From Orlando to Jacksonville (for sale, real estate, HOA fees)

[blong2trvl]

For the past year and a half we have been debating on whether to move up to Eagle Landing or somewhere on FI to be close to our daughter & family. I really like EL, but my husband is a very cautious person, and is uncertain because of so many homes for sale there. I'm thinking it might be a real opportunity. Does anyone know if East-West is having any problems? Looking forward to hearing from ya'll.

[mawipafl]

I don't think East-West is having problems other than what most developers are experiencing. We live in a former East-West community -- it's "former" because we're essentially built-out and East-West, as per its plan, turned over the community to the CDD and HOA. While East-West was in charge, I saw good management and financial health. They didn't up and leave without a solid foundation in place, and the transition was as smooth as possible in a difficult economy. I presume they're following the same type of business plan and model with Eagle Landing.

It may appear as an abnormal amount of real estate for sale in Eagle Landing, but I think it's only because EL's development started right before the major hit on the housing industry. Naturally I'm not privvy to East-West's accounting, but as a sister community the word would spread here if EL was in dire straits.

I do know they hosted the men's USTA Pro Circuit Tennis Tournament again this year. That event costs money to make money, and obviously EL/East-West had the funds to put on the event, so there must be some financial viability.

[dspenc8888]

There are both new construction and resales in the community. Due to the current market conditions, you will get a good deal thru the builders and be able to design exactly what you want, but definitely compare the resales. Beware short sales take a 3-6 months or more and offer is not always accepted by bank. This community is still very popular and the shopping/restaurants have really built up in the area. There are not any financial situations that I am aware of.

[blong2trvl]

Thank you so much! We are new to the CDD fee thing, and wondered if those could be increased a lot year by year? Since my husband has retired, it's always nice to know what to expect. We've lived in our current home since 1978, so we tend to stay put. This hopefully would be our last move.

[mawipafl]

CDD fees come in two parts: debt service and operation/maintenance fees.

In a nutshell, the debt service part is paying off the bonds that the developer sold in order to have the upfront cash to fully build the community rather than wait for the profits as each house is sold. That part of a CDD fee won't change and it's usually for a set time frame such as 30 years. It's also the bulk of the fee.

The operation/maintenance (O&M) part does just that - operates and maintains the community (landscaping, salaries, pool maintenance, etc. etc.). That part of the CDD fee will change as the costs go up just like everything else in this world.

In most cases the HOA fees in a CDD community are either very low or nonexistent because many of the financial responsibilities of a typical HOA are covered by the O&M part of the CDD fee.

So, it's rather easy to budget long term as long as one knows that there will be slight increases in the O&M over time.