Archive for the 'Hillsborough Property Tax' Category

Charlie’s In The Hood! Charlie’s In The Hood!

January 15th, 2008 categories: Tampa Real Estate, South Tampa, Tips for Sellers, Hillsborough Property Tax

From an e-mail received today:

There will be a “Vote Yes on 1″ Rally and Press Conference with Governor Charlie Crist on Wednesday, January 16th at 3611 S. Church Avenue, Tampa, 33629. The NEW time for this important event is 1:15 p.m. You and all Amendment 1 supporters are encouraged to attend!

Well I’m not really a supporter of Amendment 1, but this is within walking distance (OK, maybe pedaling distance) of my home. So I think I’ll break out the bike, pump up the tires and pedal on over to take this in (parking will surely be limited). I did vote for Charlie, so the least I can do is keep an open mind and listen closely to his reasoning in supporting this property tax reform (and question those that do support it). The home at this address is listed for sale, and I imagine the focus of the “rally” will be in how Amendment 1 will benefit the seller (will it?).

Is it because property taxes and homeowner’s insurance reductions were a major component of Charlie’s platform? I would think so. How can he oppose it? The e-mail was from GTAR, the Greater Tampa Association of Realtors, of which I am a member. FAR and GTAR support Amendment 1.

I just don’t think this is what Floridians expected from our legislature. It was my assumption that a major problem with our property tax system was the inequities created by Save Our Homes. Amendment 1 does nothing to address that.

So hey, I’ll pedal over and take it all in. Could my mind be changed? Doubtful. I think I’ve heard all the arguments for Amendment 1, and nothing has come close to having the effect of an idealogical shift just yet.

Posted by Lenny Gurvich | No Comments »

Amendment One Campaigns Begin To Heat Up

January 11th, 2008 categories: Tampa Real Estate, Hillsborough Property Tax

The vote is just weeks away, and I really haven’t seen the campaigns for or against Amendment 1 get as heated as I thought they would by now. I’ve seen quite a few of the Vote Yes ads, but to date have seen very little of any campaigns against Amendment 1.

But I know there are many against it, and for various reasons. The most common reason being that it doesn’t go far enough in providing relief or far enough in providing an equitable system of taxation. The common answer from those in support is that something is better than nothing, and that we can’t afford to wait for the legislature to go back to the drawing board.

I’m expecting the Vote No campaign to accelerate here in the final few weeks before the vote.

One of those against it is Bruce Bernstein, a local (Tampa) area broker. He went so far as to send an e-mail to area Realtors asking us to Vote No on Amendment 1. His position is that “property taxes are far more significant to our floundering real estate market than the so called credit crisis, homeowners insurance, and hurricane problems combined.”

I’m not so sure I’d agree with that, but yes, higher property taxes are contributing to the downward pressure on the principal and interest portion of a mortgage payment (i.e home prices). So are higher insurance rates. (See: Calculating Your Monthly Nut).

I don’t think Amendment 1 goes far enough to fix the problems either. The portability of the 3% cap benefits I’ve enjoyed for 11 years now is nice, but does that do anything to make the system more equitable? Is it fair that the folks who buy the home (very similar) next door to us will pay 2.5 times what we pay for property taxes, but get the same level of services?

But let face it, if I want a more equitable system, whose tax burden must rise? Mine. Those of us who have been homesteaded the longest, have the most benefit. Tough to have your cake and eat it too. I understand that.

The fact is that it is a tough system to fix and keep everyone happy in doing so. Start the mention of taking away the accumulated benefits of Save Our Homes, and there will be some P.O’d folks.

So get ready for what I believe will be a hot campaign for the next few weeks. The amendment needs 60% in favor to pass.

Here’s Bruce Bernstein’s letter. (Published with permission)

Posted by Lenny Gurvich | 9 Comments »

Busy Week For Tampa Home Sales

December 21st, 2007 categories: Tampa Real Estate, Tampa MLS, Hillsborough Property Tax

This coming week is usually busy as buyers rush to close before the end of the year to qualify for the homestead exemption for 2008.

In order to qualify for any given year, buyers must own and have lived in the property since January 1^st of that year. From Rob Turner’s website:

The deadline for a homestead exemption application is March 3, to have it apply for that year. You must own and have lived in the house as of January 1, of that year to qualify. You may prequalify for homestead year-round for the following year. Once homestead is granted, it is automatically renewed.

So just how busy? According to our MLS, there are 284 properties in pending status (City = Tampa) with an expected closing by 12/31/2007.

