port St Lucie (to rent, houses, neighborhood)

[LingLing]

Originally Posted by Discovery1

You still have to have a job to support cheap homes ,right? There are NO JOBS in the area. When talked about school you have to look beyond elem, mid, and high school. I meant universities ladies and gentlements ..... It has NONE of those..... So where is the future ?????
Port St. Lucie is only good for retiree...That's it.

http://www.mannresearchcenter.com/mrc_overview.pdf

[yankeedad724]

Sorry just read all posts some very helpful. But yes I do have a job ofer and we have looked at a few homes in the 34986 zip code area I think its Torino.But i have been checking the police crime blotter for the last few months and it seems very high in this area.So we are still very concerned. The reason we looked at those other areas is the job can be located in those areas and also in the palm bay and merrott island area.Again High schools and safety are our main concern.

[TriMT7]

Originally Posted by yankeedad724

Sorry just read all posts some very helpful. But yes I do have a job ofer and we have looked at a few homes in the 34986 zip code area I think its Torino.But i have been checking the police crime blotter for the last few months and it seems very high in this area.So we are still very concerned. The reason we looked at those other areas is the job can be located in those areas and also in the palm bay and merrott island area.Again High schools and safety are our main concern.

Port St. Lucie has less crime per capita than both Merritt Island and Palm Bay. In fact, PSL continues to rank in the safest cities lists - currently ranked #60:

http://os.cqpress.com/citycrime/2009...e2009_Rank.pdf

Merrit Island probably has better high schools overall, though if your child is in Honors, Dual Enrollment or Advanced Placement courses, they will get quality education in PSL schools.

[FlaLadyB]

and you already posted your question once in a different thread.

[ceekay]

Not to worry about the crime. PSL has one of the best Police Departments in the nation and has been national recognized and awarded.

[JimMe]

Originally Posted by FlaLadyB

You are looking in an extremely wide area so not everyone can answer your questions. Port St. Lucie is very safe and lots of families live here.

Pt Charlotte you'd have to post in their area since none of us here live in that area.

You didn't mention anything about price or if you had a job that you can do anywhere which are both major questions to consider up front.

FlaLadyB, you are probably the go-to person for all things Port St. Lucie. So I wonder if you can comment on Discovery1's comment that taxes and home owner's insurance are very high in Port St. Lucie. Based on your experience are they higher than, say, in Vero Beach? My wife and I are eyeing PSL for our retirement in a couple years and want as much info as we can get. Thanks for your input.

[FlaLadyB]

The taxes actually went down in PSL this past year. We pay taxes in arrears so this is 2009 taxes.

If you have a homestead exemption, which means you claim your Florida home as your primary home, you will take the taxes down even more.

I don't find taxes higher here at all. Try purchasing something in Palm Beach County. First the prices are much higher and that makes the taxes much higher. I used to live there --in Boca, Delray, Palm Beach Gardens, Jupiter, etc., and things have changed a LOT. Prices jumped and have stayed that way. I remember when I used to work in Palm Beach Gardens and told people to cross over the county line North to find something in the price range they wanted, and that was YEARS ago. Unfortunately, it still holds true.

It is true that many people that work here drive to WPB for jobs. PSL is not an area that has a lot of businesses or commercial areas that employ the higher end workforce. But, then again, it was never meant to. People live here because it is NOT a rat race type of living.

I do not agree that PSL is retirement only. What I deal with is mostly families, but I also just dealt with people coming down for half the year and there are many people who retire to Florida just to get out of the rat race, so yes, we are that place too.

I will honestly have to check on Vero Beach taxes for you, but I will, and come back and post accordingly! I think you will find our area very nice to live in. I do, and I have lived in a number of places from here south and worked in Vero as well.

I'll be back!

[FlaLadyB]

Sorry about the late reply, it got rather busy this past holiday weekend.

SO.. the millage rate for the CITY of Vero Beach is .01636370 per thousand
the millage rate for the CITY of Port St. Lucie is .0234936 per thousand

that equals ony a $7 difference

Keep in mind that both counties are large and encompass various citys so the tax rate will vary accordingly. City and county taxes are different.

Hope that answers your question. I find it best to go to the house address on the property apprasiers site for the country you are looking in and look at their 2009 tax bill. It will also tell you if the home is homesteaded or not.

[stevep111]

That site is great but it really has TMI for the public. I guess nothing is secret. You can find out if your neighbors are about to be in Tax trouble.

[FlaLadyB]

TMI ..had to look up what that meant... too much information.

The property appraisers site and the county court house records are all open to the public.
Yes, you can use it to check on a neighbor if thats what you want to use it for, but that is obviously not what it's meant for.

I have to use both record sites all the time to find out if someone is in arrears or possibly in foreclosure or find out who the mortgage company is. Many times its to keep someone renting from making a mistake and being taken advantage of by someone in foreclosure, but mostly to check on what someone paid for a house for my buyers to see the value in a purchase and help make an appropriate offer.