Insurance increase

[Bob Wells]

Property taxes are out of hand regardless if its gulf front or not! I pay double what some of the gulf front owers pay and I am two hundred yards from the beach! Walton County property tax formula has "spreading the wealth" down to an art form!

Maybe when you purchased and whether your homesteaded has something to do with that. If you think we pay to much, you should look in other parts of the State and see the taxes, besides property taxes the, other forms of taxes they pay into. Lighting MSBU, Stormwater MSBU and the like. I don't know what you might pay in Alabama, but you have a State sales tax on food, a State payroll tax, I will venture to guess a State, County, City property tax, school tax and the like. Really are you paying more here than there?

 

[wrobert]

Property taxes are out of hand regardless if its gulf front or not! I pay double what some of the gulf front owers pay and I am two hundred yards from the beach! Walton County property tax formula has "spreading the wealth" down to an art form!

Well it certainly is not the fault of Walton County. Pilcher does it the way the State tells him too. Not a whole lot of leeway there. Although I have seen him stand up with the State was trying to get him to raise the values to what he even thought were absurd amounts, even if people were paying it. And he is working to bring them back down when sales occur.

Part of the problem is that I imagine a lot of those guys have their places homesteaded, rather they qualify or not. But all you have to do is follow along on the various threads and you will see that breaking the law, as long as it is self beneficial, or just a 'little bit' is not much of a problem down there.

 

[flyforfun]

Maybe when you purchased and whether your homesteaded has something to do with that. If you think we pay to much, you should look in other parts of the State and see the taxes, besides property taxes the, other forms of taxes they pay into. Lighting MSBU, Stormwater MSBU and the like. I don't know what you might pay in Alabama, but you have a State sales tax on food, a State payroll tax, I will venture to guess a State, County, City property tax, school tax and the like. Really are you paying more here than there?

Yes, I pay less in Birmingham even if you throw in the above mentioned taxes and I am not charged for deck space either. What attracted buyers to Walton Co., in the past was your low property tax rates, but that is not the case any more. I think your Governor is realizing this and why he is actually trying to address the problem. Why would sane people ever purchase property on what amounts to a barrier island? It's low property taxes that attracted people to the panhandle in the first place.

 

[Andy A]

I only know my property taxes here are much less than I paid in Oklahoma. I am legally homesteaded (wrobert is right about the illegal homesteaders, I imagine) and feel my property taxes are very fair.

 

[Gypsea]

It was a typo. It should have been 2005. At that time Dennis wiped out our bluff. BTW, USAA did handle all the transfer paperwork to Citizens for me. I wonder if they'll do the same this time?

Yes, USAA does handle the paperwork for Citizens.

 

[Miss Kitty]

Yes, I pay less in Birmingham even if you throw in the above mentioned taxes and I am not charged for deck space either. What attracted buyers to Walton Co., in the past was your low property tax rates, but that is not the case any more. I think your Governor is realizing this and why he is actually trying to address the problem. If you can not keep property taxes low down there, why would sane people puy property on what amounts to a barrier island? It's the low property taxes that attracted people to Florida, especially the panhandle.

waa waa waa

Come on! For us, the attraction had something to do about, I don't know...the beaches, the lakes, the beauty????

I am curious to know if the f balcony is being taxed.

 

[wrobert]

Yes, I pay less in Birmingham even if you throw in the above mentioned taxes and I am not charged for deck space either. What attracted buyers to Walton Co., in the past was your low property tax rates, but that is not the case any more. I think your Governor is realizing this and why he is actually trying to address the problem. Why would sane people ever purchase property on what amounts to a barrier island? It's low property taxes that attracted people to the panhandle in the first place.

Walton County tax rates are the third lowest in the State. It is the insane values people place on property driving higher taxes, not the rates.

 

[idaho]

Walton County tax rates are the third lowest in the State. It is the insane values people place on property driving higher taxes, not the rates.

The reason the "rate" is low is because the values are high.
The county has a budget, the budget is then divided by the total amount of the county's assessed property values, giving you the mill or levy rate.
Where people get screwed is by someone with a much lower assessed value than everyone else's or vice versa.
I would imagine that as assessed property values go down your tax assessment rate will go up, but actual taxes paid will remain very similar. Doubtful that the county will spend much less money which is truly the only way for property taxes as a whole to go down. If all assessments are done fairly and equitably the actual taxes paid should stay close to the same for everyone.

 

[Rita]

waa waa waa

Come on! For us, the attraction had something to do about, I don't know...the beaches, the lakes, the beauty????

I am curious to know if the f balcony is being taxed.

You beat me to it! Must be too obvious ....

The reason the "rate" is low is because the values are high.
The county has a budget, the budget is then divided by the total amount of the county's assessed property values, giving you the mill or levy rate.
Where people get screwed is by someone with a much lower assessed value than everyone else's or vice versa.
I would imagine that as assessed property values go down your tax assessment rate will go up, but actual taxes paid will remain very similar. Doubtful that the county will spend much less money which is truly the only way for property taxes as a whole to go down. If all assessments are done fairly and equitably the actual taxes paid should stay close to the same for everyone.

.
Are you reading this wrobert? This spud knows what he/she is talking about.

.

 

[wrobert]

The reason the "rate" is low is because the values are high.
The county has a budget, the budget is then divided by the total amount of the county's assessed property values, giving you the mill or levy rate.
Where people get screwed is by someone with a much lower assessed value than everyone else's or vice versa.
I would imagine that as assessed property values go down your tax assessment rate will go up, but actual taxes paid will remain very similar. Doubtful that the county will spend much less money which is truly the only way for property taxes as a whole to go down. If all assessments are done fairly and equitably the actual taxes paid should stay close to the same for everyone.

Look Idaho, I am the last person on this board you need to try to explain how values and the budget works. I have got to start posting more. My infamy is dying.

The Florida system of homestead exemption prevents equitable and fair assessments. That is why I, who has lived in the same house for the last 20 or so years is getting over on you, or if not you, anyone who has moved here recently. My taxes, at my home, are absurdly low.

As for spending it does look like it may actually be falling. Assessments are falling at the county has taken the stand that they are not going to raise millage.

Now you may not get the same treatment from the school side. New statute says it will take a super majority to raise them, followed by a referendum at the next election. I do not think they will because my understanding is the referendum as to be at regular election, not a special election. And I believe legislation did pass prohibiting the expenditure of public funds for any sort of advertisement for tax issues, not sure, and I doubt the Governor has signed yet anyway.

But back to the values, the reason the values are high is because people were paying those ridiculous prices, which all goes back to the home financing crisis orchestrated by Bill Clinton and the Fed and not stopped by Pelosi and Frank when GW warned them all that something like this was going to happen.

And so it begins............