Fast track exemption for homes days away

Next month, new owners can file papers at the home's closing instead of trooping down to the Property Appraiser's Office.

By LEONORA LaPETER
© St. Petersburg Times
published May 29, 2002

ST. PETERSBURG -- Property buyers in Pinellas County will no longer have to remember to head down to the Property Appraiser's Office months after their purchase to apply for their homestead exemptions.

The Property Appraiser's Office will train title insurance companies and closing agents so that homeowners can apply for their exemptions right at the closing.

The change, which is to start in June, could affect thousands of prospective homeowners. Last year, about 22,106 property owners filed new homestead applications at the Pinellas Property Appraiser's Office after buying property.

"Every year there are a couple people who forget to apply and it's tough, because they're deserving," said Pam Dubov, assistant property appraiser. "We're hoping this will take care of that."

The change will eliminate the need for many new homeowners to pull together a stack of documents and wait in line at the Property Appraiser's Office before the March 1 deadline.

It also will save the county about $50,000, because the office won't need to hire seven temporary workers to handle the overflow in January and February, Property Appraiser Jim Smith said.

The homestead exemption, a benefit for homeowners who own and live in their own residence, reduces a property's taxable value by $25,000 and can result in savings of $500 to $600.

The application also sets in motion the Save Our Homes tax cap, which limits how much properties can go up in value. Next year, properties with homestead exemptions will not be able to increase by more than 1.6 percent.

The Property Appraiser's Office will train the title companies that want to participate, but it will be up to homeowners to make sure their title companies are part of the program. Smith said the title companies can't charge homeowners extra to file the application.

"If there's a charge, I want to know about it," Smith said.

Kevin Hussey, president of Stewart Title of Pinellas, said title companies are supportive of the measure, because it means they can offer their customers another service.

"A lot of times we get calls from people later on, 'We didn't get our homestead exemption,' " he said. "And the impact on them is so severe that they're always looking for somebody to be responsible."

Hillsborough County already offers the same service. Realtor Nancy J. Riley said she suggested several years ago that Pinellas County offer it, so Smith put together a task force to look into it.

The task force was trying to work through concerns that property owners who didn't qualify for the homestead exemption might try to squeeze through.

Those concerns were eliminated when title companies agreed to have the property owners sign an affidavit, just as they would in applying at the Property Appraiser's Office.

"It makes it so much easier," said Michael A.J. Bindman, a Realtor and chairman of the board of the Pinellas Realtors Organization.

"They're sitting at closing around a table with a stack of papers. And it's just one other piece of paper. It's not going to make much difference in time at closing, but it'll make a lot of difference later on."

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