Buying Property In Florida?

[The Mom]

This thread is only of interest to the few members who are thinking about buying property in FL.

Several of you have asked me about purchasing property in FL, either as a permanent resident, or rental property.

The most important piece of advice I can give you is to have a complete title search, a competent surveyor, good real estate attorney, and BUY TITLE INSURANCE!!! When the land in rural Florida was originally surveyed, a lot of it was considered strictly farmland or useless swampland, so surveyors didn't take a lot of care, so the boundary lines are frequently inconsistant...not a problem if you're buying acres, a major hassle for house lots.

If you are moving permanently, be sure to homestead your property. If you will not be homesteading, be aware that there is no annual cap (currently 3%) to the increase in appraised value of your home, which determines your county taxes. The appraisal on my weekend home just went up by 30% without my doing anything to increase it's value...the neighborhood market is skyrocketing. That would be fine if I was interested in selling, but not so good otherwise!

 

[DisneyFreak]

Thanks marcia. I'll keep this info handy. The real estate taxes sound very similar to the RETAX up here in Minnesota (with me having to deal with over 400 tax bills a year at work I know all about them). If you don't homestead, you're screwed. But hey, at least there isn't any income tax.

 

[jay_london]

what is 'homestead'?

 

[The Mom]

Originally posted by jay_london
what is 'homestead'?

You have to sign an affidavit declaring a property to be your primary, legal residence, which includes certain amount of time you must be in residence (I don't remember the specifics off the top of my head) Then $25,000 is deducted from the county tax appraisal, and by state law the appraisal can only increase by a maximum of 3% per year , as long as you don't sell the property.

 

[jay_london]

Originally posted by marciahahn


You have to sign an affidavit declaring a property to be your primary, legal residence, which includes certain amount of time you must be in residence (I don't remember the specifics off the top of my head) Then $25,000 is deducted from the county tax appraisal, and by state law the appraisal can only increase by a maximum of 3% per year , as long as you don't sell the property.

so no good i we wanted to have a holiday home then

 

[The Mom]

Originally posted by jay_london



so no good i we wanted to have a holiday home then

You could still have a holiday home; you would just pay more taxes than someone who lived there full time....factor it into the rent you charge.