Originally Posted by retiredguy123 (Post 2385523)

Comparing Florida to Virginia is not a fair comparison for many reasons.

Originally Posted by VApeople (Post 2385552)

Comparing Florida to Virginia is a very fair comparison.

I just compared how much we paid in property taxes and they were about equal.

Originally Posted by Justputt (Post 2385180)

Dabney (not Enclave), Kingfisher model, and we didn't move in time to get the Homestead exemption this year. The bill was $10,509.31! I was surprised/floored, but then realized the VCDD 14 Debt was $3030.22 of it and there's another $659.13 for VCDD 14 Maintenance. I never remembered in other states paying both a State ($1325.66) and Local ($1272.20) public school tax. Then there's both a Water Authority ($124.76) and a St Johns Water Mgmt ($76.09) tax, and I don't even know what each do and why this tax isn't part of our water bills or maintenance costs. Then there's a tax for Environ Land Purchase ($38.96), which I don't understand. Then there's N Lake County Hosp ($173.98), which I don't see us ever using because it's not nearly the closest. The Ambulance MSTU ($196.43) seems reasonable. Even though our paperwork when we built/bought the house said we were in Okahumpka, we were informed this summer that we're in Leesburg, so now we have to pay City of Leesburg ($1474.69). Looking at Cost of Living in The Villages(R): Affordable 55+ Community our taxes are almost double. Anyway, OUCH!

Originally Posted by Ptmcbriz (Post 2385438)

We live south of 44 in Sumter county and our taxes with the Homestead Exemption came in at about the same $10,000+ figure. That more than we paid in Oregon or California. Ugh.

Originally Posted by NoMo50 (Post 2385444)

Not totally correct. The 3% cap you speak of comes courtesy of the Save Our Homes Act, also known as Portability. But...the SOH credit only applies to those eligible for the Homestead Exemption. And, the SOH credit does not kick in until the 2nd year of having the Homestead Exemption. The SOH credit does not cap taxes at a 3% increase each year; rather, it caps the annual increase in assessed valuation of the home at 3%, or the CPI, whichever is less.

Over 1/3 of your tax bill comes from the non ad valorem items, the majority of that being the Bond payment. The only way you will ever see a decrease in those line items would be to pay off the Bond, which may or may not be advisable, depending on your personal situation.

Originally Posted by Bill14564 (Post 2385208)

There are multiple threads about the tax bill with information that might be useful. You can also contact your County tax collector for more information.

Your response is one of the best I have ever read here!

This is all information the realtors, both Villages and MLS, do a great job of concealing. What county you live in is key, as well as price of bond and how it actually works.

Originally Posted by Justputt (Post 2385180)

Dabney (not Enclave), Kingfisher model, and we didn't move in time to get the Homestead exemption this year. The bill was $10,509.31! I was surprised/floored, but then realized the VCDD 14 Debt was $3030.22 of it and there's another $659.13 for VCDD 14 Maintenance. I never remembered in other states paying both a State ($1325.66) and Local ($1272.20) public school tax. Then there's both a Water Authority ($124.76) and a St Johns Water Mgmt ($76.09) tax, and I don't even know what each do and why this tax isn't part of our water bills or maintenance costs. Then there's a tax for Environ Land Purchase ($38.96), which I don't understand. Then there's N Lake County Hosp ($173.98), which I don't see us ever using because it's not nearly the closest. The Ambulance MSTU ($196.43) seems reasonable. Even though our paperwork when we built/bought the house said we were in Okahumpka, we were informed this summer that we're in Leesburg, so now we have to pay City of Leesburg ($1474.69). Looking at Cost of Living in The Villages(R): Affordable 55+ Community our taxes are almost double. Anyway, OUCH!

Originally Posted by Nucky (Post 2385577)

To us, it's all worth it. We still feel like we are living in PARADISE!

Originally Posted by Rainger99 (Post 2385537)

I pay about $775 for Wildwood taxes. Have no idea what services I get for the Wildwood taxes.

Originally Posted by Nana2Teddy (Post 2385656)

And even if bond is paid off, the bond maintenance fee does not go away.

Originally Posted by Justputt (Post 2385180)

The bill was $10,509.31!
bond was $3030.22
$659.13 for VCDD 14 Maintenance.

Originally Posted by Ash Marwah (Post 2385410)

The VCDD debt must be $75,000 or more which basically means that you are paying $75,000 or more over and above the price of the house.
We are in District 5 and the original debt was $25,000 which is paid up now in our case.