R&R Realty - Jupiter Real Estate

Find Jupiter-Palm Beach Gardens-Juno Beach-Singer Island-Jupiter Island property.

Jupiter Florida Real Estate Broker

Read my articles for great information on Buying a home in Jupiter Florida.

Palm Beach County Real Estate Taxes

by

I get this one literally EVERY time I go out with a customer moving to the area…

“How much are the taxes?  …  Oh, that can’t be right”

Florida has no state income tax unlike most states such as New York (8.82%), New Jersey (8.97%) and my home state Massachusetts (5.15%).  Thus a large portion of the operating revenue is collected from property taxes.  This is a bit of the left pocket or right pocket conversation but the fact is, the tax man cometh.

Florida real estate taxes are collected in arears.  Thus values, and those eligible for homestead exemption, are established on January 1 of each year.  You have until March 1st to file for the Homestead exemption but remember you must reside at the property in question on or before January 1st.  You will receive a proposed valuation of the property in early August and have 30 days from then to contest this proposed valuation.  I have contested these valuations before with a some success but typically it’s not worth the time.  The tax man rigs the system by consistently under valuing properties.

The tax bills are sent November 1st and receive a diminishing discount if they’re paid early of 4% if paid in November, 3% in December, 2% in January and 1% in February but are not actually due until March 1st and delinquent (incur a penalty) April 1st.

The millage rate (% of taxable value paid in taxes) varies depending upon if you’re in a municipality or unincorporated area of the county as well as varies from town to town.  Remembering that valuations are done on a mass appraisal process and thus your property is NOT individually assesed (at say the last sales price) unless your in a ultra high end community like Seminole or Lost Tree.  Here’s my math I tell people who will not be full time residents buying in Florida…

(Purchase Price) X (0.85) X (0.02)

Now, this is very simplified math and does not take into account that there are both ad valorem (according to value) and non ad valorem portions of the tax bill but if we use this then we can avoid the sticker shock.  If you’r buying a million dollar property then…

1M * 0.85 * 0.02 = 17k a year in real estate taxes

What can I say, Palm Beach is not a cheap place to live.  But again if you establish a residency here then you get the valuation of your property capped and no state income tax.

May Real estate sales for Jupiter FL and Palm Beach County

by

Well, the Realtors Association of the Palm Beaches just released the sales stats for May 2015 and the news is no new to those of us on the ground.  This is a link to:

Palm Beach, FL May 2015

Jupiter, FL May 2015

Palm Beach Gardens, FL May 2015

County wide single family homes sales volume is up by 6% and sales prices are up by 5%.  On Condos the county median sale is up by 12.6%.  These are terrific numbers but to me the most important one is that the average days on the market is now just 42 days for single family homes and has dropped by 25% in the last year.

In Jupiter the trend continues to upward with the median sales price increasing again by 13.6 percent when compared to the same time last year and 14% so far this year.  Again we see the days on market down considerably by over 10%

In Palm Beach Gardens the median sales price is up over 13% and market time is down by 8.3%.  However the sales in Palm Beach Gardens are not quite as good as Jupiter as the year to date price increase is only 4.6%.  I would attribute this difference in part to the fact that the sales did not fall as hard in PBG as they did in Jupiter.

Required Florida Condo Disclosures

by

In Florida the Seller of a condominium is required to make certain disclosure and provide the Buyer with certain documents.  I will focus this article on the typical non developer required disclosures.  First, as in any other non condominium sale, the Seller is required to disclose all known facts which may affect the value of the property.  Note that this requirement to disclose material defects applies to the agents for the Seller as well as your agent, the agent for the Buyer.  To assist the Seller in complying with this law, Realtors ask the Seller to fill out a .   The law also specifies that the Contract between the two parties contain certain language.  This language may be found in the CR-5_A. Condominium Rider to the contract.  This language requires that should the Buyer request them then the Seller must provide the following documents at their own expense:

  • CURRENT COPY OF THE DECLARATION OF  CONDOMINIUM
  • ARTICLES OF INCORPORATION
  • BYLAWS AND RULES OF THE ASSOCIATION
  • DBPRFormCO6000-4eff122302
  • A COPY OF THE MOST RECENT YEAR-END FINANCIAL STATEMENT

The Buyer may also request a  DBPR FL Condo Governance Form be provided to the by the Seller which if it’s available from the DBPR.

