Estimating real estate taxes

[sware2cod]

Nothing in homestead law or FL primary residence law says anything about 6 months. I am thinking the above poster is taking about an IRS tax law about claiming the mortgage deduction for a primary home that there is some 6 months rule for that.
But many folks that have 2nd homes in FL have paid cash for them or had them a long time and already paid off the loan. 50% of all homes purchased in FL are with cash.

[fiege1224]

No, I own all my homes free and clear. Hardly ever had a tax write off. But by taking the standard deduction you are taking a deduction on your primary home that you claim. Most people do that if they don't have any write offs. Your right about tax law but that is how the law for primary homes are also classified by the fed. government.The state relies on the federal tax law when you file your taxes. You better be living there most of the time which again is 6 months and a day or more with out renting the home out very much. You can travel all you want but most of your real living time better be in that home in Florida. That was one of the reason's they got rid of the duel dr.lic I use to have in Florida long ago.People were trying all kinds of things to get around the laws to get homesteaded.

[Sunshine Rules]

Here's the link to the page of the Sarasota property appraiser's web site that explains who qualified for the homestead exemption:
Sarasota Property Appraiser - Homestead & Other Exemptions

and here's the link to the page that defines a permanent resident:
Sarasota Property Appraiser - Permanent Resident Requirements

The site states:

The legal language from our Florida legislature defines a Permanent Residence as the following:

“Permanent Residence”……….. means the place where a person has his or her true, fixed and permanent home and principal establishment to which, whenever absent, he or she has the intention of returning. A person may have only one permanent residence at a time*; and, once a permanent residence is established, it is presumed to continue until he or she shows that a change has occurred. Florida Statute, Section 196.012(18)


It goes on to list what items of evidence are to be provided to prove your permanent residence status. Nowhere on that page do I see anything mentioned about living here 6 months and 1 day.

There's also a paragraph covering residents who travel extensively for business. You may still qualify for the homestead exemption if you meet the requirements.

If you still have questions after reading this, the appraiser's site lists email address and phone numbers to contact the office for further assistance.


PS: I just realized, someone may have gotten confused about the 6 month residency requirement as that is the limit of time Canadians may stay in the United States without returning home.

[Jkgourmet]

Thanks everybody. Now I know more about the homestead exemption and how it can reduce the assessed value of my home by $50,000.

But I still don't know how to look at properties on the MLS (or even in person) and guestimate the property taxes. It seem that the RE taxes remain a mystery until you sit down and go thru all of these calculations and websites with an exact address and/or current owner's name.

since this expense is thousands of dollars a year, and there seems to be this huge disparity in similar properties, this strikes me as kind of a crazy system. And, frustrating for buyers (especially those on fixed incomes, I would imagine.)

I've looked at property in many different places, and there was always a basic guideline that you were able to use. A property located in N county or N town would have RE taxes at ROUGHLY X% of the purchase price. Using that rule of thumb, you could get pretty close. A few had the guideline as a dollar amount per square foot.

When we looked in Cape Coral, we were told that we could estimate 1.7% of the purchase price for RE Taxes. (the purchase price would be adjusted downwards if we were eligible for the homestead exemption.)

[fiege1224]

Yes it can be a very big mystery. Because even when you think you might have figured it out from looking at the mls and comparing it to county records. A long comes the county tax man and ups the mil levy on you and up goes your taxes when they should be going down. I think Florida is one of the few states that adjusts the value every year instead of every 2 years also. I remember in 2005 watching on the county tax web site every month my tax value went up like a tech stock in the 90's. The tax rate has come down but not nearly enough to compare to the value. Due to the mil. rate increase. But its still a great place to get a way from the winter cold weather.

[SoFLGal]

Originally Posted by Jkgourmet

Thanks everybody. Now I know more about the homestead exemption and how it can reduce the assessed value of my home by $50,000.

But I still don't know how to look at properties on the MLS (or even in person) and guestimate the property taxes. It seem that the RE taxes remain a mystery until you sit down and go thru all of these calculations and websites with an exact address and/or current owner's name.

since this expense is thousands of dollars a year, and there seems to be this huge disparity in similar properties, this strikes me as kind of a crazy system. And, frustrating for buyers (especially those on fixed incomes, I would imagine.)

I've looked at property in many different places, and there was always a basic guideline that you were able to use. A property located in N county or N town would have RE taxes at ROUGHLY X% of the purchase price. Using that rule of thumb, you could get pretty close. A few had the guideline as a dollar amount per square foot.

When we looked in Cape Coral, we were told that we could estimate 1.7% of the purchase price for RE Taxes. (the purchase price would be adjusted downwards if we were eligible for the homestead exemption.)

Jkgourmet,

Check out the local MLS website: Florida Homes for Sale direct from MLS It's the most up to date and current website for searching properties. Zillow, Trulia and other websites all pull from this site. Each listing sheet will have the taxes listed.

If you want to see the break down then you can type the address in here: Charlotte County Tax Collector Homepage for Charlotte county and here: Sarasota County Tax Collector for Sarasota county.

Good luck with your home search

[Big House]

Originally Posted by SoFLGal

Jkgourmet,

Check out the local MLS website: Florida Homes for Sale direct from MLS It's the most up to date and current website for searching properties. Zillow, Trulia and other websites all pull from this site. Each listing sheet will have the taxes listed.

If you want to see the break down then you can type the address in here: Charlotte County Tax Collector Homepage for Charlotte county and here: Sarasota County Tax Collector for Sarasota county.

Good luck with your home search

Amazing! Your so helpful!!
You get an Atta-Girl, and I get a beer! YEAYA! What could be better? Hmmmmm. . . . maybe my beer could come with dinner, and a swim in Mr&Mrs. Sunshine's Pool.

Jk, I think the tax collector's web sites work the same as the example I gave yesterday.