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laurawood

Beach Lover
Jul 15, 2006
202
0
There are lots of things going on in Tallahassee(gov and legislature). Ya'll might think about contacting your representatives and writing the governor
with your insurance concerns.


Even those who are not Florida residents have the ability to make an impact on our leadership because of the tourism/second home economy factors.

Just a thought--let those who have the power to make a difference, know how you feel! (in another life, I was a lobbyist)::D

me too!!!!
I will email our government staff. I was through citizens insurance as well.
Its just hard to be self insured.
 

Sandcastle

Beach Fanatic
Jan 6, 2006
343
10
81
Tallahassee, Florida
For anyone planning an appeal for the taxes, if you need some comps pulled on closed sales or listings which haven't sold at prices higher than your assessed value, feel free to ask me, and I will help you when I am able. I am uncertain if it will carry any weight in your appeal, but you can use it if you feel it will help state your side of the case.

I?ll probably appeal the assessed values of a lot that I own in Seacrest Beach II. The assessed value increased from $494,500 last year to $600,000 this year. I can only identify one lot that sold in the entire development in 2006 and that lot sold for less than $400,000 (I believe). However, during the height of the buying frenzy in 2005 one lot sold for $710,000 ? that lot is now listed for $675,000.

SJ, can you easily determine how many Seacrest Beach II lots are listed in the MLS, how many sold in 2006 and the actual selling prices? I?m just not sure that the sales statistics that I?m able to get from the Property Appraiser?s site are up to date. Please don?t spend a lot of time on this. I really feel that $600,000 for this lot is way out of line.
 

Smiling JOe

SoWal Expert
Nov 18, 2004
31,648
1,773
sandcastle,
I am slammed with business right now, but should have a chance to run the numbers for you later and can email them to you if you give me your email address. Send me a reminder pm of this message.
;-)
 

waltondude

Beach Lover
Apr 2, 2006
54
0
Walton County
Whoa guys...I am fully aware of Fl's homestead rules and the 3% cap. Just didn?t read it into that particular example.
Nice to be protected by homestead rules..while its open season on non- homesteaders. Now that?s fair and equitable!!
No matter..that?s not the point..the point is that fair market value of any property can truly only be determined when it sells..otherwise its educated speculation...but speculation nonetheless.

The system is so patently unfair that you can not even begin to win. Homesteaded property owners are the ones that get the protection. Why? Because for the most part they are voteres. When you take the pain of slowly rising taxes away from the voters, what do they do? They re-elect tax and spend wannabe Republicans who all seem to be undergoing an identity crisis as to what they are suppose to stand for. Now you want to contest the system, so you take your 'evidence' in front of a panel of these elected officials, who by granting you relief actually reduce the amount of money that they have available for things such as conference centers, parks, and silly pedestrian lighting systems. You argue your point, yet it is extremely likely that you do not even vote in this State, and then you expect to win. What is the incentive to them to grant you relief? Florida's property tax system currently falls on the back of the working poor who rent, commercial property which is used to provide jobs, and our number one asset, the tourist/2nd homeowner. And county government shows its appreciation by seeing just how high your taxes can be set, and then taxing the tourist again if they dare to even try to rent something down here. Fairness left this system a long time ago.
 

waltondude

Beach Lover
Apr 2, 2006
54
0
Walton County
Even those who are not Florida residents have the ability to make an impact on our leadership because of the tourism/second home economy factors.the governor
with your insurance concerns

Just a thought--let those who have the power to make a difference, know how you feel! (in another life, I was a lobbyist)::D


You must know something I don't because legislators have told me that they have little interest in the concerns of non-voting residents. You need to get the local real estate associations, chambers of commerce, building industry, to email local legislators and tell them if they do not fix this it is going to be an economic bust and cost all of these people jobs and money.
 

waltondude

Beach Lover
Apr 2, 2006
54
0
Walton County
I know of a few houses which were built several years ago, that are still showing up on the tax rolls as vacant land. I say, lucky them.