If ALL of the required documents are not available at the time a contract is negotiated then the time (3 days) from which the Buyer may rescind the contract is determined by the date on the Receipt of Condominium – Cooperative Documents

I copied this from the Florida Statute…

(2)NONDEVELOPER DISCLOSURE.—

(a)Each unit owner who is not a developer as defined by this chapter shall comply with the provisions of this subsection prior to the sale of his or her unit. Each prospective purchaser who has entered into a contract for the purchase of a condominium unit is entitled, at the seller’s expense, to a current copy of the declaration of condominium, articles of incorporation of the association, bylaws and rules of the association, financial information required by s. 718.111, and the document entitled “Frequently Asked Questions and Answers” required by s. 718.504. On and after January 1, 2009, the prospective purchaser shall also be entitled to receive from the seller a copy of a governance form. Such form shall be provided by the division summarizing governance of condominium associations. In addition to such other information as the division considers helpful to a prospective purchaser in understanding association governance, the governance form shall address the following subjects:

1.The role of the board in conducting the day-to-day affairs of the association on behalf of, and in the best interests of, the owners.
2.The board’s responsibility to provide advance notice of board and membership meetings.
3.The rights of owners to attend and speak at board and membership meetings.
4.The responsibility of the board and of owners with respect to maintenance of the condominium property.
5.The responsibility of the board and owners to abide by the condominium documents, this chapter, rules adopted by the division, and reasonable rules adopted by the board.
6.Owners’ rights to inspect and copy association records and the limitations on such rights.
7.Remedies available to owners with respect to actions by the board which may be abusive or beyond the board’s power and authority.
8.The right of the board to hire a property management firm, subject to its own primary responsibility for such management.
9.The responsibility of owners with regard to payment of regular or special assessments necessary for the operation of the property and the potential consequences of failure to pay such assessments.
10.The voting rights of owners.
11.Rights and obligations of the board in enforcement of rules in the condominium documents and rules adopted by the board.

Jupiter Florida April 2015 Sales Data

by

WOW! The Realtors Association of the palm Beach just released the sales data for April 2015. In Jupiter the median sales price is up 25% in the last year and there have been 16% more closed sales in April 2015 Vs. April 2014. This is a WOW statistic. There is now just 3.9 months of inventory at the current absorption rate. The March sales were up 15% year over year and now they’re continuing the upward trend. It’s interesting that Palm Beach Gardens is not seeing these kinds of numbers. They’re OK with 32% more sales but median price up only 4.6% and just 4.6 months of inventory the current absorption rate. In Jupiter there are 758 houses for sale out of a total of about 30k. This is about 3% of the total housing units are for sale. The numbers in Palm Beach Gardens are similar at 766/27663.

CLICK HERE to read the April 2015 sales information from RAPB for the various municipalities.

Jupiter Area Bridge Clearance Data

by

Boats, Boats, Boats! I love boats but I need to get from that waterfront house to the ocean and there’s these darn bridges everywhere.  So I get this one often:  What’s the bridge clearance for this bridge or that bridge?  And, here they are in no particular order but generally go from south to north.

The Blue Heron bridge over the intracoastal in Riviera Beach is <65′ at Mean High Water FIXED. This bridge is UNDER 65′. The tide boards are just wrong as I have personally seen an “intracoastal height” 64′ sailboat hit it at about mid tide.

The Little Lake Worth bridge in North Palm Beach/Palm Beach Gardens on Jack Nicklaus Drive (the extension of PGA Blvd east of US-1 headed toward Singer Island) is 12′ at Mean High Water (MHW) and connects Lake Worth to Little Lake Worth accessing the communities of Lost Tree, Portage Landing, Hidden Key, Captains Key and Seminole Landing. The Twelve Oaks community is in front of this bridge.

The Lighthouse Road bridge in North Palm Beach is 15′ at Mean High Water FIXED.  Note that this is slightly higher that the new Coast Guard standard of 12′.  The Village of North Palm Beach residents only boat ramp is behind this bridge as well as the lower Route 1 bridge to the west of Frigates.

The A1A bridge over the C-17 Canal (a/k/a “Earman River”) in North Palm Beach is just under 8′ at Mean High Water FIXED.  There are only a hand full of properties behind this bridge. Note that the Village of North Palm Beach has plans to replace and RAISE this bridge by about now 3′ by raising the deck and limiting the space below the deck allowed for the super structure.

