Seniors can get caught in a tax trap
After Kimrey Newlin retired two years ago, he and his wife moved closer to their grandkids, leaving the $1.2 million Key Biscayne house they had lived in for 27 years for a $545,000 home in the Falls.
Now they’re 10 blocks from the kids, and a hand-painted lawn ornament in the front yard declares: “Grandma’s House. Kids Spoiled Here. Cookies and Milk.”
But the Newlins are paying for the move. Although the new place costs less than half the old one, their property taxes jumped to $9,000 from $6,400.
The couple are among a large and diverse group of seniors who find Florida’s property-tax crisis especially vexing. With many older residents living on fixed incomes, they are being hit with the rising cost of owning a home as they juggle increased prices for things such as food, gasoline, insurance and medical care.