Questions
Straight answers about Northeast Florida real estate.
If your question isn’t here, call or text 904-789-9203 and ask it.
Frequently asked questions
Who is Omer Bekar and what brokerage is he with?
Omer Bekar is a licensed Florida real estate sales associate (license SL3662783) with Keller Williams St. Johns, at 45 Durbin Pavilion Dr #101, St. Johns, FL 32259. He is a member of realMLS (member ID 84621). Each Keller Williams office is independently owned and operated. His official brokerage profile is at kw.com.
Can Omer help me relocate to Jacksonville from another state?
Yes, the relocation guides exist for exactly that. Each area page gives drive times to downtown Jacksonville, JAX airport and the beaches, official school-district locators, the FEMA flood lookup, county tax estimators, insurance resources and HOA/CDD context, so you can compare places before you get on a plane.
What is a CDD fee?
A Community Development District assessment repays bonds that funded a community’s roads, drainage and amenities. It appears on your annual property tax bill, separate from HOA dues, and is common in newer Northeast Florida communities. It belongs in your monthly budget from the start.
Do I need flood insurance in Northeast Florida?
It depends on the property’s flood zone. Lenders require it in high-risk zones, and many desirable areas near the river, Intracoastal, marsh and beaches fall into them. Look up any specific address at the FEMA Flood Map Service Center.
Why will my property taxes be different from the seller’s?
Florida property is reassessed after a sale, so the seller’s current bill (especially with a homestead exemption and Save Our Homes cap in place) is not what you will pay. Use the county property appraiser’s tax estimator with your expected purchase price.
How are real estate commissions handled in Florida?
Compensation is negotiable and agreed in writing. Buyers sign a written agreement with their agent before touring homes. Whether a seller contributes toward the buyer’s agent varies by property, so it is confirmed before you write an offer rather than assumed.
Does Omer speak Ukrainian and Russian?
Will you tell me whether one neighborhood is better than another?
No, and you should be wary of any agent who does. A licensed agent must not steer buyers toward or away from areas (it is a Fair Housing issue), and second-hand impressions are a poor basis for a decision. The area guides give you distances, official school-district zoning, flood data and cost of ownership; visiting at different times of day tells you more than any description.
Do you make claims about school quality or property appreciation?
No. School ratings, safety and future appreciation are not things a licensed agent should assert. What you will find here instead are the official school-district attendance-zone locators, the county appraisers’ own sales records, and honest context about cost of ownership.
How do I get started?
Call or text 904-789-9203, email obekar.realestate@gmail.com, or use the property search or the home value request. If you would rather read first: buying a home here, selling a home here. All of it reaches Omer directly.
Which areas do you serve?
Jacksonville and Duval County, St. Johns County, St. Augustine, Ponte Vedra Beach, Nocatee, Durbin Crossing, RiverTown, Shearwater, Jacksonville Beach, Neptune Beach and Atlantic Beach.
Do you work with first-time home buyers?
Yes. The process is explained step by step before anything is signed: what an offer commits you to, what an inspection covers, how financing conditions work, and what closing looks like in Northeast Florida.
CDD assessments
How much is the CDD fee in Durbin Crossing?
Under the FY2026 schedule the total annual assessment runs from $1,339.23 for a DR townhome to $4,049.87 for an 80–83 foot lot. A 53-foot lot, the district's baseline, pays $2,642.09. Each figure combines an operations portion with a debt service portion. The district adopted FY2027 with no change to the operations side.
How much is the CDD fee in RiverTown?
For Rivers Edge CDD in fiscal year 2027 the total runs from $1,455.10 on a 30–39 foot lot to $3,121.42 on an 80-foot-plus lot. Every lot type rose 11% from the previous year. RiverTown also contains Rivers Edge II and Rivers Edge III districts, which adopt separate budgets and may differ.
How much is the CDD fee in Shearwater?
For fiscal year 2025/2026 the total runs from $2,321.69 for a townhome under the Series 2025 bonds to $2,964.51 for a 70-foot lot under the Series 2018 bonds. Only $162.52 of that is operations; the rest is bond debt. Shearwater's district is named Trout Creek CDD.
