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Old 02-23-2009, 03:00 PM
 
9 posts, read 14,759 times
Reputation: 10

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Hello all,
My wife has recently recieved a job offer in the Tampa Bay area and we are looking at relocating. We currently live in north west Louisiana.

We are both 30 with no kids and will be looking looking for a newer home in the $200k range. Will be at looking at real estate north or west of Tampa. Looks as if there are Toll bridges you have to pay if trying to get to downtown from east or south east of Tampa.

We are eager due to the fact that the housing market seems to be more affordable than ever with plenty to choose from. Not sure we'll get a better opportunity to relocate to somewhere like Florida.

Nervous because all we hear is how bad things are in Florida right now. While we are actually in good spots here, we would love a change.

Questions:

How does Tampa compare to our current area sales tax rate of 9% and rising steady over past few years.

Are home and car insurance ridiculous? Currently pay $1300 annual on home and about $130/month for one 2007 vehicle and one 1998 vehicle.

Do you generally approve of local governmental decisions for investing in the area for future growth and rejuvenation? To me this is important in providing opportunity and quality of life to local residents.

Is the powersports industry doing ok there? Are there many motorcycles on the road and boats in the water within the Tampa area? I currently work in the powersports industry at a Harley Davidson Dealership (2-1/2 years) and worked previously in a japanese dealership with bikes, skies, atv's and boats for 8 years.

Thanks and sorry for the long post
Jeremy
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Old 02-24-2009, 07:02 AM
 
101 posts, read 427,606 times
Reputation: 52
200,000 house expect this........

6,000 in property taxex
2,000 in CDL and HOA fees
5,000 in insurance
1,000 in tolls

Welcome to paradise.......NOT!!
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Old 02-24-2009, 07:25 AM
 
Location: South Tampa - Bayside West Neighborhood
1,824 posts, read 8,379,348 times
Reputation: 1035
Quote:
Originally Posted by Fishhead View Post
200,000 house expect this........

6,000 in property taxex
2,000 in CDL and HOA fees
5,000 in insurance
1,000 in tolls

Welcome to paradise.......NOT!!
Talk about exaggeration...LOL!
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Old 02-24-2009, 07:35 AM
 
13,768 posts, read 38,197,572 times
Reputation: 10689
Quote:
Originally Posted by Fishhead View Post
200,000 house expect this........

6,000 in property taxex
2,000 in CDL and HOA fees
5,000 in insurance
1,000 in tolls

Welcome to paradise.......NOT!!
Is that what you pay, that is awful high ?

Best places to live 2008 - City details: Tampa, FL - from MONEY Magazine


According to the property appraiser for 200K taxes are 2,700 to 3,200K
Hillsborough County Property Appraiser - ONLINE TAX ESTIMATOR (http://www.hcpafl.org/www/search/tax_estimator.shtml?txtMill=20.3445&txtSale= - broken link)

CDD and HOA fees vary plus you can find many areas where there is no HOA

HOI has gone down recently A LOT.. newer homes cost less because of building codes. Someone posted a link not too long ago for HOI insurance.

Tolls, again all depends on where you live. Not everyone pays tolls and it also depends on where you live as to how much you pay.

Car insurance also depends on your credit, type of car and your driving record.

Sales tax is 7% but there is no sales tax on food. There is also no state income tax

There are lots of bikes in the Tampa area so you should do well. I would imagine boat repair would be a little slower than normal but there are plenty of ppl who own yachts, boats and jet skies.

Last edited by Keeper; 02-24-2009 at 07:43 AM.. Reason: added
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Old 02-24-2009, 07:39 AM
 