The Route 1 bridge over the C-17 canal (a/k/a “Earman River”) in North Palm Beach is +/-7′ (I have to drop my bimini at high tide) at Mean High Water FIXED.  This is the bridge by the Frigates restaurant that had a section collapse recently. Note that the Village of North Palm Beach also has plans to replace and RAISE this bridge by about 2 foot by raising the deck and limiting to space allowed for the super structure.

The Route 1 (Parker) bridge over the intracoastal in North Palm Beach is 25′ at Mean High Water but is bascule style DRAW bridge opening at 15 minutes before and 15 minutes after the hour.

The PGA Blvd bridge over the intracoastal in Palm Beach Gardens is 25′ at Mean High Water bascule style DRAW bridge opening on the hour and the half hour.

The Ellison Wilson Road bridge in Juno Beach is VERY low and I would say it’s 4.5′ clear fixed bridge at mean high water. Just a guess on this one though.

The Donald Ross bridge over the intracoastal in Juno Beach is 35′ at Mean High Water bascule style DRAW bridge opening opening on the hour and half hour.

The Indiantown Road bridge over the intracoastal in Jupiter is 35′ at Mean High Water bascule style DRAW bridge opening on the hour and the half hour.

The US-1  bridge over the intracoastal in Jupiter is 25′ at Mean High Water bascule style DRAW bridge opening on demand but not more than two times in any given hour.  AS OF 2020 THIS BRIDGE IS NOW SCHEDULED TO BE REPLACED STARTING IN 2022 WITH A 35′ clearance DRAW BRIDGE.

The A1A bridge in Jupiter over the Loxahatchee River in Jupiter is 25′ at Mean High Water FIXED.  There are MANY MANY homes behind this fixed bridge and the adjacent railroad draw bridge. The railroad bridge is scheduled to be updated with the Brightline updates but most of the time this bridge is open anyway. It is VERY narrow between the abutments here and with the current this can be a tough one if two boats decide to go for it at the same time. The vessel with the tide behind it has the right or way such as outgoing vessel on an outgoing tide.

The Jupiter Island bridge over the intracoastal in Tequesta is 25′ at Mean High Water bascule style DRAW bridge opening on demand but not more than two times in any given hour.

The Tequesta Drive bridge over the north fork of the Loxahatchee River in Tequesta by Bermuda Terrace is +/-14′ FIXED. This one was replaced on an emergency basis a few years ago.

The Center St. bridge over Sims Creek in Jupiter is +/- 4.5′ at Mean High Water FIXED.

The Island Way bridge (in Martin County) over the south fork of the Loxahatchee River in Jupiter is +/-12′ at Mean High Water FIXED.

Of Course, if there is a king tide, or as sea level rises, there will be less bridge clearance. In another post I explore where one can buy ethanol free gas on the road in the north county.

2014 Palm Beach County Tax Information

by

The Clerk & Comptroller of Palm Beach just issued their annual report for the tax collection and spending for Palm Beach County for the year ending September 2014.  CLICK HERE to go to a copy of that report but here are a few notable items from it.

