Taxes Under $1000 In Manatee or Sarasota Counties (Bradenton, Homestead: sales, real estate)

[ClearSkyView]

My parents vacationed in Ancient Oaks in Parrish and just loved the area. They currently
live in New Jersey and would like to move down to this area. However, they're limited by the amount of
taxes they can pay - $1000 per year maximum. Their limit on HOA fees would probably be $400 per year.
$0 would be preferable.

They don't need a large house. 1300 square feet would be sufficient. They can afford up to $300,000.
Up to 10 years old would be okay. Home insurance of $1300 would be tolerable.

A search of the MLS shows lot's of houses under $300,000 but taxes that are too high.

I asked if they would consider a mobile home, such as in Ellenton. They said possibly, but would prefer a house. (They wouldn't feel safe in a mobile home because of the threat of hurricanes.)

I asked if they would be willing to live anywhere in Manatee or Sarasota counties, and they said yes.
They don't need jobs since they're retired. They just want to be within 25 minutes of a hospital and doctors (urologists, gastroenterologists, etc.)

Can they find a house that fits the above criteria in Manatee or Sarasota counties? Should they look
further south in Charlotte or Lee? Should they look further north in Hillsborough, Pasco or Hernando?
(They want to be on the Gulf coast and not too far north.)

I guess I'm asking what compromises they need to make to make their Florida dream come true.

Thanks in advance for any information you can provide.

[bbronston]

The tax part is going to be a problem. It will depend on where they are looking but in East Manatee, without a CDD and with no exemptions, a value of about $60K will lead to taxes of about $1000. Depending on their situation, they can probably add about another $35K in taxable value once they can apply eemptions but that's just off the top of my head. If they don't want a HOA payment, they can find that but it will more than likely be an older place.

[ClearSkyView]

Exemptions are something to look into. Thanks.

[ArmyChief]

My parents live in Veranda Springs in Parrish..off 301 down from Ellenton Outlets. No taxes, but they pay over $4000 a year in ground rent !. Seems that is as much or more than taxes on a home.

[photoman_6]

how can they afford a house up to 300k but be bothered by 1k taxes a year?

[ClearSkyView]

The house in New Jersey will probably sell for around 300k.
If they spend 300k on a house in Florida, that just leaves their savings and a small pension
and 2 social security checks per month. A lot of things are already eating away at those.
If my mother, who is considerably younger than my father, is left alone, her monthly income
would be just one social security check per month.
So I guess the obvious thing to do is buy something a lot cheaper than 300k so she'll have
a good cushion in the bank. It wouldn't be the Florida dream she hoped for, but a decent location
and the fantastic weather may be all that really matters in the end.
I asked her about moving to Georgia or other low cost retirement locations that so many northerners
head to. But living in Florida has been her lifetime dream.

[gomet]

I'm sorry, but why are they buying a 300,000 home?

Why not buy something decent for $150,000 and save the rest.

You should be able to find something in that price range and taxes. Also they will probably get some exemptions that will lower their bill.

[ClearSkyView]

Thank you for your response.

My mother has had her heart set a nicer house than is realistic. Like the one she vacationed in
in Ancient Oaks.

The property taxes in New Jersey are outrageous and she thought housing prices and taxes would be a lot cheaper in Florida since the real estate crash.

I haven't done a lot of searching yet but I notice that a home in Bradenton (ZIP 34207) that costs
$145,000 has taxes of $1,818.

I'm not familiar with the home searching process. Should we contact real estate agents in the desired
areas for guidance, without any immediate plan to buy? We may be coming down for a vacation in November. Can we walk into an agency and just ask for info without commitment?

[TamRE]

Also keep in mind that property taxes are not going to stay the same throughout their ownership of the home. They could increase.

Property Tax Disclosure: Buyer should not rely on the seller's current property taxes as the amount of property taxes that the buyer may be obligated to pay in the year subsequent to purchase. A change of ownership or property improvements triggers reassessment of the property that could result in higher property taxes. If you have any questions concerning valuation, contact the county property appraiser's office for information. The home you are interested in purchasing may be homestead. Homesteading caps the tax assessments on the home during ownership. MLS records do not necessarily reflect current tax assessments.

[Sunshine Rules]

Since I live in south Manatee county and have my TRIM notice of proposed 2012 taxes handy, I can give you an idea of what to expect in the way of property taxes.

The millage rate if the proposed budget is adopted is 16.2338

If your parents bought a home with a tax assessed value of $143,000 (keep in mind that tax assessed value and actually market sales prices are not the same), they could expect to pay approximately $1700 in ad valorem taxes plus about $200 for non-ad valorem (which in Manatee county would be fire rescue). So a total 2012 tax bill of about $1900. That's If they qualify for a homestead exemption, $50,000 of taxable value will be exempted for the ad valorem portion of the tax bill with the exception of school taxing authorities - for schools, only $25,000 in exemption applies.

If the home is in a Community Development District (CDD), the additional CDD fees would be added onto the tax bill.


Sarasota has a similar tax rate but more non-ad valorem assessment items.


As someone else already said, as a buyer you cannot look at the current owner's tax bill and expect your tax bill will be similar as the previous owner may have had the property homesteaded for a number of years, so their tax bill will be much lower as there is a cap on how much the assessor's office can increase the property value each year.


Something that you did not mention but would also be a factor for your parents is home maintenance. Even a new home will need painting in a few years, eventually the AC and roof will need replacing, appliances wear out, etc. Roofs are not a cheap item here due to hurricane code requirements. Buyers would be wise to factor in future maintenance into their home buying plans.


Manatee county has a number of neighborhoods at a lower price point that your parents may find favorable, yet leave them a cash cushion for the future.