the 2% estimate for HOI can vary widely depending on any number of factors.

Does upwards of around $14k per year for property taxes and HOI sound outrageous to you?

Anyway, I hope this helps.

[Jersey_Cuban]

Definately sounds outrageous... even for Jersey standards....

[doggiebus]

A $350k home that qualifies for Homestead exception will pay around $6,500 in taxes. If you don't qualify for homestead exception it will be around $7,000. The best way to figure it out is its 2% of the sale of your place. And If you qualify for Homestead exception you get 25k off the sale price, and then 2% of that number is your tax cost.

As far as Hurricane insurance, I can't give you a good answer. We got dropped last year from our company (never files a claim) and so had the only resort of going to Citizens (state run insurance) as it was the only one availble in our area. We are 8 miles inland and our HOI insurance is double ($4,600) our taxes. And don't forget car insurance its higher down here to than other parts of the state of Florida.

[jerseygirl25]

Somehow this doesn't make sense to me & I am confused. You mean that an average homeowner has to pay 1)mortgage, 2) taxes & 3) a home owners insurance that costs about $7,000 a year??? All this in a state where the wages are low? How are people making ends meet? This can't be right.

[tallrick]

Originally Posted by jerseygirl25

Somehow this doesn't make sense to me & I am confused. You mean that an average homeowner has to pay 1)mortgage, 2) taxes & 3) a home owners insurance that costs about $7,000 a year??? All this in a state where the wages are low? How are people making ends meet? This can't be right.

I have been trying to figure this out myself. This was not as bad 7 years ago, but in today's world it's a fact for most who purchased a home in the last 4 years. I don't think income matters anymore in south Florida, money just magically appears!

[chisoxfan]

Originally Posted by jerseygirl25

How are people making ends meet?

Unfortunately, many aren't. You can find them posting on the Tennessee and North Carolina threads; they've either gotten out or plan to soon. Anyone who bought a home here, in, say, 2004 has had to deal with very high taxes and windstorm insurance premiums that have doubled, tripled or quadrupled overnight, and a typical 3 percent annual raise isn't going to keep up with that.

[doggiebus]

Those that bought before the boom are making it because their mortgage and taxes are lower because they bought when it was half the price than todays price. Those that bought during the boom/today are the ones that are taking the hit. As they are paying double or triple the taxes than their neighbor that bought before the boom. Their morgage is higher because they payed double or triple what their neighbor payed a few years earlier for the same house. Many people that would like to downsize or upsize to a large home in the area can't because they will get hit with higher rates either way (even if you downsize your rates will be higher if you bought before the boom). This is my parents problem, they want to downsize, but if they do their taxes will double. So they are either just staying where they are or they are moving out of the state. Now home owners insurance, most everyone in South Florida is paying a high preminum.

Originally Posted by jerseygirl25

Somehow this doesn't make sense to me & I am confused. You mean that an average homeowner has to pay 1)mortgage, 2) taxes & 3) a home owners insurance that costs about $7,000 a year??? All this in a state where the wages are low? How are people making ends meet? This can't be right.

[tommyz]

I bought my house for around 350 and didn't homestead year 1 - did it right after they raised me to 450 on my assesment value for taxes. I pay roughy 10k a year in taxes and 10k in insurance all in. Plus Mortgage. I'm on a 20 year fixed so my monthly costs are roughly 3,700 a month.