Why are property taxes so much higher in PCL than the rest of Florida? (Orlando: real estate, credit)

[LFJourney]

I posted in the past about searching for my new home after stupidly selling my house in a highly-sought after gated community in the Orlando suburbs (I'm still not over it...!). I've been going all over Florida trying to find my new city and home. I recently ended up in Port St. Lucie. I really like it here because it's a new area and, from what I can tell so far, everything seems to be maintained nicely. I found a new community that I really like, but I don't think it's meant to be because the wait time is too long for me at this point and the high fees have made me think twice, too. However, the two things that I can think of right now (rushing) that I don't like about PSL is the lack of shopping, but the biggest thing is that I discovered that the property taxes are outrageously high here compared to the rest of Florida. I'm not talking about when/if CDD's are also added on top of regular property taxes (so it would be even worse). Ever since I arrived here, numerous people have commented to me about how high the property taxes are so I looked into it. The first day, someone said a $500k house would cost $10k in taxes, which is significantly more than I used to pay for my home that I owned forever (I understand the cap). I found that St. Lucie County does have the highest taxes (22.8542) so even a $300k assessed value (just as an example and not what I'd do) would be 300 x 22.8542 = $6,856.26! I compared this to the great county that I used to live in, which is #50 on the list of 67 counties with a tax rate of 15.1809, and the taxes would be $4,554.27 (300 x 15.1809). Can someone please shed some light on PSL's taxes? While I do think the area that I was looking in PSL is very pretty and manicured to my standards, I'm now thinking of moving on because I really don't know that I want to pay that much more in taxes at this stage of my life, especially considering it's going to cost me so much more to buy a home now versus what I got out of my house, which was sold just before prices started skyrocketing (lucky me!). Thanks for any insight that you can provide. I guess I just wanted to make sure that I'm thinking about this clearly before moving on.

[Mr. Purple 2]

First of all, I don't live in PSL so consider my post accordingly. I do live in Vero Beach in the adjoining county of Indian River (IRC).



When I was looking for property several years ago, I discovered the high PSL real estate taxes from my realtor. I was looking at property in the adjoining county (Indian River) which had limited options. My realtor advise me that were more options in PSL than Vero Beach, but I had better consider the property tax problem if I wanted to purchase in PSL.



The general consensus I have heard of the high real estate taxes from people is that PSL wants to develop as much of the area that is available. With growth comes infrastructure that the county must provide and it is costly. Some people suggest that developers control the county, but this is just comments I have heard. Again providing water/sewer; schools; roads; police and fire costs a lot of money.



Indian River has not allowed the uncontrolled growth and wants to maintain the agricultural aspect of the county. If you not happy with shopping in PSL, you should never consider IRC since it is more rural in nature with very limited shopping.



JMHO.

[DanielAvery]

On the list of property tax rates by county

https://www.floridaforboomers.com/hi...rty-tax-rates/

rates in Martin, Okeechobee and Indian River are almost identical, as are attitudes about uncontrolled growth. Having three nearby counties resisting the urge to develop every square foot of real estate places a bit more pressure on St. Lucie County. Or put another way, developers will flock to SLC because it's the path of least resistance.

[LFJourney]

Originally Posted by Mr. Purple 2

First of all, I don't live in PSL so consider my post accordingly. I do live in Vero Beach in the adjoining county of Indian River (IRC).



When I was looking for property several years ago, I discovered the high PSL real estate taxes from my realtor. I was looking at property in the adjoining county (Indian River) which had limited options. My realtor advise me that were more options in PSL than Vero Beach, but I had better consider the property tax problem if I wanted to purchase in PSL.



The general consensus I have heard of the high real estate taxes from people is that PSL wants to develop as much of the area that is available. With growth comes infrastructure that the county must provide and it is costly. Some people suggest that developers control the county, but this is just comments I have heard. Again providing water/sewer; schools; roads; police and fire costs a lot of money.



Indian River has not allowed the uncontrolled growth and wants to maintain the agricultural aspect of the county. If you not happy with shopping in PSL, you should never consider IRC since it is more rural in nature with very limited shopping.



JMHO.

Thank you so much for your very helpful insight. I'm going to read your reply now every time that I think about still considering PSL and trying to convince myself to ignore the property tax issue! You obviously decided against PSL because of the taxes, too. I still welcome more feedback about property taxes, but it sounds like I need to continue my search in another area of Florida. There's only one community that I'd consider in PSL anyway, and they're not releasing more lots until the end of the year. There are only a few resales there, which are overpriced and as much or more than a new build because the builder has limited options now.

[LFJourney]

Originally Posted by DanielAvery

On the list of property tax rates by county

https://www.floridaforboomers.com/hi...rty-tax-rates/

rates in Martin, Okeechobee and Indian River are almost identical, as are attitudes about uncontrolled growth. Having three nearby counties resisting the urge to develop every square foot of real estate places a bit more pressure on St. Lucie County. Or put another way, developers will flock to SLC because it's the path of least resistance.

