The Amendment 3 5-Year Exclusive Florida Affordability Club

When we got our first place, we bought a mattress in Wrigleyville in Chicago. Mattress buying is kind of like the end of the gas tank or the toothpaste roll. You don’t know where the exact bottom is! There is an obligatory 40% off starburst sign. Then free delivery. Add on whatever holiday du jour special is going on. That is just the basics for the negotiation ceiling. I went back and forth between Jerry’s Sleep Easy and Lou’s Rest Soundly. Jerry and Lou were rivals and had guarantees. They hated each other. If you put more down, you got more off. Bring a written guarantee, and they would match it with another 10% off. So, I kept bringing in the written guarantees, and the price kept going down. It saved me a hundred or so dollars, but it caused a lot of angst listening to them trash-talk one another.

A financial advisor friend of mine is currently betting on the Chicago Bears to win games for the rest of the season as a hedge. He figures if he wins $4,000–$6,000 on games, it will partly pay for his Super Bowl ticket, hotel, and airfare if the Bears go to the Super Bowl. If the Bears stink, he’d be out the $4,000–$6,000 and wouldn’t be going to the Super Bowl anyway. A Super Bowl trip costing over $10,000 isn’t so affordable.

Other people are struggling daily to pay bills and make ends meet, as we all know from Tuesday. Affording things is obviously on people’s minds right now. It’s exactly why Amendment 3 passed with over 60% support.

Whether you supported Amendment 3 or not, it’s a big win for homeowners on affordability. $11,170 in possible savings over five years. 66% of Florida residents own a home, and the savings are undeniable. There are two categories of people who, if on the fence, should be pulling the trigger immediately. By pulling the trigger immediately, I mean **right now** – as in getting under contract by the end of the month and closing by the end of the year, along with talking with your legal and accounting counsel about establishing Florida residency by December 31, 2026. Not a lot of time.

The two critical categories of people who need to pay the most attention are, firstly, out-of-town purchasers who wish to become residents. The second is Florida renters. There is a third category, too: current snowbird homeowners who are on the cusp of residency.

1. The 5-Year Florida Club

If you are an out-of-towner, there is a giant incentive, **times five**, to buy now. Once you get to 2028, there is an extra $200,000 in homestead tax exemptions per year. That translates to an estimated $2,234 worth of savings per year. Multiply that by five, and the savings are a whopping $11,170 in your pocket. The reason to multiply by five is that there is a five-year waiting period before you become qualified. As a new resident, you still get to enjoy the same $50,000 exemption that you previously would have. But Florida residency now has its privileges for people who demonstrate longevity of ownership.

2. Renting

If you are a renter, the scales have tipped toward owning. Using the same $2,234 per year number, that equates to $186.17 off your rent per month just to break even. Meaning, if you have rent of $3,500 a month and figure it’s the same out-of-pocket dollars, with mortgage incentives, taxes, etc., for renting versus owning, those scales have now tipped dramatically. It’s as if your rent went down to $3,314 a month. More than 5% off your rent! As a renter, you must run the numbers! Rentals will probably become more expensive as well, as more renters are going to push themselves into becoming homeowners. That drop in rental supply could raise rents going forward.

3. Snowbirds

The other category is snowbirds who are on the fence and looking to become residents soon. Talk to your accountant and lawyer now to see if there is anything you can do to establish residency today.

The other piece to this is that November and December are the best times of the year to be shopping for a Florida home. The seasonal renters who end up purchasing during the season are not here yet. Mortgage rates (because of the 10-year yield and softer market) have dropped nearly a quarter of a point in the past few months.

Or you could scrounge around trying to match mattress offers. I’d rather be rolling around in your current bed in the 5-Year Florida Resident Club.