Brevard County Real Estate Blog http://www.myfloridahomesforsale.com/blog Kyle Hogan's Blog about the Brevard Real Estate Market Thu, 22 May 2008 16:01:34 +0000 http://wordpress.org/?v=abc en Warning! Your current homeowners’ insurance company doesn’t want you to read this. http://www.myfloridahomesforsale.com/blog/2008/05/warning-your-current-homeowners-insurance-company-doesnt-want-you-to-read-this/ http://www.myfloridahomesforsale.com/blog/2008/05/warning-your-current-homeowners-insurance-company-doesnt-want-you-to-read-this/#comments Thu, 22 May 2008 01:27:05 +0000 Kyle Hogan http://www.myfloridahomesforsale.com/blog/?p=6 The media in Florida likes to scare people into thinking that obtaining property insurance can be a difficult and expensive endeavor. I would like to dispel this myth. While insurance rates from the big name insurance companies tend to be a much higher in Florida and other coastal states that are hit by hurricanes, there are many insurance brokers trying to fill in the void by offering affordable homeowners’ insurance policies. By grouping different types of policies and shopping around rates from various underwriters the brokers are able to bring a type of package deal that will definitely save you hundreds and sometimes even thousands of dollars.
There are numerous insurance brokers in Brevard County area that can quickly give you an estimate on insuring a property. The brokers can even give you an estimate on a property that you might be interested in purchasing but you would like to know all your expenses before you purchase. One company that I usually refer my customers, All Brevard Insurance located in Melbourne Florida uses several insurance underwriters like USF&G, Universal Property, Universal of North America, Federated National, Lexington, Beazley, Olympus, and Saint Johns to make sure you don’t pay too much for your homeowners’ insurance.
So remember if you get a letter in the mail about your insurance company dropping you or raising your rates, do everyone a favor, open the phone book and make some calls to get an insurance quote before you contact your local newspaper or news reporter to complain. It only adds fuel to the fire.

]]> http://www.myfloridahomesforsale.com/blog/2008/05/warning-your-current-homeowners-insurance-company-doesnt-want-you-to-read-this/feed/ Property Tax Estimator for Brevard County http://www.myfloridahomesforsale.com/blog/2008/04/property-tax-estimator/ http://www.myfloridahomesforsale.com/blog/2008/04/property-tax-estimator/#comments Mon, 14 Apr 2008 01:33:55 +0000 Kyle Hogan http://www.myfloridahomesforsale.com/blog/?p=1 A simple guide to estimate property taxes for Brevard County Florida

While Florida does not have a state income tax the county and state levy a property tax on home and property owners. The Brevard County property appraiser has a tax estimator on its website using a formula which takes the market value or purchase price and multiplies it by a millage rate of 21. Since this formula rarely creates an accurate estimate and usually over estimates the property taxes I have devised a more realistic approach to estimating taxable value. I have found that the Brevard County property appraiser figures the taxable value of home by finding an average price per square foot of the average sales prices of homes sold within 3 months to a year in the same area or neighborhood as the subject property. The subject property’s taxable appraised value assigned by the county usually has a range of 65% to 95% of the purchase price and according the representatives for the Brevard County property appraiser the average millage rate for the county is 18.5.
Unless you are familiar with a “millage rate” you are probably asking, “How does the millage rate calculate property taxes?” The answer is quite simple. The millage rate is really 1 unit per thousand, so a millage rate of 18.5 translates into 1.85%. Now take the range of 65% to 95% of the taxable value and multiply that amount by 1.85% and there you have a low and high estimate of your property taxes.
Here is a quick example:
 Say you purchase a home for $100,000.
The estimate of taxable value would be $65,000 to $95,000.
Multiplied by 1.85% and your estimated range would be $1,202 to $1,757.
The tax estimator on the county’s property appraiser website would give you and estimate range of $1,785 to $1,995.
But wait! There is one more important factor in calculating property taxes. If the property is going to be used as a primary residence than you can apply to get a homestead exemption which reduces $50,000 off of the taxable value. In the case of the home purchase for $100,000 the estimated taxable value range becomes $15,000 to $45,000. Now your estimate for property taxes is $277 to $832 per year.

Disclaimer: This article is intended to give an estimate of property taxes. Since the Brevard County Property Appraiser has the sole duty to calculate the actual taxable value your property, property tax estimators are not 100% accurate. Keep this in mind and always consult your attorney or a local tax advisor for advice on any tax related question involving any real estate transaction.
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