Looking to rent Winter 2018 (home, clubhouse, restaurant)

[bbtondo]

Originally Posted by melbatoast94

Thanks for all the info! I will have to check out the Vineyards, it sounds really nice. Do they offer food & drinks by the pool there? And yeah, those assessments - Yikes! I don't like how they can just add them and say you have to pay them. I've seen a lot of mention on CDD fees, not sure what those are but people are not happy with them I know that! I've looked online to get some info, but haven't gotten a good understanding of them. Do you know upfront before buying there are CDD fees? And I assume they can up the fees at any time?

The vineyards cc has food and drinks by the pool. They have a formal restaurant and a casual pub. On busy days there are waiters by the pool. On quiet days there is a phone by the pool with a casual menu next to it. You pick up the phone and order your food/drink. I believe the food service by the pool is mainly for lunch. During winter break there were many families with visiting grandchildren enjoying the pool and ordering lunch.


The vineyards cc is breaking ground this spring to build their new wellness center. Gym, spa, cafe, classes, etc. When it is finished they are expanding their casual pub. Should be nice!


The vineyards cc does not have a party atmosphere if that is what you are looking for. It is mostly retirees and on the "quiet" side. It has a great social calendar with concerts, women's lunches, trips etc. Some things DH and I like, some things we're not interested in. There are two golf courses there and the golf membership is rather costly depending on your budget. The golfers tend to be an older crowd. They have beautiful tennis courts if you're interested in that. We don't golf, so just got a social membership. Check out their web page if you'd like more information.


I'll try to explain CDD fees. Someone please correct me if I get something wrong. CDD means community development district. When some builders start a community they take out bonds to pay for the beautiful clubhouses, pools, etc. Those bonds have to be paid by someone right? Well, it's not the builder, it's the community. So in addition to your yearly taxes, you pay a CDD fee on top of them. For example, I think the CDD fee at the Quarry was about $2000 a year? Again correct me if I'm wrong. I also believe that Pelican Marsh has CDD fees. Riverstone and Stone Creek do not.


The Quarry recently added a tiki bar and fire pit. I know that there was an assessment of about $1,000 a door. They also recently had a transition with the golf club on the property. Not really sure about the specifics of it.


Be ware that Bonita Springs in Lee County has a higher tax rate than Collier County. The taxes on my condo in Naples are $1,600 a year. My friend bought a similar condo in Bonita Springs in a community with CDD fees and her taxes and CDD fees come to $4,000 a year. Big difference!


When looking at homes, go on the Collier County Appraiser website and search the address of the home you are looking at and you'll see a copy of that homes tax statement which will tell you if it is in a CDD community.


Have fun researching the communities you're interested in!

[melbatoast94]

lynnc99 Wow, I can't believe they have restrictions on kids visiting!! And yeah, that's my worry, the 55+ people being totally annoyed with my future grandkids! That will not work for me! That's interesting about the Quarry, though!

[melbatoast94]

bbtondo the Vineyards is sounding better and better! Especially with their new wellness center. Gym, spa, cafe, classes, etc. and expanded casual pub! So The Quarry's $1,000 assessment, was that part of the CDD fees or something else? Can they just assess fees whenever they want??? We were members of a cc club, and that's what happened. Whenever they wanted to improve something we would get assessed even if we didn't agree to improve whatever it was. Annoying to say the least!

[JWatral2016]

Regarding CDD fees and what they are, bbtondo pretty much nailed it.
"I'll try to explain CDD fees. Someone please correct me if I get something wrong. CDD means community development district. When some builders start a community they take out bonds to pay for the beautiful clubhouses, pools, etc. Those bonds have to be paid by someone right? Well, it's not the builder, it's the community. So in addition to your yearly taxes, you pay a CDD fee on top of them. For example, I think the CDD fee at the Quarry was about $2000 a year? Again correct me if I'm wrong. I also believe that Pelican Marsh has CDD fees. Riverstone and Stone Creek do not".

The bond is typically paid off in 20 to 30 years but there will always be a "maintenance fee" but it will be considerably less.

To find out whether a property has a CDD and how much it is, go to the "Trim Notice" on the property appraiser's site for that property and scroll down to the bottom where it says, "non ad valorem". There you will find the yearly fee and the name of the CDD. Having that you might want to check if the CDD is in default. Go to the site below and scroll down until you find the name of your CDD.
Florida Community Development Districts Bonds

[melbatoast94]

Ok, so I went on the appraisers website under Trim Notice and then went to non ad valorem and all I see are taxes like schools, water, mosquito control - no fees. It is a property in the Quarry.

