Selling a home in the Orlando-Kissimmee area

Selling a home in the Orlando-Kissimmee area

The Orlando metro spans Orange, Osceola, Seminole and Lake counties, each with its own property appraiser and tax rates. Here is what a seller here should check before listing, with every figure linked to its source.

Facts checked September 30, 2026. Sources linked below each figure.

This page is general information, not legal or tax advice. Rules and rates below are for the tax years named, and your county office has the final word on your property.

Start with your property appraiser record and TRIM notice

Your county property appraiser sets the value your taxes are based on and keeps your exemptions. In this metro that is the Orange County Property Appraiser, the Osceola County Property Appraiser, the Seminole County Property Appraiser or the Lake County Property Appraiser. Look up your parcel and check the owner names, homestead status and the building details before you list.

Each August the property appraiser mails the TRIM (Truth in Millage) notice of proposed property taxes (Florida Department of Revenue). It is not a bill. It shows your market value, assessed value, exemptions and the rates each taxing authority proposes. If something looks wrong, call the property appraiser before you list, because buyers, lenders and title agents all read the same record.

Osceola's property appraiser also warns that a change in title, such as moving the home into a trust or adding a spouse, could change your exemption, and that you must reapply when you move (Osceola County Property Appraiser).

How property taxes are split at closing

In Orange County, tax bills are mailed by November 1, the full amount is due by March 31, and paying in November earns a 4% discount (Orange County Tax Collector). Unpaid taxes become delinquent on April 1 statewide (Florida Department of Revenue). If you close before the year's bill is out, the closing agent usually estimates that year's taxes and splits them between you and the buyer as your contract directs. Ask how the estimate was made and whether it uses the discounted amount.

Your homestead cap resets for the buyer

With a homestead, your assessed value can rise no more than 3% or the change in CPI each year, whichever is less. After a sale the home loses that benefit and is assessed at just value on the following January 1 (Florida Department of Revenue, PT-112). If you have owned for years, your buyer's tax bill may be noticeably higher than yours.

Florida law requires a property tax disclosure summary telling buyers not to rely on the seller's current taxes (Florida Statutes 689.261). From February 1, 2027, listing websites that display estimated taxes must use a standard method based on list price, and sites that do not may no longer show the seller's current taxes (Pinellas County Property Appraiser).

If you are buying another Florida home, you may be able to port up to $500,000 of your Save Our Homes benefit (Florida Statutes 193.155). You must set up the new homestead within three years of January 1 of the year you left the old one, and file the transfer form with your homestead application by March 1 (PT-112).

Flood and insurance questions buyers will ask

Central Florida is inland, but flood and wind insurance still come up in most sales.

• Flood zone. Look up your address on FEMA's Flood Map Service Center. FEMA says there is no "no-risk zone," only lower or moderate risk areas (FEMA).
• Flood disclosure. You must give the buyer a written flood disclosure at or before contract signing, covering flood damage you know of, flood insurance claims and federal flood assistance during your ownership (Florida Statutes 689.302).
• Citizens policies. A buyer insured by Citizens Property Insurance must carry flood insurance in phases, reaching all other personal residential policies from January 1, 2027, with exceptions such as condo unit owner forms (Florida Statutes 627.351).
• Wind mitigation. A wind mitigation inspection on the state form can support premium discounts, and the form was updated effective April 1, 2026 (Florida Office of Insurance Regulation).

What shapes prices around Orlando

From the April 2020 base to July 2025, Census estimates show Osceola up about 24% (388,647 to 481,718), Lake up about 19%, Orange up about 7% and Seminole up about 4.5% (Census Bureau). In the year to July 2025, Lake and Osceola gained people from other U.S. counties, while in Orange more people left for other U.S. counties than arrived and international arrivals roughly offset that.

In growing areas a resale can end up competing with new construction nearby, so ask how much builder inventory is close to you. For a single home, tax district, HOA or CDD assessments, roof age, insurance cost and the tax reset your buyer faces all matter alongside size and condition. A licensed local agent can pull comparable sales for your area, and you can request a free market report or a cash offer to compare. Run your numbers in the net proceeds calculator.