[Goldwingnut]

Originally Posted by ALadysMom

But a home in Elsewhere, USA would have that $38,000 included in the purchase price. So in order to get a mortgage, the Elsewhere house must appraise high enough to finance the total price. Also, the Elsewhere mortgage’s interest rate would be lower than 6.75% and the term of the Elsewhere mortgage would probably be longer than any TV bond financing term, resulting in much higher monthly payments. And the mortgage interest on the Elsewhere (primary) home would be tax deductible. A buyer would also consider the higher new home amenity fees, property taxes, as well as the current lack of accessibility to needs and conveniences. Since golf is declining in popularity, the new areas have fewer courses. The Villages competes for new retiree buyers far beyond its borders. So the Developer sets the price of the bond, then the Bank collects higher interest on the bonds. Wow. I wonder... who owns Citizens First Bank?

You were doing fine at first but fell apart at the end. The bond price is not set by the developer, it is determined by total amount spent for development, divided by the total acreage and then factored by the subdivision acreage divided by the number of homes in the subdivision. The rate of the bond is determined by the market at the time of offering. The bond holders receive the interest paid not a financial institution. The Citizens First Bank has nothing to do with the bonds. If I remember correctly the last bonds sold were facilitated through Chase.

As far as the amenity fee goes, it doesn't matter if you buy a new or existing home, the amenity fee paid is the prevailing rate at the time of purchase, currently $163/month. Similarly any SOH act savings disappear when a home is resold. A $300K home purchased in DeLuna today would pay the same property tax as a $300K home in Alhambra.

The new areas actually have fewer homes per hole of golf than areas north of SR44, it's really about simple math here. No there's not a championship course built yet because there are not enough homes to support it, it takes about 6500-7000 homes on average to support a championship course and they are not quite there yet south of SR44. Remember, championship courses are not amenities, they are a private business that must make money to survive.

As far as stores and restaurants go, 466 & 27/441 were barren for a long time when those areas first started development, the difference is they didn't have the benefit of multiple internet sites where people went to complain and whine about every little thing. The Villages can build all the building for store and restaurants they want, but if a business doesn't feel they want to move there they can't be forced to and the building will remain empty. The demographics of The Villages is a very unique and challenging one and surviving in it takes a lot of planning and risk taking.