So with these CDD fees, I assume they can raise them whenever they want?? Or are they set in stone?

[motordavid]

^

CCD has two parts: the 'bonding' portion that is a bond with a set interest %, paid to the bond holders per annum.
The 'maintenance' portion is just that: a portion that is composed of the annual revised budget for 'maintenance' of the common grounds/infrastructure that fall under the control of the CDD Board in any community, per the original CDD Docs...

The Maintenance portion can be increased annually, per vote of the elected CDD Board, usually based on community input; some CDD Boards are very responsive to 'the community' and its collective opin and are fiscally very responsible. Other CDD Boards, not so much.

The CDD bond was run through the state legislature to provide developers with a vehicle to transport some of the infrastructure and development costs to the potential home buyers and that community.

Some communities have CDDs, some have only HOA/POA/COA fees. All communities with a CDD will have an additional HOA/POA/COA fee usually paid quarterly.

Pages of info on FL CDD in GOOG, and likewise for HOA, COA via Google. Chapter 719 and 720 of Florida Statues cover COA and HOA respectively. Reading or skimming them makes one's hair hurt, but worth the read if one is considering buying, as are the actual individual HOA or COA Documents of a specific commuinty...

I realize that people initially looking for housing to buy/rent in SW FL face a myriad of acronyms, terms, fuzzy definitions, et al.

If you are renting while looking to buy, one doesn't have too much to worry about vis a vis the CDD and other Docs, other than following the individual HOA/COA Docs for that specific community, during the course of the rental/lease period.

If one is looking to buy, esp from long distance, some serious reading of threads in the various specific forums where one has interest is highly recommended. And, Search This Forum, eg Naples, et al plugging in some terms or place names will usually return several full threads with your topic.

Not trying to lecture.
There are many confusing terms, real estate buzz words/RE sites lack of full info, urban myths and things one should be familiar with in the process of finding a community(s) and house to buy, esp from states away.
GL, mD

[JWatral2016]

Originally Posted by melbatoast94

Ok, so I went on the appraisers website under Trim Notice and then went to non ad valorem and all I see are taxes like schools, water, mosquito control - no fees. It is a property in the Quarry.

So with these CDD fees, I assume they can raise them whenever they want?? Or are they set in stone?

Sorry about that, click on "Tax Bill"" and scroll down to the bottom.

[JWatral2016]

Originally Posted by JWatral2016

Regarding CDD fees and what they are, bbtondo pretty much nailed it.
"I'll try to explain CDD fees. Someone please correct me if I get something wrong. CDD means community development district. When some builders start a community they take out bonds to pay for the beautiful clubhouses, pools, etc. Those bonds have to be paid by someone right? Well, it's not the builder, it's the community. So in addition to your yearly taxes, you pay a CDD fee on top of them. For example, I think the CDD fee at the Quarry was about $2000 a year? Again correct me if I'm wrong. I also believe that Pelican Marsh has CDD fees. Riverstone and Stone Creek do not".

The bond is typically paid off in 20 to 30 years but there will always be a "maintenance fee" but it will be considerably less.

To find out whether a property has a CDD and how much it is, go to the "Trim Notice" on the property appraiser's site for that property and scroll down to the bottom where it says, "non ad valorem". There you will find the yearly fee and the name of the CDD. Having that you might want to check if the CDD is in default. Go to the site below and scroll down until you find the name of your CDD.
Florida Community Development Districts Bonds

I stand corrected. Scroll down to the bottom of the "Tax Bill" not "Trim Notice" to find the Non Add Valorem CDD fee.

[RMD3819]

I will throw my very limited knowledge of CDDs in here.....

A CDD goes beyond bonds and fees. The CDD must go through the state legislature which when passed gives powers to the CDD almost equivalent to an incorporated city depending on how the document is written.

There was a big flap about Ave Maria and their CDD. Apparently theirs is so broad they can determine zoning and most anything else in that community-and it was written to keep the developer in control forever. Somewhere I read a CDD can do most any municipal function except law enforcement and issue business licenses.

Disney is a CDD known as the Reedy Creek Community Development District. I saw a story on them that their CDD documents are so detailed that it specifically allows them to build a nuclear power plant within their boundaries.

[theSteevo]

It seems you want two different things. If you want food and drink service at the pool, you need a Country Club community. I do not believe any of the communities you have mentioned have food service.