Stoneybrook specific questions (Sarasota, Bradenton, Homestead: sales, for rent, HOA)

[irishtee]

Hi All,
We've narrowed our home search to Stoneybrook at Venice. I've been reading older posts, but haven't been able to find specifically what the HOA covers in the $153 per month(lawn maintenance, etc). Also, how much longer is the CDD fee in effect? Is it based off when the property was built or when the CDD was established? Has anyone paid it off entirely and what was the cost to do so?
Thanks for any insight you can provide.

[Sunshine Rules]

Stoneybrook in Venice or Stoneybrook at Heritage Harbour in Manatee county?

Assuming you mean Venice, here's a link to help you: http://stoneybrookatvenicecdd.org/

For Stoneybrook in Venice, the bond portion of the CDD will run 30 years, unless you pay it off early. The O & M (operations & maintenance) portion of the CDD does not typically have an ending date and can vary from year to year according to the approved budgets.

[irishtee]

Sorry I updated my post to reflect Stoneybrook at Venice.

[irishtee]

We have something similar up here in the Chicago suburbs so I'm familiar with the CDD. They are all a little different with how they are set up or what they are called. Most of the communities that have them here are now all paid off or if the person selling their home wants to sell it faster then they made it a perk to pay off the remainder of the balance. Most of communities that had/have them are nearing the end of payments anyway. Even with the CDD included with the property taxes it's still cheaper in Florida than in Chicago I currently pay $5,035 for a middle unit townhouse worth $230K and we don't have any CDD fees. I appealed my property taxes and won when we first moved here. They went from $5,325 to $5,035. I can get a lot more house in Venice, FL than here in the Chicago suburbs. The same houses in Stoneybrook that are 3-4 bedrooms with 2000+/- sq feet are going for $400K-$500K with property taxes on the upwards of $11-14K here.

[FLKitties]

I agree with irishtee. Not all CDD communities are bad. People need to think about what is best for them and what kind of value/benefit they are going to be getting in return. For example, some CDD communities in Bradenton have combined HOA+CDD fees of under $2k/yr and that includes miles of walking trails, fitness centers, community centers, community pools, gates, security, etc. Some communities have high HOA & CDD fees and don't offer as much so instead of writing off CDDs altogether, people need to take into consideration the benefits of the community. If someone isn't going to be using any of those benefits or if all those extras aren't included for them as part of their fees, then I could see the case for avoiding such communities. However, it seems most newer communities in the area took advantage of that option as a way to finance their developments.

[Sunshine Rules]

One thing you will need to know about buying a home in FL vs IL is that the property taxes you are seeing now on various listings is NOT what you will be paying as of the year following the sale.

That is because a sale triggers a reassessment of the property as of the 1st of the year following the sale -- if the new assessed value is higher, the taxes will go up as the largest portion of our tax bill is the ad valorem portion based on millage rates. The higher the assessed value, the higher the ad valorem portion of the tax bill.

This is where it gets more complicated. In FL if a home is your primary residence, you can file for a homestead exemption.

A home where the owner has lived a number of years and which is their homesteaded property may have much lower property taxes due to the 3% per year cap on increases that is a benefit of having the homestead exemption. Homesteaded properties also have added assessment reductions which result in savings on the tax bills.

So buying a home because it currently has lower property taxes then similar homes is not a good idea, the property will be reassessed and the following year's taxes will reflect the new assessment. (By the way, the new assessed value will not necessarily be the same as your purchase price, the assessors have a formula they use that includes other recent sales in your neighborhood & other criteria such as replacement cost of improvements, location and condition.)

You can look up the property tax bills for almost any property in Sarasota or Manatee county by using the links to the tax bills found on the property appraiser's web sites.

If you want to get a better sense of what your property taxes will be like if you purchased a particular home, I suggest looking at the tax bills for several other comparable homes in the neighborhood that sold in the previous year to see what they are now paying. Or you can contact the county property appraiser's office directly, I've found them to be most helpful in the past.

[irishtee]

Thank you Sunshine Rules. I suppose I should have mentioned that I'm in the mortgage industry so I know all about different states property taxes. I've been looking in our database for properties sold last year in the area and what the current tax bill is now. Still cheaper than Chicago even adding in the CDD fee. Illinois is similar, but we are just a year behind since we pay our taxes in arrears.

[Sunshine Rules]

I have a nephew and his family that live in Chicago, own a condo there. What they pay in property taxes is ridiculous.

No wonder so many are exiting IL for other states.

[macrodome2]

I'll answer your questions. I live in Stoneybrook at Venice and I'm on the Board. The HOA dues do not include homeowner lawncare. They cover maintenance of the common areas plus the amenities. Our amenities include: a clubhouse with a gym, movie room, actiivity room, and library/conference room. The outdoor grounds includes: heated pool, hot tub, splash pad for kids, 4 tennis courts, volleyball court, baseball field, soccer field, 2 playgrounds, a combination hockey rink-3 pickleball courts-2 shuffleboard courts (lines painted on one surface for 3 activities), horseshoes and an all purpose field for events. We have an activities director that plans events and manages the weekly activites that include exercise classes and card games. We have 2 social committees. One plans adult activities, the other kids. This past year we had Bandana (local band) play, Harvestfest, pig roast, Easter egg hunt, numerous big slide/pool days and of course our legendary Halloween.

I am not on the CDD board, so I will try to answer as best I can. I do know our CDD only includes the bond and a small administration amount. The maintenance of the stormwater system (that's what the bonds were for) is done through the HOA dues (included in that $153/mo). Once the bond is paid off, the CDD can be disolved as there is no need for it any longer. Most homeowners opted to pay the CDD over time, however there is a small number of homes that opted to pay it outright up front and they do not have a CDD payment.

Depending on the section within Stoneybrook, the CCD is either $381, $496 or $632 per year. Stoneybrook refinanced the CDD in 2016 so these costs are lower than what they were when the houses were sold. My CDD fee fell $164/yr when they refinanced.

You'll get a lot of negative CDD responses here. Well someone has to pay for the infrastructure and you either pay by CDD or you pay by regular property taxes. It is what it is. Also note, members with Reputation scores of 10 or 15 are generally one or two people who like to use different names when responding.

[ccgirl2019]

Does anyone happen to know where I could find homes available for rent in Stoneybrook at Venice? I looked on VRBO but didn't see any. It is one of the neighborhoods we are seriously considering and wanted to rent for a couple of months while we got to know the area.