You live in NY and you're complaining about taxes in Florida?
I can see you have never lived in the land of taxes, taxes and more taxes. LOL
Now, truth be told, that Florida retirement thing was NOT MY IDEA !! I was talked into it . Once I checked into it further and talked to the Assessor down there, those cheap foreclosed properties were not so cheap after all!! Give you all an example:
I checked out one property down in Lee County , Florida. A REO property. The bank was asking $58,000. I checked the assessment on that property and it is assessed for $170,000.00. I called the Aseessor down there to see if the Assessment would get reduced since the property is only going for $58,000 . They said NO !! Then, I took another look at the tax bill for that property. Tax for this , tax for that. .. They got more taxes and fees than I do !!
That last thing that threw out the Florida move , was when I looked at a 360 degree street map view of the neighborhood!!! Houses built so close together it is unbelievable !! Almost every backyard seems like it has some sort of canal running through it! I did not mention the 4-LANE ROAD the house is on!! What was that Realtor thinking ???
All I need is a house with 2 bedrooms, good sized front and back yards, not too close to neighbors so they don't complain about my tablesaw running!! :), House on a road that is open all year and PLOWED ! I've lived on dirt roads before, that is no big deal. I can handle a well and septic , although a house connected to Public Sewer would be ideal !!
The more I look at it, the more I understand why people live in Alaska!
You all can spare a few acres for me.