Taxes in Florida/Miami (Miami Beach, Coral Gables: short sale, real estate, apartment)

[Pelen]

My husband will probably start to work in Miami so we will move from Norway. I really don't know much about taxes in U.S. so can you please inform me more? Taxes on income, real estate and other taxes that is valuable to know about.

We will probably live on Miami beach, how is the schools there? Is it best to use private schools? We have a son, now 5 and in Norway you start school when you are 6. When do the kids start school in Florida/Miami?

We have been in Miami several times and we have not seen any crime and so on. Is this something we have to think about?

Any other good advices?

[decodriveboy]

Hi Pelen,

Sales taxes in FL are about 7.5%, but there is no state income tax. If you are buying real estate in Miami Beach, expect to pay at least $10,000+ a year in property taxes (and that does not include insurance!), even if you get a steal of a price. You will be taxed on the "assessed" value, which because of the market collapse, is now in many cases much higher than the actual value of the property.

I strongly suggest renting. Property taxes are crippling our economy yet our state's politicians and judges continue to ignore the will of the people, who are calling out in desperation for significant relief. Eventually, there will be no homes left to tax as everyone is forced into foreclosure. There is an impossibly steep cost of owning here unless you are a multi-millionaire.

If you buy a condo, you will be subjected to constant "inspections", a steady stream of fines & citations for anything and everything found wrong in the building, and the bills to fix them. You will also have to pay for the defaulting condo owners who do not pay their share of HOA fees, special assessments and lawyer bills.

There are many nice places in the Miami area to live, I just would strongly suggest you not buy anything, at least not until some level of sanity is reached with the housing situation. Private school would be a good idea, but there are many good public schools mostly on the Beach. A 6 year old would probably be starting first grade but you may want to check with the school.

I really like Miami and recommend living here but you just have to know what you are getting into before making big decisions about where to live and when to buy. Also, it's definitely not a good idea to come here without a decent-paying job lined up or you will be sunk from the start. It's not easy. Hope this helps and good luck!

[Meerteekah]

As mentioned, 7.5% sales tax, no state income tax, and regular income tax depends on income bracket. Property taxes are pretty high. We pay 7K a year. Insurance is nuts. Expect at least 300 per month and more for homeowner's insurance. Utilities are going up, too. You'll be paying taxes on your auto yearly (usually less than 70 bucks). Cell phones have a bunch of fees/taxes that'll add on about 15+ to your normal contract monthly price.

I don't know if foreign workers have to pay social security and such. That you'd have to ask your employer's human resources.

Cost of living in Miami is not as affordable as it once was, but it's still way cheaper than New York or San Francisco or Seattle or Boston or L.A. or San Diego or Chicago or quite a number of other major cities.

Definitely rent for now. Seriously, rent. That's my best advice. So on that, I agree with the previous poster (who covered this same ground, but I figure two "witnesses" will assure you this is no exaggeration.)

House prices have come down in South Florida (all FL, really) by whopping percentage points, and many experts believe they will continue to come down. Lending is tight, so even if you found a house you liked that you could afford, some lenders ask for 40 to 50% down payment. This is not a good time to buy unless you have a lot of liquid money to take advantage of some short sale or drastically reduced property. Avoid condos: they're having a bad time with association fee skippers and other issues.

Rent. Wait to see what you like in terms of neighborhoods and home style and prices. It's very smart to rent until prices stabilize (and that may not be for a year or two or more).

If you can afford private school, I'd recommend it, unless you live in an area with a highly rated school (an A school, maybe a B school). You can research this online or when you come to look around.

Crime is definitely an issue. There are, as in any city, places best avoided at night, and others best stayed out of altogether (day or night) due to a historical track record of danger. Your coworkers, you relocation specialist, and whoever helps you find an apartment can fill you in on such. Also, some research (reading the local paper online, THE MIAMI HERALD, to see where crime seems mroe prevalent) or reading this forum for questions on crime and dangerous neighborhoods. There is a website online that gives demographic (including crime) information for all South Florida neighborhoods, but I lost the bookmark. You may find it googling for it. Those are helpful "neighborhood data" sites.