How much is the CDD fee in Nocatee?
Nocatee's assessment varies by village and by individual parcel, and the community spans more than one district including the Tolomato CDD. There is no single Nocatee figure. Confirm the amount for the specific address on the tax bill or with the district before making an offer.
Why do two similar homes have different CDD fees?
Three reasons. Districts divide costs by lot width using an ERU factor, so a wider lot pays more. A community can contain several independent districts, as RiverTown does with three. And a district can issue multiple bond series: in Shearwater, two identical 50-foot lots differ by $153.45 a year purely because of which series their lot falls under.
Does a CDD fee ever go away?
The debt service portion does, when the bonds that funded the roads, drainage and utilities are repaid. The operations and maintenance portion continues for as long as the district exists. How much relief that represents depends entirely on the split: in Shearwater debt is about 93% of the bill, while in Durbin Crossing it is closer to half.
Can I pay off the CDD bond early?
In Florida a CDD bond can usually be prepaid by the owner, which removes the debt portion from future tax bills. If a seller has already done this the buyer inherits the benefit, and it is rarely advertised. It is verifiable on the tax bill and always worth asking about.
Is the CDD fee part of the HOA dues?
No. They are separate obligations billed separately. The CDD assessment appears on the annual county tax bill as a non-ad-valorem line, while HOA dues are billed by the association directly, usually monthly or quarterly.
What HOA documents should I get before I buy?
Florida law (section 720.401, Florida Statutes) requires a seller in a community with a mandatory homeowners’ association to give the buyer an HOA disclosure summary. Ask for the current dues, the rules and restrictions, and whether any special assessment is pending, and read the governing documents during your inspection period. Ask Omer about a specific address.
Is the CDD fee tax deductible?
Generally the operations portion is not treated the same as ad valorem property tax, and treatment of the debt portion varies. This is a question for a tax professional rather than an agent. I will not give you a deduction answer I am not licensed to give.
Are there communities in St. Johns County without a CDD?
Yes. Many older and smaller subdivisions have no district at all, and some have HOA dues only. If avoiding a CDD matters to you, say so at the start and the search can be built around it, but compare the total monthly cost rather than the presence or absence of the assessment alone.
Property taxes
Why will my tax bill be higher than the seller's?
Florida reassesses property at full market value in the year following a sale. The seller's figure reflects their assessed value, protected by a cap that does not transfer to you. A tax amount shown on a listing is almost always the seller's number, not yours.
What is the Save Our Homes cap?
For homesteaded property, the annual increase in assessed value is capped at 3% or the change in the Consumer Price Index, whichever is lower. It applies while homestead status is maintained and resets when the property sells.
Is there a cap on non-homestead property?
Yes, 10% a year on assessed value for non-homestead property. It also resets after a sale: the property is reassessed at full market value in the year following the purchase.
How much is the Florida homestead exemption?
The Florida Department of Revenue states it can decrease a property's taxable value by as much as $50,000. Eligibility and the filing deadline are handled through the county property appraiser, and it applies to your permanent residence.
What is portability?
Florida allows a homesteaded owner to transfer accumulated Save Our Homes benefit to a new homestead within the state, subject to limits. If you are moving within Florida rather than from out of state, ask the county property appraiser to model it before you assume the new bill.
How do I estimate my actual tax bill before I buy?
Use the county property appraiser's tax estimator with your expected purchase price, not the seller's assessed value, and add any non-ad-valorem assessments such as CDD separately. For St. Johns County that estimator is published by the county property appraiser.
Flood zones and insurance
How do I find out if a specific address is in a flood zone?
Search the address at the FEMA Flood Map Service Center. Flood designation is set parcel by parcel, so a community-level answer is not reliable: a lot backing to a creek, preserve or retention area can carry a different zone from one two streets inland.
Does a flood zone mean I have to buy flood insurance?
If the property sits in a high-risk special flood hazard area and you are financing, your lender will require it. In a low-risk zone it is usually optional and comparatively inexpensive. Either way, get a quote during the inspection period rather than after closing.