Save Our Homes is making criminals out of honest hard working citizens. Just a look through the tax rolls of whose who in Walton County that happen to own more than one home and you will find many that although seem to live and vote in DeFuniak Springs, our homesteading their vacation homes on the beach, resulting in protected valuations, that the rest of us make up in higher taxes.

It is not lucky them when they take advantage of the system. The rest of us pay more, pure and simple. But with the technology of today, I doubt that there are any homes missed. Pilcher and his team have done a great job of cleaning up the rolls over the last six years. I just do not see people getting away with whole houses not getting taxed. Now if he would just work on the people cheating the system by misfiling their homestead exemption. Funny thing, some of the people doing it are even current political candidates. If one of them were to get elected, their tax bill would jump up approx $6K next year when they refiled homestead exemption to the district that they are running in, the place that they have been living for two years now.
 

waltondude

Beach Lover
Apr 2, 2006
54
0
Walton County
Re: Homestead Exemptions

A lot of folks around SoWal claim a homestead exemption when I know very well that they don't live here. If we disallowed these shenanigans then perhaps we could have a lower millage rate...


The Walton County Taxpayers Association, www.waltontaxpayers.org are currently working on an anonymous reporting module for their website. This would allow you to forward this information without your identity to Pilcher to investigate and to correct. Plans are to also ask the TDC to investigate for bed tax collections also. If everyone would pay their fair share, and we could keep spending under control, all taxes would be lower.
 

Smiling JOe

SoWal Expert
Nov 18, 2004
31,648
1,773
waltondude;143182[B said:
]Save Our Homes is making criminals out of honest hard working citizens[/B]. ...

It is not lucky them when they take advantage of the system. The rest of us pay more, pure and simple. But with the technology of today, I doubt that there are any homes missed. ....

That is like saying that locks are made to keep honest people honest. It is possible for some to be honest and a criminal, but if they knowingly lie, they are not honest. :nono1:

You may doubt that homes are missed, but I know of homes which are missed.
 

Smiling JOe

SoWal Expert
Nov 18, 2004
31,648
1,773
I just finished calling the Prop Appraisers Office here in WalCo, FL regarding property taxes. The head man in charge, was not in, but he is going to return my call regarding prop taxes. I was told by another person who works in that office, that the 2006 Market Value is based on sales from 2005. That makes sense. However, the Notice of Proposed Prop Taxes lists two values near the bottom of the page: 1) market value last year, and 2) market value this year.

Correct me if I am wrong, but market value last year should be 2005, while market value this year should be 2006. Prop taxes are paid in arrears and IMO, Market value of property should be based on sales during the current year, not last year, if you want to get it correct and current. The down side to that story is that people will cry and moan if that is how the Prop Appraiser worked in a booming market like the one we recently had.
 

TooFarTampa

SoWal Insider
I just finished calling the Prop Appraisers Office here in WalCo, FL regarding property taxes. The head man in charge, was not in, but he is going to return my call regarding prop taxes. I was told by another person who works in that office, that the 2006 Market Value is based on sales from 2005. That makes sense. However, the Notice of Proposed Prop Taxes lists two values near the bottom of the page: 1) market value last year, and 2) market value this year.

Correct me if I am wrong, but market value last year should be 2005, while market value this year should be 2006. Prop taxes are paid in arrears and IMO, Market value of property should be based on sales during the current year, not last year, if you want to get it correct and current. The down side to that story is that people will cry and moan if that is how the Prop Appraiser worked in a booming market like the one we recently had.


State (or county?) law requires them to calculate the values as of Jan. 1, 2006. And last year there was a 4-6 month period of ridiculous prices, and then almost nothing sold at all. Prices have only started to come down in the past 6 months or so. I'm not saying the property appraisers are justified, but I sure hope they are prepared to come down on their appraisals next year, since it seems like we are headed in that direction. Perhaps they were betting that the market would stabilize, and not head further down? Either way, they should err on the side of the property owners, since clearly this is a market in flux and they have plenty of cash rolling in. Pushing the limits on the values just seems unfair.
 
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