Property taxes
 

We went to see a villa today in pennecamp. Approximately 1600 sq ft. Taxes $2700 a year. Then went up north to see Same Exact villa. Taxes $6700. Are u kidding? I know Marion Co is more but we expected hundreds more, Not Thousands? How is this possible?

Location Location Location

Was it in Reddick?

Did you see the tax bill or just a number? A tax bill will contain a line for property tax, a total for ad valorem taxes, and a total tax which would include any bond payment. After that, different counties have different tax rates and some homes are within incorporated areas with additional taxes.

I would ask to see the actual bills (or look them up online) to know exactly where those numbers came from.

Yep, and southern villagers whined when they tried tax increase. Marion county poor county. Poor more ways that one. Like making the hard working homeowners poor. :thumbup:

Unincorporated Best Bet
 

Don’t buy in Lady Lake, Fruitland Park, Leesburg or in any new Village now owned by Wildwood. City taxes have been levied. If you want to dodge taxes your best bet is to buy an older home in unincorporated Sumter county.

There’s something else going on here that you are missing. Possibly exemptions/upgrades? Yes, Marion’s tax rate is about 43% higher than unincorporated Sumter, but that doesn’t explain your numbers.

Great Link for Taxes Villages
 

This will help explain a great deal about different tax rates here in The Villages.

The Villages Real Estate and Property Tax Values - Understanding the Local Market and Taxes

Keep in mind, it has nothing to do with additional costs like the bond, insurance, amenities etc. Those alone will increase costs by quite a bit even before you think about taxes.

OP, Did you calculate the actual taxes YOU will pay? Or, are you looking at the taxes the current homeowners pay? Current homeowners may have the homestead exemption or not. They may have been living in their homes longer than others. They may have paid substantially less for their home. They may have owned a previous home in Florida and receive a save our homes reduction. A home may have a high bond or a significantly smaller one that has been paid down. Everyone DOES NOT pay identical property taxes even neighbors who live next door. When purchasing a home, you must calculate what YOUR taxes will be.

Also, the taxes you see online could be 1/2 what you are going to pay because older homes tax rates are "sort of" frozen if the owner has been living there for a number of years and when a new person moves in you get hit for full current rate. When we bought our actual rate was almost double what the previous owner was paying (taxes, not inc bond) even after all the deductions. I guess at least in the new areas what you see (taxes) is what you will pay.

Property taxes are the most oppressive and arbitrary taxes imaginable, and they are practically the only taxes that retirees pay, unless you're dumb enough to hold your life savings in a taxable account. It always seemed insane to me that the states that rely the most on property taxes are the top retiree destinations. In a sane world, voters and not bureaucrats would decide your tax rate, it would be illegal to tax anything that doesn't produce a cash flow to tax, a given dollar of wealth would only be taxed once, and you could retire from paying taxes on the day you retire from making money. We apparently do not live in a sane world.

Then, my day to retire came, and here I am in Florida, not low-tax Oklahoma where I was raised. And where in the Villages did I buy? Marion County.

I'm in Florida because the weather is nice. I'm in Marion County to try and escape the horde of other winter escapees. And for four months every year (usually while waiting 6th in line to buy gas at BJ's), I sometimes wonder about my sanity.

A lot of variables mostly due to residency of the owner and how long they owned the home as property values are capped if you are a homesteaded Florida resident. Out of state owners will pay the most. Ask the realtor what you might expect to pay in taxes. Marion is higher but not that much. If you are buying taxes paid by former owner will not be the same,

Well said and the biggest difference IS NOT county to county. It is ownership/residency/homestead exemption(s) etc

Various laws hold down the assessment on homes that the owner lives in. Take your purchase price times the local tax rates to compare properties.

This. We live in Pine Hills, which is in Fruitland Park section of Lake County. Not only is Lake County tax significantly higher than Sumter, Fruitland Park adds an additional $1000 to our tax bill. We built here in 2017 because this was the last place to buy a lot north of 44 ( which is where we wanted to live). No regrets- love our house and it’s a good location but taxes are definitely higher than elsewhere in TV.