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We are planning ahead for our retirement in 5 years or so and have been looking at The Villages Community in Florida. Does anyone know what the monthly fees are on top of your mortgage and basic utilities? Thanks in advance.
We are planning ahead for our retirement in 5 years or so and have been looking at The Villages Community in Florida. Does anyone know what the monthly fees are on top of your mortgage and basic utilities? Thanks in advance.
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We are planning ahead for our retirement in 5 years or so and have been looking at The Villages Community in Florida. Does anyone know what the monthly fees are on top of your mortgage and basic utilities? Thanks in advance.
It’s $189. a month for the activities.
We’ve looked into it too. I think we would enjoy the social part.
You can get regular real estate listings sent to your email to see what is available in your price range.
We have about given up the idea of moving there, because the quality of the houses in our price range, are like starter homes we lived in 40 years ago. No thanks. I’m not going back to a fixer upper with Formica and carpet.
You can arrange a rental for a week or two, and they have people who show you around. I would do this so I could really get a feel for the place.
That $189 activity fee amounts to $2,268/year for two people which seems like a bargain to me. There are various clubs in The Villages that might have additional charges but even those seem pretty minimal.
Price wise the houses seem reasonable to me. You could buy a house in your price range and then do upgrades if you wanted to down the road.
The bond fee is a little confusing to me. I know that you can buy an existing house that has the bond already paid which sounds like a great deal. But where does the money for future community maintenance come from once the bonds are all paid off. That's something I have to look into more deeply.
I would absolutely do a lifestyle visit to check the place out before committing.
Don`t forget sinkhole Ins.....plus you pay the first 25k, if you do have a sinkhole. There have been many in That part of Fl, and in The Villages...that scares me.
That $189 activity fee amounts to $2,268/year for two people which seems like a bargain to me. There are various clubs in The Villages that might have additional charges but even those seem pretty minimal.
Price wise the houses seem reasonable to me. You could buy a house in your price range and then do upgrades if you wanted to down the road.
The bond fee is a little confusing to me. I know that you can buy an existing house that has the bond already paid which sounds like a great deal. But where does the money for future community maintenance come from once the bonds are all paid off. That's something I have to look into more deeply.
I would absolutely do a lifestyle visit to check the place out before committing.
In The Villages the bond is the homeowner's share of the cost for the initial installation of the infrastructure. A new homeowner can pay the bond off up front or at anytime during the 30 year life of the bond. Most people pay it off via a non-ad valorem assessment on their property taxes. It is identified as "Bond" on their yearly but property tax statement. Once the bond is paid in full the line item "Bond" will show a $0.00 balance due. In addition to the initial bond there s another non-ad valorem line item called "Maintenance". This is the yearly charge to maintain the existing infrastructure. This fee is there forever but it varies year to year. Mine was actually less for tax year 2022 than for 2021.
My opinion only, the initial bond should just be rolled into the price of the house at time of original sale. It gives a false impression of the cost to purchase a new home. Actual cost is purchase price plus the bond, but for sales purposes the house is only advertised without the bond being included. The bonds for new construction can be pretty high, I have heard some as high as $60,000 but I have never tried to verify this. When my home was new in 2011 the bond was $30,000.
In The Villages the bond is the homeowner's share of the cost for the initial installation of the infrastructure. A new homeowner can pay the bond off up front or at anytime during the 30 year life of the bond. Most people pay it off via a non-ad valorem assessment on their property taxes. It is identified as "Bond" on their yearly but property tax statement. Once the bond is paid in full the line item "Bond" will show a $0.00 balance due. In addition to the initial bond there s another non-ad valorem line item called "Maintenance". This is the yearly charge to maintain the existing infrastructure. This fee is there forever but it varies year to year. Mine was actually less for tax year 2022 than for 2021.
My opinion only, the initial bond should just be rolled into the price of the house at time of original sale. It gives a false impression of the cost to purchase a new home. Actual cost is purchase price plus the bond, but for sales purposes the house is only advertised without the bond being included. The bonds for new construction can be pretty high, I have heard some as high as $60,000 but I have never tried to verify this. When my home was new in 2011 the bond was $30,000.
Yes, at least with the older houses, despite the Formica and carpet, the bond has been paid.
In The Villages the bond is the homeowner's share of the cost for the initial installation of the infrastructure. A new homeowner can pay the bond off up front or at anytime during the 30 year life of the bond. Most people pay it off via a non-ad valorem assessment on their property taxes. It is identified as "Bond" on their yearly but property tax statement. Once the bond is paid in full the line item "Bond" will show a $0.00 balance due. In addition to the initial bond there s another non-ad valorem line item called "Maintenance". This is the yearly charge to maintain the existing infrastructure. This fee is there forever but it varies year to year. Mine was actually less for tax year 2022 than for 2021.
My opinion only, the initial bond should just be rolled into the price of the house at time of original sale. It gives a false impression of the cost to purchase a new home. Actual cost is purchase price plus the bond, but for sales purposes the house is only advertised without the bond being included. The bonds for new construction can be pretty high, I have heard some as high as $60,000 but I have never tried to verify this. When my home was new in 2011 the bond was $30,000.
Interesting. I don't think I've ever heard anyone mention the non-ad volerem line item called "Maintenance" before. Would you mind sharing what the ballpark is for the maintenance fee and how much it can vary year to year? Are we talking hundreds of dollars or thousands of dollars?
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