Posted by Ironmanfla on September 02, 2003 at 06:36:43:
Debbie,
Although they raised the assessed value of your property, I think they are limited by as to how much your actual taxes can be raised with the homestead. I am pretty sure they can only be increased by a certain percentage. If you sold your home, the new buyer would be paying based on the much higher value.
I am not sure how it works, but you may need to file some kind of paperwork to put the cap in place. I am not positive, but you may also need be some age requirements ie over 55 yrs old.
We purchased a home in a mobile home retirement community in 2002. This year our assessed value increased by more than $15,000 which almost doubled our taxes. We were told this can be done when a home is sold. I would like to know if this is legal and should we pursue this with an attorney. We live in Polk County Florida.
Posted by Ironmanfla on August 30, 2003 at 16:20:22:
Deb,
Do you rent the lot in the community, or do you own it? Also, is this your primary residence? I am not sure how it works with mobiles, but on houses you can get a homestead exemption. The Florida Statute is known as the “Save our Homes” act, which sets limits on how much your taxes can be increased annually.
I don’t think you need an atty yet, just go down to your county tax office and explain the situation. I hope that helps.
We own our lot and we do have homestead exemption. We have talked to the county tax office and were told they can raise the assessment when a home is sold. We were told, because of the building going on around us, a sales analysis could be done and the assessed value raised.