Thanks. When I was frustrated a couple of days ago with PSL, someone mentioned Martin County and said it's as nice or nicer than PSL, but my search found homes are way too large and expensive or other negatives for me so I never went there to look. I can't find my notes at the moment and can't remember the city he said there. I just know it's where Kolter is building.

[LFJourney]

Originally Posted by LFJourney

Thanks. When I was frustrated a couple of days ago with PSL, someone mentioned Martin County and said it's as nice or nicer than PSL, but my search found homes are way too large and expensive or other negatives for me so I never went there to look. I can't find my notes at the moment and can't remember the city he said there. I just know it's where Kolter is building.

It was Palm City in Martin County that the guy mentioned. I thought about looking at Westlake, Florida while I'm this far south because Kolter and Minto build there, but apparently it's way, way out there in Palm Beach County. I need to be near stuff and have things convenient, as well as beautiful and maintained like where I used to live. It looks like I need to head north from here in Florida.

[Lillie767]

Have you looked into the porting of your SOH and Homestead credits from your prior house?


https://www.paslc.gov/homestead-portability/

[LFJourney]

Originally Posted by Lillie767

Have you looked into the porting of your SOH and Homestead credits from your prior house?


https://www.paslc.gov/homestead-portability/

Yes and thanks, Lillie. Sadly, I lost my save our homes credit at the end of 2022 because I was unable to find my new home by the deadline due to all the people moving to Florida that's caused inventory shortages, high prices, etc. I wish I would have just bought something, even if it was a dump or I didn't love it! Now my taxes will be significantly higher forever. This is so unfair because I've lived in Florid my entire life and owned my last home for 28 years. I basically lost about $82k of tax credit due to this nightmare housing crisis, and I'm very angry about it. Selling my house was the worst mistake that I ever made, and I don't know that I'll ever get over the regret. And taxes is just one of a long list of ramifications of selling my house.

[Lillie767]

No house is perfect, and many of our prior houses seem much better in the rear-view mirror than we actually thought at the time. There are reasons you sold your Lake Mary house and it would be good for you to remember that you didn't actually like living there at the time.

Since you were in the house for quite a while, you will have to use some of those gains on the house towards your increased property taxes. You will be in the same situation as I am, in that my property taxes are much higher than the previous owners were paying. You have to accept that.

Not to be harsh, but here's a dose of reality. It's a new world. You say that you don't want to go back to Lake Mary because it will remind you of the good times there. Actually, if you went back to Lake Mary, you would experience the same negative things that caused you to sell in the first place.

It has been suggested that you make a list of positive things you want and you will find that community.

I live in north Pinellas and it's okay. Not my dream location. Not my dream house. But, I am fortunate to have a house in a nice town with nice neighbors.

Do I bemoan the lack of some items in the supermarkets? Yes.
Do I bemoan the lack of cultural experiences to which I had become accustomed? Yes.
Do I bemoan the insipid hot and humid weather? Yes.

But, here I am. I am making a go of it because it's the best alternative I have at this moment.

You can't look back. You made a decision which you now regret. You can't change that. You can only accept what is, and move forward.

Good luck.

[LFJourney]

Originally Posted by Lillie767

No house is perfect, and many of our prior houses seem much better in the rear-view mirror than we actually thought at the time. There are reasons you sold your Lake Mary house and it would be good for you to remember that you didn't actually like living there at the time.

Since you were in the house for quite a while, you will have to use some of those gains on the house towards your increased property taxes. You will be in the same situation as I am, in that my property taxes are much higher than the previous owners were paying. You have to accept that.

Not to be harsh, but here's a dose of reality. It's a new world. You say that you don't want to go back to Lake Mary because it will remind you of the good times there. Actually, if you went back to Lake Mary, you would experience the same negative things that caused you to sell in the first place.

It has been suggested that you make a list of positive things you want and you will find that community.

I live in north Pinellas and it's okay. Not my dream location. Not my dream house. But, I am fortunate to have a house in a nice town with nice neighbors.

Do I bemoan the lack of some items in the supermarkets? Yes.
Do I bemoan the lack of cultural experiences to which I had become accustomed? Yes.
Do I bemoan the insipid hot and humid weather? Yes.

But, here I am. I am making a go of it because it's the best alternative I have at this moment.

You can't look back. You made a decision which you now regret. You can't change that. You can only accept what is, and move forward.

Good luck.

Thanks, Lillie. I loved Lake Mary and my community. The only reason I sold my house was because I had a pool that I never used and that I felt was a waste of money and a yard that was a lot of work. I'd give anything if I had it back because the maintenance and repairs of the pool and yard were minuscule compared to the hundreds of thousands of dollars that this move had cost me. Of course my house increased in value, but it was just 6 weeks after I sold it that home prices in Florida started skyrocketing. I don't think it's fair to compare taxes of a previous to a new owner because I earned those credits by living there 28 years. I know that I need to get over the regret, and feedback like yours is a very helpful reminder so thank you. It's just been painful.

Since you live in Pinellas, I am curious if you know anything about Wesley Chapel. Some people mentioned that maybe I should go over there to look since apparently it's a newer area with new construction. Is it a nice area and worth a trip? I like to live in an area that's safe, convenient to shopping, medical and everything and that's maintained beautifully.