Florida Going Green?
Posted at 11:32 AM, Jul. 16, 2007
Recently, our new Governor, Charlie Crist announced that Florida will be going green. He stated that although there are many that do not believe that global warming is real, he knows that it is.
Governor Crist also states that he knows many in his party will not be happy that he is signing executive orders requiring power plants to cut emissions to 2000 levels, reduced auto emissions, use of solar panels, and other proposals. Many came out against these proposals, while others applauded what he is trying to do. Environmentalists were thrilled also, until Governor Crist proposed more use of nuclear power plants.
Governor Arnold Schwarzeneger even appeared with Governor Crist.
As a Realtor, one of our main responsibilities is to negotiate the best deal for our clients. Part of negotiating is to always handle the negotiations so the other side feels they are getting a good deal. One thing we do not want to do is to create animosity.
With global warming I always wonder why our govenrment officials (state and federal) take such a hard line. They either aggresively take on the position that global warming exists or on the side that we do not have anything to worry about. Therefore, our public officials make one group happy and one angry.
I believe they could get much more support if they never used the words global warming when they take a legislative position. Instead if Governor Crist said since this is the sunshine state we should harness the power of the sun, and therefore we should promote solar energy, I think it would be hard to find anyone who would disagree.
The same is true of green building, or cleaner running vehicles. To cut pollution, or to save energy, people generally agree with that. But once the words global warming comes out that seems to change the entire tone of the conversation and cause argument.
What do you think?
Gov. Charlie Crist signs home inspector licensing bill
Posted at 4:26 PM, Jun. 28, 2007
Gov. Charlie Crist signed SB 2234 to license home inspectors. Virtually everyone in the real estate industry must be licensed but up until today, home inspectors did not.
Unfortunately, this bill does not take effect until July 1, 2010. This gives the Department of Business and Professional Regulation (DBPR) time to come up with a certification program along with licensing fees and to draft the rules.
Until the law takes effect it is caveat emptor or buyer beware. Until then it is best to get recommendations from your real estate professional and to make sure your home inspector is a member of the American Society of Home Inspectors (ASHI).
It is highly recommended for all buyers to get a professional home inspection.
For more information on home inspectors there is great information available on the ASHI website http://www.ashi.org/.
Property Tax Relief Approved
Posted at 6:18 PM, Jun. 17, 2007
Property Tax Relief Approved
Last week I wrote about how the House and Senate came to an agreement on Property Tax Relief.
Then over the weekend most of the Democrats and some Republicans decided they did not like the agreement anymore. This was after much lobbying over the weekend. Property Tax Relief looked dead.
Then just a couple days later Property Tax Relief passed. Politicians seem to change their minds daily.
There are two types of Property Tax Relief in this bill. The first (Statutory Changes) are a definite, while the second (Constitutional Amendment) has to be approved by a 60% majority in January of 2008. The following is an overview of each.
Immediate (this year) tax relief in the amount of $15.6 billion (Statutory Changes)
- All cities and counties must cut taxes for the 2007-2008 fiscal year back to 2006-2007 revenue levels.
- All local governments will also be required to cut an additional 3%, 5%, 7% or 9%, based on a formula of tax performance over the past five years, compared to state average.
- Future property tax revenues capped to the rate of personal income growth and new construction.
$16 billion in further property tax relief (Constitutional Amendment)
- An average savings with both the statutory and constitutional changes for homesteaded property of $1,300 or a 44% reduction
- “Save our Homes” to be replaced with a super exemption that will give a bigger benefit in approximately 73% of the cases. Where it does not the homeowners present Save our Homes will be grandfathered.
- For homesteaded properties there will be an exemption of 75% of the first $200,000 in value of the home. Therefore, on a $200,000 home the exemption would be $150,000 and the property tax would be based on a value of $50,000.
- On the next $300,000 of home value for homesteaded property, there will be an additional 15% exemption.
On January 29, 2008 the Constitutional Amendment will be placed on the Presidential primary election.
Expect much lobbying on both sides of the issue.
Those against the property tax relief believe that it will result in cuts to essential services, such as law enforcement and fire services, along with fewer parks, libraries and many other cuts.
