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At a recent community event, a young couple approached me to talk about their first home. They were proud, they had saved carefully and believed they had done their homework. Based on what they were told, they expected to pay about $2,000 a year in property taxes. But when the property value reset, their taxes jumped to $15,000 a year. They wanted my help, but nothing could be done. The wife turned to her husband and said, “We can’t afford this. We need to sell.”
Sadly, that moment is not unusual, it is happening more and more across Florida.
As Miami-Dade County’s Property Appraiser, I meet residents every week who are shocked when they receive their first tax notice after buying a home. Many tell me the same thing, no one explained what would happen once the assessment reset. By the time they find out, it is too late to make a different decision.
In Florida property values and taxes reset after a sale. But buyers often do not learn what their real tax bill will be until a year after closing, when there is nothing anyone can do.
My office already provides an online tool that estimates what property taxes will be after a purchase. The problem is not access, the problem is timing. Most buyers do not know to look for that information until after they own the home.
SB 846, a bill I am supporting in Tallahassee is a simple, common-sense fix. It requires that estimated property taxes be disclosed upfront during the home buying process, not afterward.
This bill does not raise taxes. It does not cost the state or local tax payers any money. The information already exists, the change just requires transparency before families commit their life savings.
Everyone agrees that housing affordability is a complex issue. No single policy will fix it, but transparency is an important first step. When families unknowingly take on costs they cannot sustain, the result is forced sales, instability, and a deep mistrust in government.
The American Dream should not come with a surprise bill a year later. Giving buyers honest information upfront is not radical, it is responsible government. Florida law requires that the office of the property appraiser reset values post sale/ transfer and it should also require that this reality to be disclosed prior to purchase.
This week I was in Tallahassee testifying in support of these bills, I ask you to do the same and contact your state representatives and ask them to support SB 846/HB 827.
