Alison & Raul Elizalde

Sarasota Realtors

Alison and Raul Elizalde understand the Sarasota real estate market like nobody else. Their unique understanding comes from experience, specialized research, and deep community involvement. Their commitment to client service earned them the prestigious 5-Star Award given to the best real estate agents in Sarasota. Click here to learn more about Alison and Raul.

 

Newsletter!

e-mailed monthly

Suscribe today to our newsletter and receive invaluable information on the Sarasota Real Estate market. You won't find this information anywhere else!

 

The Florida Legislature in Tallahassee wants to rewrite Florida's homestead exemption laws to phase out the Save Our Homes cap that limits annual tax assessments.

Currently, every homeowner of a primary residence in Florida has the right to deduct $25,000 from the assessed value of their home and cap its increase at the lower of CPI or 3% per year. This is known as the Save our Homes amendment.

 

A new plan for a “super exemption” would give homeowners a choice. They will be able to keep Save our Homes, or increase the deduction from the current $25,000 to 75% of the first $200,000 plus 15% of the next $300,000, with a minimum deduction of $50,000 and a maximum of $195,000. Voters will decide on this new measure by referendum this coming January.

 

Although the “super exemption” may seem a better deal for homeowners, it has a “catch”: the new deduction would be calculated from the market value of their home, not from the current assessment.

 

Anybody who has owned a home for a few years has been able to keep taxes in check with this 3% cap. In many cases, this is much more valuable than the higher deduction proposed by lawmakers.

 

In fact, for the West of the Trail/Siesta Bayside universe that I explored in my previous newsletter, the new super-exemption would result in significantly higher taxes for most homeowners.

 

On aggregate, the combined tax burden of about 2200 homesteaded non-waterfront homes in Sarasota I have studied in this area would increase by more than $8mm. Just 10% of the homes or less would actually have a tax advantage by switching out of the current Save our Homes amendment and into the super exemption that will be proposed by referendum in January. The average homesteaded home would face a $4,000 tax increase when switching to the super-exemption.

 

Waterfront homes and luxury homes on the Siesta Key bayside and in the Sarasota mainland would be vastly more affected by the new plan. While a small handful of waterfront homes would see some tax savings, the increased tax burden for waterfront Sarasota homes is more than $7mm in just the area I studied of 380 homesteaded homes.

 

Although each homeowner would be able to take much larger deductions than the $25,000 allowed under Save our Homes, the new proposals do away with years of appreciation caps and results in a average additional tax on the homesteaded waterfront home close to $20,000.

 

 

Those who do not currently own a home or have not lived in theirs for too long are likely to benefit from the proposed super exemption when they purchase a new home. Those who have been in their homes for a relatively longer period of time and have no immediate plans to move, however, would be very negatively impacted by the new proposals. This is especially true for waterfront Sarasota real estate.

 

When it comes to knowing the Sarasota real estate market, Alison and Raul Elizalde have the expertise and knowledge to help you see where you stand when negotiating your real estate transaction, whether you are buying or selling a property. Our track record, added to the unsurpassed reputation of Michael Saunders & Company as the premier real estate company in Florida's Gulf Coast, give you the peace of mind you deserve. Alison and Raul have been named Best in Customer Satisfaction by an independent research company.

 

Call us today at 941-350-7904 for a consultation, and visit our website, www.SarasotaProperty.info, for monthly updates on the Sarasota real estate market.