I'm assuming there is a Norwegian consulate somewhere down here, and I'm sure you can call them/contact them and see if they have something for Norwegian nationals to help them stay safe while in Miami.

Oh, and living on the beach means you may experience times when you need to evacuate to a shelter when a hurricane warning is up. Flood insurance will likely be higher in those areas when you do eventually buy.

Try to live near work. Driving during rush hours in Miami is a NIGHTMARE. If your employer lets you come in sooner or later than rush hour times, that's a blessing. See if your hubby can work out some flexibility with hours. And when I say rush hour, the highways start to clog up at 6:30 am.

And don't go in the water when there are riptide warnings. Seriously, every year some peabrains think they're stronger than the riptide and get into big trouble.

Finally, learning a bit of Spanish and maybe even a sprinkling of Creole doesn't hurt down here. Especially Spanish.

Hope you enjoy our town and find a great place to hang your hat.

Mir

[cats_pawn]

in all fairness to the person who posted the question, your property taxes are based on a number of things, including location, market value & assessed value.

I pay $2,000 a year in property taxes, my home's market value is $340,000.00,though the assessed value is much lower. I have homestead exemption .
Maybe the first 2 people who posted before me, have exceptionally expensive homes,
on the water, extremely high market values, and/or no homestead exemption.
[I don't know, I just know why there's are so high, I just know mine aren't that high]

[Pelen]

Thanks for the answers!

We still don't know anything more about the work, but my husband will go to Miami and the office next week. If he will get the job the office will pay private school.

The office is near the airport, is it any nice areas there?

[planetsurf]

Originally Posted by Pelen

Thanks for the answers!

We still don't know anything more about the work, but my husband will go to Miami and the office next week. If he will get the job the office will pay private school.

The office is near the airport, is it any nice areas there?

His business will pay for private school?!? Good for you.

The best private schools are in or near the S Miami/Coral Gables/Pine Crest/Coconut Grove corridor OR around Aventura.

You really don't want to live too close to the airport, but look at those 2 areas plus the Beach and Doral (which is OK but VERY Hispanic).

Depending on where near the airport, you could easily live in any of those areas. (It takes us ~20 minutes to get to the MIA terminals from our house near UM in Coral Gables.)

Good luck.

[rogerbacon]

Originally Posted by cats_pawn

in all fairness to the person who posted the question, your property taxes are based on a number of things, including location, market value & assessed value.

I pay $2,000 a year in property taxes, my home's market value is $340,000.00,though the assessed value is much lower. I have homestead exemption .
Maybe the first 2 people who posted before me, have exceptionally expensive homes,
on the water, extremely high market values, and/or no homestead exemption.
[I don't know, I just know why there's are so high, I just know mine aren't that high]

Since the OP will be buying and won't be locked in to the prevailed homestead exemption, you probably should point out to them that if they bought your house their taxes would not be $2,000 like yours are but closer to $6,000. That’s the penalty new buyers have to face.

[Pelen]

Originally Posted by planetsurf

His business will pay for private school?!? Good for you.

The best private schools are in or near the S Miami/Coral Gables/Pine Crest/Coconut Grove corridor OR around Aventura.

You really don't want to live too close to the airport, but look at those 2 areas plus the Beach and Doral (which is OK but VERY Hispanic).

Depending on where near the airport, you could easily live in any of those areas. (It takes us ~20 minutes to get to the MIA terminals from our house near UM in Coral Gables.)

Good luck.

Thanks. As I can remember it is not so nice around the airport (as it usually not are). At the map it looks like the office is more or less outside of the fences of the airport. His company will pay rent for the house/apartment but we still don't know how much money we are talking about here. The woman who have the job right now are living in the area of Biscayne Bay.

But he still haven't got the job, he will go to Miami on Sunday.

[heydade]

Yes, definitely rent ! We are in a major decline and prices are expected to drop in Dade, Broward and Palm Beach another 15% by this time next year.