[dennis925]

can anyone give me a idea on what the cdd fees hoa fees and taxes are on a home at lake ashton in lake wales ,florida .We are thinking of maybe relocating there but need to consider everything before deciding.

thanks dennis

[sandhill44]

The HOA fee is $60/year (includes nothing).
The CDD fee is between $7,000 and $12,000 depending on where you buy. If you are building, it would be on the higher end. Could be more than $12,000.
The taxes would be around $3,000 for a $225,000 house if you qualify to homestead. If you cannot homestead, it would be about twice that much. Lake Ashton is in both Lake Wales and Winter Haven. Taxes are higher in Lake Wales. Go to polkpa.org for millage on taxes if you want a more exact figure.The taxes vary depending on the value of your house.
The CDD maintenance fee is around $1,300/year (will probably increase every year).

If you are building, you will probably not hear all of the facts from the sales people. Ask the residents.

[dennis925]

Thanks for the info I noticed when my wife or I would ask a question the salesperson never would give you the whole answer only what they wanted you to hear. But that's any place you have to do your homework. that CDD for 12000 how long do you have to pay that off? thanks again

[smsgtdaves]

I know HOA is home owners assoc. but what is the CDD Fee? I'm just starting to look in Florida for retirement. Thanks

[sandhill44]

Sorry it took so long before I looked at the forum again. CDD stands for Community Development District. There are a lot of them in Florida. The residents of a Community have to pay for the roads and maintenance on all amenity buildings, pools, etc. The initial cost is high and the yearly fees certainly go up. Study this carefully before buying. In some communities, the HOA does the same thing.

[sandhill44]

You can pay off your CDD right away or you can have it over a 30-year loan. Figure it up...$12,000 over 30 years! You can pay it off earlier like other loans.

[Drive On]

There are several things to consider here:

In a development with a CDD the fees are paid to the county so you know the roads, water sewer etc. will be properly maintained. If someone doesn't pay their fees to a homeowners association, the HOA has to go after them which is time consuming and expensive.

But if they don't pay the CDD fees to the county the power of the government will get their attention. The county will maintain the infrastructure whether or not everyone pays their bill. A problem with homeowners associations is that as long as the developer is involved everything looks nice. When the homeowners take over, things start to go downhill because they don't want to spend money. In a place with a lot of foreclosures, maintenance work starts to slide because the association is not collecting the monthly fees.

Also, Lake Ashton just had their first case of a house with Chinese drywall. I'm thinking of buying there so I'm watching this carefully to see how the developer responds to the problem and if it affects values. If you are not familiar with this serious problem do a web search for "Chinese drywall Florida" and read the articles. Its very serious.

I last visited Lake Ashton in the summer of 2009 and its beautiful there. They just built a second clubhouse with fantastic facilities. There is a restaurant in the main clubhouse and a second one at the golf course. The food started to go downhill a few years ago but the head chef was fired and the new people seem to be pretty good.

I believe all the models are sold and the new models will open in February 2010.

You need to be very careful and look at the crime rates in any area you are interested in. There are areas such as Poinciana and Kissimmee where a lot of low life people live and your peace and quiet will be shattered by police sirens, ambulances and boom boxes playing rap and Spanish music all hours of the night. Lake Ashton is fine but there are other subdivisions in the Winter Haven area with a lot of lower income people who bought houses they couldn't afford and are not as well kept. Sorry for not being politically correct but thats the way it is. Their rules are not as strict and some of the front yards are full of junk decorations that look horrible and the lawns are brown. But again, Lake Ashton is nice.

Some places include lawn care in their fees but Lake Ashton does not. You have to hire someone to cut the grass or do it yourself. The neighbors can advise you on that. I'm retired and I have no intention of wasting my time cutting grass.

Solivita which is partly in Polk county and part in Osceola is considered the Poinciana area but I love Solivita. Watch the videos on their web site. The thing that concerns me is that we would have to go shopping in the Poinciana area which I don't consider to be the safest place in the world.

Do your research. You may want to consider Top of The World Communities which is in Ocala about an hour northwest of Orlando. Fantastic place. Stay away from The Villages. I know the CD they send out looks great but stay away. Do a search for "The Villages and IRS." There are serious financial problems with the legality of their CDD.

If you buy a resale you can ask the seller to pay off the balance of the CDD fee at the closing. On a new house I get the impression the sales people may be willing to deal because of the slow market. You lose nothing by asking for things. Push for whatever you can get.

Even though there is a guard at the gate, since the roads are technically county roads, anyone can demand to gain entrance and the guard will let them in. That's how I got in to look at the models without being followed by a sales person. In reality that rarely happens and most people don't even know they can do that.

By the way, a golf cart is included in the price of a new home so make sure you ask about it.

We own a vacation condo near Disney and are familiar with the Lake Ashton area. I will try to help out with questions you may have but I don't get on the computer very often.

[rma5502]

The cases of Chinese Drywall now stand at 3. One of which is my house @5305 Nicklaus, 158 West. (Lakeland Ledger fron page article Dec 8th 09). As for the developer they have done NOTHING.Would not respond to the reporter or my calls. . Road maintenance is a joke. Just take a drive down memory lane. Better wear a helmet. Golf cart is a worn out 36V EZ GO from Arts Carts. He then will try to sell you things the cart really needs that dont come with it. Such as a windsheild, lights, turn sigs, better tires, brake lights, curtains, etc. I can walk faster than this cart will go. The blame is yet to be placed. All I wanted from my Developer was what their position was. What plan they had in mind to help their CUSTOMERS. I am involved in a Class Action lawsuit against the maker of this trash, Knauf. LENNAR is doing the right thing over in TRADITIONS. They are remediating their homes with CDW. Thats who you should by from.

[chezhead1]

What year was your house built?

[rma5502]

2006.