Location: Tampa, FL
2,637 posts, read 12,632,650 times
Reputation: 3630
Quote:
Will be at looking at real estate north or west of Tampa. Looks as if there are Toll bridges you have to pay if trying to get to downtown from east or south east of Tampa.
How far north of Tampa are we talking? If you will be taking the Veteran's expressway south you should know that is also a toll road. You also don't need to use a toll road to approach downtown from the east, although it does make it a little easier. If you are working in the industry you describe, you are very unlikely to be working literally downtown anyway.
Quote:
How does Tampa compare to our current area sales tax rate of 9% and rising steady over past few years.
I believe we are at 7% right now, but I would not be surprised if that increases in the near future as we are facing major budget shortfalls.
Quote:
Are home and car insurance ridiculous?
Most people think so. Home insurance became exorbitant after the '04 hurricane season. Auto insurance varies depending on driving record and which county you live in, with Hillsborough and Pinellas considered higher risk.
Quote:
Do you generally approve of local governmental decisions for investing in the area for future growth and rejuvenation? To me this is important in providing opportunity and quality of life to local residents.
Mostly. I rate Tampa's mayor Pam Iorio much higher in this category than the Hillsborough County Commission, for instance.
Quote:
Is the powersports industry doing ok there? Are there many motorcycles on the road and boats in the water within the Tampa area? I currently work in the powersports industry at a Harley Davidson Dealership (2-1/2 years) and worked previously in a japanese dealership with bikes, skies, atv's and boats for 8 years.

I expect that business is hurting. It seems pretty true across the board, but especially industries like this that are dependant on people having enough money left over to afford to buy a boat or bike for recreational purposes. Unemployment is rising and most people are sitting on any money they have rather than buying a new boat. Now - if you know how to repair these things you might have better luck than if you are a salesguy.
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Old 02-24-2009, 07:43 AM
 
Location: Tampa Bay`·.¸¸ ><((((º>.·´¯`·><((((º>
4,696 posts, read 7,893,838 times
Reputation: 13657
Our property taxes are much like Keeper is quoting, our car insurance is not quite like it is quoted here by the previous poster. HOA depends on whether they have a home association where you live or not, but it is not as high.
Life is good in this area.
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Old 02-24-2009, 10:02 AM
 
Location: Riverview, FL....for now.
1,404 posts, read 5,700,078 times
Reputation: 479
How does Tampa compare to our current area sales tax rate of 9% and rising steady over past few years.
Our sales tax here in 7% and far as I can remember, it's been 7% for a while.

Are home and car insurance ridiculous? Currently pay $1300 annual on home and about $130/month for one 2007 vehicle and one 1998 vehicle.

Home owners insurance depends on the home-the car insurance depends on where you live, meaning: if you live in the Tampa city limits your insurance will be higher rather than living in, for example, Brandon. I pay $165 through State Farm for full coverage on a 2007 Saturn Ion Coupe (I am 26). My fiance pays about $150 through USAA for full coverage on a 2008 Ford Fusion (he's 25).

Do you generally approve of local governmental decisions for investing in the area for future growth and rejuvenation? To me this is important in providing opportunity and quality of life to local residents.
I have never had anyone ask this before, overall I have nothing to complain about.

Is the powersports industry doing ok there? Are there many motorcycles on the road and boats in the water within the Tampa area? I currently work in the powersports industry at a Harley Davidson Dealership (2-1/2 years) and worked previously in a japanese dealership with bikes, skies, atv's and boats for 8 years.
OMG YES! I can't tell you how many of our residents have souped up Harley's. They are always working on them, shinning up the chrome, and driving them all over. Boats are another huge things here, if they are not used in the ocen they are used on the river (for example the Alafia River).
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Old 02-24-2009, 10:19 AM
 
Location: Tampa Bay
158 posts, read 504,027 times
Reputation: 108
Quote:
Originally Posted by GreenZ1K View Post
Do you generally approve of local governmental decisions for investing in the area for future growth and rejuvenation? To me this is important in providing opportunity and quality of life to local residents.
Yes. It's unfortunate that the downturn in the economy stunted some of the growth that was planned for the area but the area mayors and leaders are generally very progressive when it comes to development in the area.

Mayor Rick Baker in St. Pete was named the country's "mayor of the year" last year for his forward thinking and his commitment to the development of downtown St. Pete. The same could be said for Tampa Mayor Pam Iorio and Clearwater Mayor Frank Hibbard. There's been a ton of development and revitalization in the Bay area over the past decade and even though that's slowed quite a bit lately, as it has all over, there's still optimism and projects getting done. It may not be happening at the breakneck speed it had been and there's still a lot to be done but the Tampa Bay area is always moving forward.
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Old 02-25-2009, 08:59 PM
 
9 posts, read 14,759 times
Reputation: 10
Thank you all for your replies. Definately more positive than negative.
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Old 02-26-2009, 07:02 AM
 
Location: Riverview, FL....for now.
1,404 posts, read 5,700,078 times
Reputation: 479
Yeah, not too many people have to complain about living here. It's not that bad! lol
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