  • In Fiscal Year 2014, we saw significant economic increases for Palm Beach County.
    Property tax revenues increased almost $29 million over the prior fiscal year, a 3.5 percent increase (see Property
    Taxes, page 9). Sales tax increased by $5.3 million, tourist development tax by $3.3 million and local option gas
    tax by $1.4 million over the prior fiscal year
  • Palm Beach County grew in FY 2014 – both in its tax base and population. The County saw property values increase,
    with overall tax bills at $3.14 billion in 2014 – a $90 million increase from 20131. The County’s population also grew, with
    approximately 1.36 million people calling Palm Beach County home in 20142. It is the fifth consecutive year of population
    growth for Palm Beach County, which remains the third most-populous county in Florida.
  • The number of jobs also grew in Palm Beach County during FY 2014, with employers adding 12,300 nonagricultural jobs in the West Palm Beach-Boca Raton-Boynton Beach Metro Division, a 2.3 percent increase from a year ago4. The sectors adding jobs included Trade, Transportation and Utilities, Retail Trade and Professional and Business Services. Palm Beach County’s unemployment rate fell during the fiscal year as did the nation’s unemployment rate. The County rate fell 13 percent5 to 6 percent whereas the national rate fell 18.6 percent to 5.7 percent. These rates measure the percentage of the workforce that is unemployed and looking for paid employment. The County rate hit a high of 6.9 percent and a low of 5.6 percent during the fiscal year.
  • Palm Beach County’s Top Five Taxpayers for 20143
    1. Florida Power & Light Company………………………………………………………… $77,409,495
    2. Town Center at Boca Raton Trust……………………………………………………….. $7,506,035
    3. BellSouth Telecommunications, Inc……………………………………………………$ 5,858,674
    4. US Sugar Corporation………………………………………………………………………….. $5,183,276
    5. Comcast of Florida………………………………………………………………………………. $4,954,703
  • Palm Beach County’s Principal Employers
    Top Private Employers as of 20137
    1. Tenet Heathcare…………………………………………………………………………………………… 6,100
    2. NextEra Energy……………………………………………………………………………………………… 3,804
    3. G4S……………………………………………………………………………………………………………….. 3,000
    4. Hospital Corp. of America…………………………………………………………………………….. 2,714
    5. Bethesda Memorial Hospital……………………………………………………………………….. 2,643
  • Palm Beach County’s real estate market extended the turnaround that began in 2013, with numbers improving
    from the previous year for both median sales price and closed sales. The median sales price for a single-family home rose
    to $275,000 in 2014, a 4.2 percent increase from the revised median sales price of $264,000 for a single-family home in
    2013 (originally reported at $244,000). There were 16,207 sales closed8 on single-family homes in Palm Beach County, a
    10.9 percent increase from 14,620 closings in 2013.  Another important metric for measuring the health of Palm
    Beach County real estate is the number of mortgages and deeds recorded in Palm Beach County, as well as the number of new foreclosure lawsuits filed with the Clerk & Comptroller. Mortgages and deeds recorded by the Clerk & Comptroller were down from the prior year, with mortgages falling 22.6 percent to 35,902 and
    deeds falling 2.7 percent to 73,603. However, a continued positive sign for the County: new foreclosure cases filed in Palm Beach County decreased once again, falling 38.1 percent to 6097, versus 9857 cases filed in FY 201310.
  • The trend of increasing residential building permits issued reversed itself after 4 years of steadily climbing. There were
    3,960 permits issued for single-family and multi-family units in 2014, a 21.6 percent decrease from 5,051 permits in 2013. Most of the decline may be attributed to multi-family units which were down 38 percent. The sharp rise in long-term mortgage rates, high home prices and tight credit criteria contributed to the decline. The total value of all residential permits fell 2 percent.

The item that always shocks me is that the of the total tax bill the Palm Beach County School Board is 54%, the County as a whole (including fire rescue and the sheriff) is 32% where about half of the county budget or 16% of every tax dollar collected is for the sheriff and fire rescue.  We spend an enormous amount of money on educations and

RSS Florida Association Realtors

  • Builder Confidence Moves Higher November 18, 2024
    The National Association of Home Builders said builders expect market conditions to improve even with labor shortages and higher building material prices.
  • Most Earning Under $50K Struggle With Housing November 18, 2024
    A new study found of those earning under $50,000 who struggle to afford housing, 21% have delayed or skipped medical treatments while 15% have worked a side hustle.
  • Remodel or Move? How to Decide November 18, 2024
    When deciding between remodeling or moving, consider factors like costs, time, risk and return on investment. Emotional components also matter.

From Our Blog

What is the minimum elevation of a new house in Palm Beach Country Estates?

What is the minimum elevation of a new house in Palm Beach Country Estates?
What is the minimum elevation of a new house in Palm Beach Country Estates?

By

Since Palm Beach County complies with the National Flood Insurance Program they set the minimum elevation of all new, or substantially improved structures. MOST, but not all, of Palm Beach Country Estates is in FEMA Flood Zone X, so not in the flood zone. If you’re in the very north end of the community you may be in the flood zone. If one looks at […]

What is the minimum elevation of a new house in Jupiter Farms?

What is the minimum elevation of a new house in Jupiter Farms?
What is the minimum elevation of a new house in Jupiter Farms?

By

Since Palm Beach County complies with the National Flood Insurance Program they set the minimum elevation of all new, or substantially improved structures. Jupiter farms is in FEMA Flood Zone X, so not in the flood zone. If one looks at Article 18 Palm Beach County Amendments to the Unified Land Development code then we see that… 4. For New Construction and Substantial Improvements, including […]

More Posts from this Category

test