More about the Homestead Exemption:

Data used is from the Mid-Florida Regional MLS, all brokers/agents included. Does not include private, non-brokered sales.

Posted by Lenny Gurvich | No Comments »

Super Exemption Put Out Of Its Misery

September 25th, 2007 categories: Tampa Real Estate, Hillsborough Property Tax

It was going to fail anyway. Polls showed that way less than than the 60% of voters needed were actually in favor of this thing. But there was plenty of time left to convince them, right? The vote wasn’t scheduled until late January. I believe that the opposition to the Super Exemption was just beginning to mount.

This morning’s news in The Tampa Tribune is that a circuit court decision has removed the amendment from the January ballot citing lack of clarity. This thing was dying a slow death anyway. When you looked at the results that it would produce, it did little to fix one of the major problems of Save Our Homes, the inequities of taxes paid by long time homeowners as compared to newer homeowners.

Like Save Our Homes, the Super Exemption had a cap component, albeit a lesser one. Anytime there is a cap involved, there will be inequities down the road. I’m a prime example. Capped at a 3% maximum annual increase for the last 11 years that I’ve owned my home, I pay very little property taxes as compared to the neighbor down the street with a similar home who bought 2 years ago. Is that fair?

Newer homeowners are, in effect, subsidizing those that have had a longer protective period. Is it fair for me to pay 25% of what someone else with a similar property pays? Make no mistake, I enjoy the protection, but is it fair?

The challenge of creating new property tax rules is in getting rid of the inequities in the tax amounts. But how can you get people like me to vote for something that raises my taxes? You’ll have a hard time getting long time homeowners with low taxes to agree to pay more, all in the name of fairness. It’s going to be tough to please the two sides, those with low taxes and those with high taxes.

So back to the drawing board go the property tax reform folks. And in the meantime it seems Florida property tax reform, much like lower homeowners’ insurance rates, will have to wait.

The circuit court’s ruling could be appealed, but my gut tells me it would be upheld. It was not clear.

Trib’s article.

Posted by Lenny Gurvich | No Comments »

Will The Super Exemption Knock Buyers Off The Fence?

September 18th, 2007 categories: Tampa Real Estate, Hillsborough Property Tax

Notable e-mail of the month:

Lenny,

I think I am going to call off the search for a house for a while. Until the taxes and insurance in this state get sorted out I think I am better off renting and placing my extra cash into savings/investments. Thank you for your time, I do appreciate the efforts you have put forward in trying to help me find a house. I just signed six month extension on my lease so I don’t expect to be looking again any time soon. Thanks again.

This from a client who was pre-approved, and was motivated to make a purchase. We discussed tax and insurance amounts, but he decided to put things on hold, even considering all of the advantages buyers now have. Will those same advantages be present 6 months down the road? Who knows. I do know this however; Six months from now, Floridians will have decided if they think the Super Tax Exemption is worth voting for. So if it does pass, let’s look at the implications to a home buyer.

Currently, if a buyer wants to purchase a $350,000 home as a primary residence, and homestead it, the property appraiser estimates taxes at from $6850 to $7611 once the assessment is reset and the homestead exemption kicks-in. Let’s use $7200 as our number. That’s $600 per month in taxes added to the mortgage payment. A big chunk of change.

Should the Super Exemption get at least 60% of the vote, a $350k home buyer would be looking at a taxable value of $177,500 after getting the exemptions (75% on the first $200k and 15% on the remaining $150k, and assuming an assessed value of $350k). That equates to a tax bill of about $4157 at our current millage rates. That’s about $347 per month added to the principal, interest, and insurance, or $253 less per month compared to the current situation.

That $253 is half a car payment, or 2 trips to the grocery store, or dinner (with some good wine) at Bern’s, airfare to somewhere, extra cash for savings/investments etc. A big chunk of change.

So the Super Exemption would be a start to putting a dent in a mortgage payment ( What is PITI?). But is that enough to knock some buyers off the fence? I would think so. And if Charlie can see that the insurance companies reduce rates, in response to House Bill 1A, that should help as well. But don’t hold your breath on that one.

Posted by Lenny Gurvich | 1 Comment »

« Previous Entries

Next Entries »

Also Noteworthy

How's The Market In Your Neighborhood?

 

Real Estate Blogs

• Real Estate Blogs
• REagent
• Clearwater, FL Real Estate

What I'm Reading

• Dave's Backcountry Ski Blog
• Funny Stuff
• Get Your Grill On
• Retro Renovation
• Atomic Addiction

Tampa Blogs

• FloridaFoodHound
• Tampa Bay Rays Blog
• Sticks of Fire