[OhioBuckeye]

Originally Posted by ElDiabloJoe

My old co-worker told me he is hesitant about considering a move to Florida due to the higher property taxes and he heard expensive hurricane insurance was required.

I can vouch that property taxes are higher than what he pays now, but not higher than what he used to pay in a bluer state. I cannot speak to hurricane insurance specifically, is it required? If so is it generally expensive (more than $100/month) with realistic deductible ($5K to $10K)?

Don’t know where you live but we moved to Texas & property taxes here are a heck of lot more here than In TV. But it seems like we are a lot further ahead money wise here, with all other expenses. No property taxes in Florida were the same as we paid in Ohio. I’ll take Oh. or FL. anytime over TX.

[ElDiabloJoe]

Originally Posted by midiwiz

well if you are talking TN, that's just because he's stuck at the old tax rate like most of them. So while it will go up it's really not as bad as he thinks.

The hurricane crap - this is center state it's not required by any lender. now if he wants to live coastal well... heck we didn't even have it required over there either. To be more specific is that there isn't a special add on for it, it comes in your coverage under natural disaster. We've been through 4 hurricanes on the coast and honestly never had a claim or damage, although if we did it would have been covered.

I'd be more concerned with wind mitigation items that make sense because not all of them are worth the spend to get the savings.

Hey while you're at it just for s*** and grins ask him why he isn't worried about alligators, snakes, vultures, etc LOL

He enjoys his TN costs now, but quickly recalls the craziness of costs in his more native CA (No, not "up north").

Thank you for your insight and experience. I appreciate the input.
As for the gators, vultures, etc... well let's just say he spent his career well armed and isn't worried about scavengers or predators regardless of how many legs they have.

[Luggage]

peoples trust 15+ years .. still cheapest

Originally Posted by toeser

Over 100% of our total cost of living (outside of home purchase cost) in Florida is paid from the income tax we no longer pay in our northern blue state. Property taxes are about the same and insurance is about the same.

The one difference with insurance is that we have to keep jumping from one no-name company to the next. We have not been able to get home insurance from a name company either at all or only with a horrendous premium.

[snbrafford]

We moved from VA and generally found that property tax and all insurances were more expensive BUT remember there is no FL income tax nor personal property tax. In VA, for example, we had to pay personal property tax on vehicles and boats which in our case was over $2k per year.

I know that the HO insurance company I had before broke out a line item for hurricane AND sinkhole (Don't forget the sinkhole risk) but my current HO covers both for $1,227 per year which I felt is on par for what I paid in VA.

Remember that there is a separate deductible for hurricane and for sinkhole based on the dwelling liability overage you have in the policy. These can vary by carrier. Mine is 2% for Hurricane and 10% for sinkhole.

Hope this is helpful.

[Catfishjeff]

We moved from SoCal where we did have earthquake insurance when the Northridge earthquake hit in 1994. Insurance paid $ 300,000 to put the house back together. So here in TV we sleep better knowing we are insured for wind, water and sink holes.

[rogerk]

A lot of the talk about high insurance rates and taxes is based on where in Florida you look at. For us, our taxes and insurance are much lower than in Illinois and Atlanta, GA. Also remember, NO state income tax.

[Quixote]

We lived in a rural area up north in a home comparable in size to ours here in TV. Our property taxes here in FL are slightly less than one-quarter of what they were up north! Even if we add a year's worth of amenity fees, total cost is still under half of what they were up north. Homeowners' insurance is comparable, certainly not particularly higher. You need to consider WHERE in Florida; that can make a difference, in some cases a huge difference.