Good place for over 55 crowd (Jacksonville, Sweetwater: for sale, condos, refinance)

[madcapmagishion]

Originally Posted by Tek_Freek

Since it's a subject in the last two posts I would like to ask: What are CDD fees? I'm sure the answer is obvious to many, but not to me.

Thanks in advance.

A CDD is a Community Development District. This is a special purpose government entity that provides valuable community infrastructure (roads, utilites, ammenities) generated by growth and allows a developer to finance those costs with a CDD via tax-free municipal bonds. The bonds pay for not only roads and utilities, but also amenities such as clubhouses, pools, tennis courts and golf courses, etc.

A CDD fee is a payment structured by the developer and the County Commissioners prior to the development of the land designed to pay for the infrastructure and/or maintenance of the community. Instead of the developer coming out of pocket to pay for roads, utilities, ammenities, etc. a tax-free municipal bond is used to pay for that. In other words, a type of loan/mortgage to the developer. Since this is essentially a loan, the CDD fee is the repayment of that loan.

[Tek_Freek]

So it's a tax-free loan taken out by a developer and sometimes, but not always, paid back by the buyers of the homes?

[Tek_Freek]

Originally Posted by cricketfan

This morning on my way to the putting green at WGV I stopped in at Cascades to settle this question, at least in my own mind. I have to recant what I said earlier: Cascades DOES extend all the way to I-95, so those who said it does are indeed accurate. However it is also true that the place is so vast that unless you live in a house on the fringes where it abuts 95 the noise from traffic should not be much of a concern. My earlier post was based on the fact that my previous visit was to some friends who live more or less in the interior of the development.

According to the "master map" on their website your earlier post was correct. It does show it as being on the interior portion of the development. I sent an email to them and received three "master" maps in PDF format that shows Cascades abutting I-95.

Thanks for the clarification. We are very paranoid about buying anywhere near an Interstate because where we live now there was very little noise from ours, but with the increase in traffic over 22 years it has become a constant, and annoying racket.

Here they are:



Okay, that didn't work very well. The pics were so poor they couldn't be read. If I could figure out how to attach a PDF file I would, but so far that ability eludes me. I will do some research and see if I can figure it out.

I guess I'm stuck. The forum says to use the paper clip and upload as an attachment, but I get an error. Sorry!

[madcapmagishion]

Originally Posted by Tek_Freek

So it's a tax-free loan taken out by a developer and sometimes, but not always, paid back by the buyers of the homes?

I believe, it's always paid back by the homeowners as it's collected with the property taxes. And not with the HOA fee's.
Don't pay and lose your home in a tax sale? At least there would be a lien placed on the property.

[Caladium]

Originally Posted by madcapmagishion

I believe, it's always paid back by the homeowners as it's collected with the property taxes. And not with the HOA fee's.
Don't pay and lose your home in a tax sale? At least there would be a lien placed on the property.

And some CDDs seem to get pretty high. It's really worth paying attention to this fee. It's onething that I don't like about Florida (even though there are still hundreds of things I do like about FL). I've never run into these fees anywhere else, so maybe because they're new to me they rub me the wrong way.

[cricketfan]

Originally Posted by Caladium

And some CDDs seem to get pretty high. It's really worth paying attention to this fee. It's onething that I don't like about Florida (even though there are still hundreds of things I do like about FL). I've never run into these fees anywhere else, so maybe because they're new to me they rub me the wrong way.

To some homeowners it does make sense (to others not) because a component of the CDD, as madcap said, "pays for amenities such as clubhouses, pools, tennis courts and golf courses, etc." which otherwise they could not afford. This has always been a hot topic on this forum and I predict there will be another stream of comments on one side or the other.

[EricBoyd]

Originally Posted by madcapmagishion

I believe, it's always paid back by the homeowners as it's collected with the property taxes. And not with the HOA fee's.
Don't pay and lose your home in a tax sale? At least there would be a lien placed on the property.

The CDD Fee is indicated on a property tax bill as a Non Ad Valorem tax, which means that the amount of the fee is not dependent on the value of the property. The annual fee is set by the CDD based on the current budget for the year.

If you purchase a home in a CDD community with a mortgage loan, and that mortgage payment includes taxes and insurance, the CDD fee will be included in the monthly escrow payment as it is combined with your total tax bill. If a property is vacant due to a homeowner walking away the house and the mortgage, the lender will still pay the tax bill (both Ad Valorem and Non Ad Valorem taxes), in order to prevent someone purchasing the property via tax sale.

[madcapmagishion]

Originally Posted by EricBoyd

The CDD Fee is indicated on a property tax bill as a Non Ad Valorem tax, which means that the amount of the fee is not dependent on the value of the property. The annual fee is set by the CDD based on the current budget for the year.

If you purchase a home in a CDD community with a mortgage loan, and that mortgage payment includes taxes and insurance, the CDD fee will be included in the monthly escrow payment as it is combined with your total tax bill. If a property is vacant due to a homeowner walking away the house and the mortgage, the lender will still pay the tax bill (both Ad Valorem and Non Ad Valorem taxes), in order to prevent someone purchasing the property via tax sale.

Thanks for clarifying that Eric.

The only question I have is, does the CDD fee ever disappear or are you stuck with it for life?

CDD fee's are one reason we bought in Avondale and not Riverwoods(Nocatee) or the Cascades(WGV). That and we bought the house from a great aunt of mine and we knew the house intimately and got a great price too boot.

[Caladium]

Originally Posted by cricketfan

To some homeowners it does make sense (to others not) because a component of the CDD, as madcap said, "pays for amenities such as clubhouses, pools, tennis courts and golf courses, etc." which otherwise they could not afford.

IMO those things should be covered by an HOA fee, not a separate fee on top of HOA. But, I guess it's just a matter of learning a new system.

[cricketfan]

Originally Posted by Caladium

IMO those things should be covered by an HOA fee, not a separate fee on top of HOA. But, I guess it's just a matter of learning a new system.

It's all semantics, Caladium. My HOA fee is $50 a year.