Why are Florida insurance quotes so different from one house to the next?
Roof age, construction type, wind-mitigation features and flood zone drive the premium far more than the purchase price does. Two houses on the same street can differ substantially because one has a newer roof or documented wind mitigation.
What is Citizens Property Insurance?
Citizens is Florida's state-backed insurer of last resort, used where private coverage is unavailable or unaffordable. Whether a property is likely to end up there is worth knowing before you are under contract.
Buying
Do I have to sign an agreement before touring homes?
In Florida, buyer representation now runs on a written agreement signed before touring, which sets out how the agent is paid and by whom. I walk through that document line by line before anything is signed, and I would rather you understand it than sign quickly.
What does it cost a buyer to work with you?
Compensation is set out in the written buyer agreement and is negotiable, not fixed by law or by any board. What matters is that you see the number and where it comes from before you commit, rather than discovering it at closing.
Should I use the builder's agent for new construction?
The on-site representative works for the builder. You are entitled to your own representation, but most builders require your agent to be registered at your first visit, often on that first walk-in. If you are considering new construction, bring or name your agent before you tour.
What should I check before making an offer?
The exact CDD assessment for that parcel and how many years of debt remain, HOA dues and any leasing restrictions, the FEMA flood zone for the address, an insurance quote, and a tax estimate at your purchase price. Those five change the monthly figure more than the price negotiation usually does.
How long does a purchase take in Florida?
A financed purchase commonly runs 30 to 45 days from contract to closing, with inspection and financing periods inside that. Cash can be faster. New construction runs on the builder's schedule and can be many months.
Selling
How do you decide what my home is worth?
From a comparative market analysis prepared by hand using comparable sales, not an automated estimate. You see the comparables and why each was chosen. If the number is lower than you hoped, I would rather tell you before listing than after sixty days on market.
What does a seller pay at closing in Florida?
Typically title and settlement costs, documentary stamp tax on the deed, any agreed commission, prorated taxes and HOA or CDD amounts, and payoff of any outstanding balance including a prepaid CDD bond if applicable. The exact split is negotiable and set out in the contract.
Do I have to disclose problems with the house?
Florida law requires a seller to disclose known facts materially affecting value that are not readily observable. In practice, disclosing early protects the transaction: undisclosed issues found at inspection cost far more in renegotiation than they would have cost as a line on the disclosure.
Should I sell before I buy?
It depends on your equity, financing and risk tolerance, and there is no universally right answer. What I can do is model both sequences with real numbers for your situation rather than give you a rule of thumb.
Relocating from another state
Can you help before I fly in?
Yes, this is a large part of the practice. Areas get compared on drive times, school zoning, flood exposure, taxes and HOA or CDD costs before you spend a trip, with video walkthroughs where you cannot travel yet.
How is buying in Florida different from other states?
The costs that surprise out-of-state buyers most are CDD assessments, which many states do not have; property tax that resets after a sale rather than continuing at the seller's level; and insurance driven by roof, wind and flood exposure. None of them appear in the listing price.
How much should I budget beyond the mortgage?
It varies too much by address to publish a figure, but the components are property tax at your purchase price, homeowners and windstorm insurance, flood insurance where required, HOA dues and any CDD assessment. Send an address and those can be assembled into an actual monthly number.
Do you work with international buyers?
Yes, including Ukrainian- and Russian-speaking buyers who would rather read a contract in their own language before signing. Financing, tax and immigration questions go to the relevant licensed professional, but the real estate side is handled directly in your language.
Your question is not on this page
These are the questions that come up most often. Yours is probably more specific: a particular street, a particular CDD, a particular closing date. Ask it and you will get a real answer rather than a brochure, whether or not you ever hire an agent.
Faster by phone: 904-789-9203, in English, Ukrainian or Russian. Omer answers it himself.
Nothing here is legal, tax or insurance advice. When a question belongs with an attorney, a CPA or a licensed insurance agent, Omer will say so.
Questions about flood zones, HOA/CDD fees or VA loans for a specific home? Talk to Omer as your buyer’s agent, see Nocatee or St. Augustine, or request a home value consultation.
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