[Goldwingnut]

Originally Posted by KEVIN & JOSIE

Is there a reason the bonds are separate from the house cost? At least if you had a mortgage it would be deductible.

From a business standpoint it is a huge positive cash flow advantage. Consider that the infrastructure work starts up to 2 years prior to the sale of the first house. With a bond the CDD pays for the infrastructure as it is built, the developer gets paid for this work instead of having to carry the cost for up to 2 years before they START to get paid. If the cost is rolled into the house then it takes until the last house is sold before they fully recoup the infrastructure investment (it actually would happen sooner but at the cost of a reduced profit margin, if any, per house).

Many developers go under because of the carry time for the development costs.

The other advantage for us as residents deals with capital availability. The developer only has so much in the budget to develop the community, by not having to carry the cost of streets and sewer pipes they can invest the money in other things like swimming pools, golf courses, rec centers. This is way in many communities the sales pitch is that "that will be the pool over there" or "you'll be on the tee box for the 3rd hole" but it never happens, they run out of money.


You'll pay the cost one way or the other.

The bond process is, in my opinion, one of the key reasons that The Villages is successful. Allowing the early building of the amenities. Believe it or not, the amenities are still being built in advance of the homes as they always have been. What many think of as amenities (shopping, championship golf) are not amenities, they are private businesses. These have to make a profit to survive and have to wait for the homes to be occupied before being built. The non-linear and fragmented development of the area south of SR44 has made this much more difficult than the contiguous linear building that allowed commercial development along 466 and 466a.

This video Bond Information and The Villages 5-30-19 Construction update - YouTube talks about the bonds here in The Villages.