Those for property tax relief will argue that tax revenues have increased approximately 99% over the past five years, and the taxpayer should be able to get some relief. Yes some services may need to be cut, but with record revenues the local governments should be able to do with less.
What do you think?
Property Tax Relief Is On Its Way, Or Is It?
Posted at 6:26 PM, Jun. 12, 2007
Property Tax Relief Is On Its Way, Or Is It?
In my post of last week I went over the agreement the House and Senate came to in regard to property tax relief. Democrats and Republicans all were in agreement that this was a great package of tax cuts. Local governments even said they could live with it as it was not as bad as they had expected.
But what a difference a weekend can make.
Now Democrats and some Republicans are saying hold on a minute, maybe we cannot support this tax relief.
Local governments are now saying they are going to have cut essential programs, and various groups spent the weekend lobbying to keep cuts from hitting them.
The problem lies in the fact that over the past few years’ tax receipts have multiplied astronomically, and our governments have been eager to make everyone happy by spending all the money as fast as it came in.
Now we are hitting a crisis. As reported in the St. Petersburg Times we are starting to lose Florida residents to states such as Tennessee and Georgia, who have lower home prices, lower taxes and lower insurance bills.
Those thinking of moving to Florida are also deciding to move elsewhere. Why? Property taxes and homeowners insurance. As a Realtor, we often show buyers many homes, and when they see the home they love, they may see the taxes being paid are $3,000. But then we tell them that with Save Our Homes that is not the tax they will pay. They find out they will pay $7,000 or more and decide they will choose a cheaper location.
We of course have been promised lowered homeowners insurance and of course that is up in the air now too.
If we do not decrease the taxes and make them more fair, it seems likely we will end up with less tax money as our population decreases, and along with it our tax base.
Ultimately, the legislators and the public will have to weigh and balance the taxes we are willing to pay, and what spending we are willing to cut.
Hopefully, an agreement can still be reached.
Property Tax Relief Agreement Reached
Posted at 7:22 PM, Jun. 9, 2007
Property Tax Relief Agreement Reached
The House and Senate have come to an agreement to lower property tax by $31.6 billion over the next five years.
Immediate (this year) tax relief in the amount of $15.6 billion (Statutory Changes)
- All cities and counties must cut taxes for the 2007-2008 fiscal year back to 2006-2007 revenue levels.
- All local governments will also be required to cut an additional 3%, 5%, 7% or 9%, based on a formula of tax performance over the past five years, compared to state average.
- Future property tax revenues capped to the rate of personal income growth and new construction.
$16 billion in further property tax relief (Constitutional Amendment)
- An average savings with both the statutory and constitutional changes for homesteaded property of $1,300 or a 44% reduction
- “Save our Homes” to be replaced with a super exemption that will give a bigger benefit in approximately 73% of the cases. Where it does not the homeowners present Save our Homes will be grandfathered.
- For homesteaded properties there will be an exemption of 75% of the first $200,000 in value of the home. Therefore, on a $200,000 home the exemption would be $150,000 and the property tax would be based on a value of $50,000.
- On the next $300,000 of home value for homesteaded property, there will be an additional 15% exemption.
This should be a big boost to the real estate industry and to the overall economy.
Lower Property Insurance Rates - Maybe Not
Posted at 5:48 PM, May. 10, 2007
While Governor Charlie Crist and many other politicians have been promising lower property insurance rates, a new twist has taken place.
When U.S. Senator Bill Nelson was the state insurance commissioner he initiated a public computer catastrophe model that was supposed to protect us against the private computer catastrophe models that the insurance companies use. These models predict the likelihood of a weather related catastrophe.
The public model was created by a team at Florida International University in Miami at a cost of $2.7 million of taxpayer money.
So what is the twist. The public model was supposed to provide checks and balances to the private models used by the insurance industry. Unfortunately, the public model predicted catastrophic losses almost twice as high as the private models. If the insurance industry sets their rates based on the public model instead of saving money, we could all be paying much higher property insurance rates, plus we will be paying for the system that all made this possible.
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