Taxes on Punta Gorda’s waterfront property are often confusing to interpret at first however are predictable after the waterfront property purchase, home or vacant land.
The perception of taxes being considered high or low depends on where the person is from. Remember you are buying a home that has a backyard that includes Charlotte Harbor, Gulf of Mexico and the oceans of the world not to mention the thousands of miles of beautiful waters to explore locally. This does come at a cost. For someone coming from New Jersey, our taxes are low yet someone coming from Idaho with 20 acres of land may observe our taxes as high. In the scheme of waterfront homes on saltwater around the U.S., with sailboat access or power boat access (bridges to go under) our prices are fair.
First, you cannot always assume that the county appraiser’s office listed tax basis will be the taxes you will get after purchase. Like everywhere in the country, after the purchase, a home or land value is reassessed to current market value. A primary factor when looking at homes that are basically equivalent but have a sizeable disparity in their taxes is normally related to being homesteaded (an easy process to accomplish after the sale). Homesteading a home, requires you to live there at least 6 months and a day along with a few other factors. So, if your home goes up in value 10% in one year, the most the county would increase your property is 3% if it is homesteaded. This can save you lots of money over time!
So, how do you predict what your taxes will likely be after the purchase. First, I find the county office is not always the best place to get this information. Depending on who you talk to you might get the wrong information, perhaps leading you to a decision on home purchase not based on reality. Often, the county will overstate the taxes and often won’t answer the question because they don’t know what the millage rate will be or some other reason.
The best way I find is to have your realtor identify a similar house that sold the prior year and was reassessed. Their tax number will likely give you a strong foundation for predicting what your taxes will be after closing.
