Rebecca Fisher - Real Estate Agent

🌶️🌶️🌶️File for Homestead - deadline March 1st!.🤓

Why do I care about “Homestead?” Because your Homestead is protected from most types of legal judgments and there are many ways in which it saves you money on your property taxes.

The basics of a homestead.
What is my “Homestead”? Your Homestead is your home that you own (not rent) and live in as your permanent residence in Florida. You can only have ONE Homestead, and you have to own it as a natural person or in a trust where you are also the beneficiary of the trust.
⚡️⚡️⚡️
What are the property tax savings for my Homestead?

The Save Our Homes Act keeps the Assessed Value (the base value on which you pay taxes) from going up any more than 3% a year or CPI, whichever is LESS. So the Market Value (what your home would sell for) can go up rapidly, but your taxes won’t. So most people who have lived in their home for a long time are paying taxes on WAY less than their home is worth.

Portability allows you to take up to $500,000 of the savings you have accrued because of the Save Our Homes Act to another home in Florida, so long as you buy and move into that home and change your driver’s license to that address by the end of the year following the year in which you sell or relinquish homestead status on your previous homestead. Because the average property tax rate in Florida is about 2%, Portability can make as much as a $10,000 a year difference in your tax bill! ($500,000 x 2%). The formula to determine Portability is:

Portability = Market Value on Tax Roll – Assessed Value on Tax Roll.

Exemptions are subtracted from your Assessed Value to arrive at your Taxable Value, the value against which your tax rate is assessed. There is a basic “standard” exemption of a total of $50,000 (for all homes with a Market Value over $75,000), which saves you about $1,000 a year on your tax bill. BUT there are about 30 other exemptions! They can be hard to identify. They are in categories like Low Income, Veterans, Disabled Persons, Seniors, First Responders, Granny Flats, and Deployed Military. Portability acts just like an exemption.

How do I get Homestead? You must FILE for it at the County Property Appraiser’s office. The form to file is the Florida DR501. Portability is a SEPARATE filing. If you have accrued portability and you want to transfer it over to your new homestead you must file a Florida DR501T Form. You ESTABLISH your Homestead when you (1) purchase it, (2) move into it, and (3) change your driver’s license to that address. Once you Establish your Homestead then you can go down and file for it. It will go into effect the January 1st AFTER the date on which you ESTABLISH your Homestead. So if you establish your Homestead on March 22nd, 2016, you can go down and file for it and it will go into effect on January 1st, 2017. The LAST DATE FOR FILING HOMESTEAD is March 1st of the year following the year in which you ESTABLISH your Homestead. So in our example above, the last date to file would be March 1st, 2017.

I heard that a lot of people “mess up” their Homestead… what are some of the common “Gotchas”?

Forgetting to file for Homestead. Believe it or not, about 30% of eligible Floridians forget and don’t file for it!
Forgetting to file for Portability. Remember, it’s a SEPARATE filing. Way over half of Floridians who have portability to transfer forget to file for it.
Not identifying and filing for exemptions that you were eligible for. For example, if a Florida homeowner has lived in their home for over 25 years, is over 65, has an income below about $30K a year, and their home has a market value of under $250K, then they are EXEMPT from paying property taxes! A large percentage of the people eligible for this exemption don’t know and don’t file for it.
Failing to realize that their Market Value on the tax rolls is not keeping up with ACTUAL Market Value. Remember, Portability = Market Value – Assessed Value. So you want your Market Value to be as high as possible! Many people think that if their Market Value on the tax rolls is low that is saving them money but this is WRONG. You pay taxes on your ASSESSED VALUE, not your Market Value! If your Market Value on the tax rolls is lower than your actual Market Value you should contact your Property Appraiser and get it RAISED.
Selling your home and not realizing that your Market Value was low or that you forgot to file for portability on your home. When you close, it wipes out the savings and it cannot be fixed after that!

It is such a joy to be able to help people find their new homes...but the real joy is in the new friendships that spring up with each transaction. I sometimes wonder why our paths have come together - then the Lord reveals his plan. FAMILY!
🤗

I am honored to have had the privilege to help the Crums purchase their new home. What a beautiful little place! Thank you for trusting in us and letting us become a part of your lives. I am so blessed by your friendship and am excited to hear about all the new things happening in your lives. ♥️ Karen Crum

🛑 PROPERTY FRAUD!! 🛑

This is important and it's so easy to sign-up.

Sign-up to receive notifications to possible Property Fraud!

Please share this info with everyone that has property in FL.

Closing Days sure feel good!! Thank you Barbara for trusting me with your home sale!! ❤️ Love that my customers become my family!!

8330 HIGH POINT CIR #1, Port Richey, FL 34668 - MLS#T3450574 - Byro... View photos and detailed information for 8330 HIGH POINT CIR #1, Port Richey, FL 34668, MLS , don't miss your chance to own this hot property!

This beautiful, Recently Renovated, end unit villa stands out! If you are looking for an active 55+ community and the low-maintenance Florida Lifestyle, This Is It! This spacious 1400+ sq ft, split 2 BR, 2BA villa features triple glass sliders that lead out to the large, fully glass enclosed, heated/air conditioned Florida room that adds the perfect Extra living space with its attached indoor storage. Including laundry room with W/D, Quartz counter tops in the Kitchen, New Disposal, Water Softener, Updated Bathrooms, Updated windows and lighting in Kitchen and Guest Bedroom, and Barn Door entry into Master Bathroom. FURNISHINGS ARE NEGOTIABLE. 2 Community pools. Beautiful Club House with a larger Heated Pool and Hot Tub overlooking the Lake. Featuring many hosted events and lots of amenities such as: Fitness room, Media room, Billiards room, Card Tables, Library, Computer Lab, Arts & Crafts Room, Sewing Room, and a Wood Shop. Outdoor amenities include: Tennis Courts, Bocce Ball, Shuffleboard, and year-round Pickle Ball. Water, Sewer, Trash, Cable, Roof, Ground Maintenance, Outside Pest Control, and a designated Carport space with additional outdoor Storage Closet are all included with the Association Fees. Conveniently located near shopping, restaurants and Hospital and only a 45 minute drive to Tampa Airport. This Large Villa has it all- just move in and start living the active 55+ Florida Lifestyle today!

8330 HIGH POINT CIR #1, Port Richey, FL 34668 - MLS#T3450574 - Byro... View photos and detailed information for 8330 HIGH POINT CIR #1, Port Richey, FL 34668, MLS , don't miss your chance to own this hot property!