Ocala Property Taxes

[kmarc]

Originally Posted by Dax13

Hey, Kmarc! I know you’re enjoying the weather this morning.

Anyway, taxes take a bit of getting used to, but I still can’t complain. Of course, I was fortunate enough to buy during the abysmally low prices of 2011. And locked in that value going forward for the SOH cap. Others such as the OP weren’t as lucky. I just did some reading on the SOH statute. I wasn’t aware of the 2 year time allowance for portability. Just another thing to file away for future reference. The impact fees are a sore spot with me as the MCC refuses to follow the recommendations of the study THEY commissioned. (and we paid for) MSTU are another way to double tax homeowners. If the roads aren’t privately owned, they are the responsibility of the county. We pay our taxes once and have agreed to an extra 10 cents a gallon in a gas tax to provide funding. So why do Property owners have to essentially agree to pay again for the roads in their subdivision to be maintained properly?

Dax
Think it’s a good day to wash the car.

Dax! Yes, indeed, the weather has been so fine today. Although I will say, due to Ocala's unique location, even the summers are somewhat bearable here, due to the air movement. The summer wasn't too bad, although I must say, it did start a tad earlier than expected. How was your summer? I recall reading something about a county commission meeting at which only two members of the public showed up, and I thought of you and said to myself "And I'll bet one of the two was Dax".

Yes, indeed, 2011 was the time to buy for sure. I missed that window, unfortunately. But then again, I would have made the mistake of buying in Hillsborough County and I'm sure glad I didn't do that.

Appreciate the data on the portability time frame, though. The whole impact fee issue is a sore spot with me as well.

[AFNCO33]

Hi All thanks for the replies.

To clarify, I do have my $50K homestead exemption. This $2700 tax bill is based on an assessment of $135K.

I think the thing that irks me is that when I went to Marion County back in January to get a letter to send my mortgage company that had an estimate of what the Property Taxes would be. This was so my Mortgage Company wouldn't ridiculously lower my monthly payments to collect property tax just based on the land. The letter said it would be about $2,360 for the year and that's about what they collected.

Now I get estimates can be off, but $600 off? When I look at my bill, the actual property taxes are around $2450, that I could live with. But there's also a $400+ Fire/Safety assessment that wasn't on last year's bill. I've done some digging around to try to figure out that portion, for some reason they don't charge that amount on anybody's first year of ownership, or at least I couldn't find it on anyone's bill first the first year of ownership. That's a Huuuge difference Why was that amount never taken into account for collecting the escrow?

No way I'm going to win an appeal on this. It just doesn't seem right a new homeowner gets screwed like that. I get there can be estimates, but being on the hook for an $840 shortage next May seems ridiculous. I guess it could be worse.

[Dax13]

AFNCO,

Ouch!!!! One of the reasons we buy vs rent is so that we know what to expect in future housing costs. All of our replies are just so many words expounding on personal experience, what ifs, and maybes. Your mortgage payment is where the rubber meets the road on your journey, and boy, did they burn up a lot of tread, and goodwill. I can see where you would be upset. Like you said, not much you can do about it, but that’s quite a jump. Hopefully, this is the last year for that kind of volatility, but I guess that has influenced your opinion of Marion County for years to come.

Dax

[dontaskwhy]

Keep in mind that the Fire/Safety assessment is likely paid by all tax payers in your district. Assessments are usually charged when there is a shortfall in the budget or a specific cost that the municipality has to fund that was unexpected. Nobody likes to pay any more than they need to, but certain taxes cannot be avoided.

An example of an assessment is when the city/county decides to upgrade roads/utilities in a certain area/community and all home owners in that area are assessed the charge, but homes outside that area are not. Could be that a new fire station in your area was budgeted to be built locally and the cost must be budgeted. You can contact the city/county for more information if you wish to determine exactly why the assessment is being charged to your property.