... but it appears I have no self control. Kind of like me with chocolate.
A few points:
1. Ever notice the number of posts about "when are new championship/executive course being built" and "what about Brownwood town square" or the possibilities of another facility like KBs or the Savannah Center? The common thread here is that these are all financed with BONDS. Without the bonds, land would lie vacant until the VCDD had collected enough in amenities fees to construct them. Smart developers like Gary Morse didn't get to be billionaires by tying up their own money.
2. Because these bonds are for the benefit of many (like utility bonds), the IRS granted them a preliminary tax exempt status in a determination ruling. My issuing tax exempt bonds, purchasers of those bonds (like you and me) would be willing to earn a little less on the interest rate the bonds pay, because that interest is not taxable to us as individual taxpayers.
3. These bonds are used extensively all over the state of Florida - including by the land ruled by a Mouse (and not just this one ruled by a Morse). The real issue is did the developer benefit too much from the sale of the assets these bonds financed to the VCDD? If so, there may be some legitimacy. to this
4. The Daily Sun has reported on this - but let's all agree that as a developer-owned entity it is not exactly unbiased.
5. The Sentinel did do us a service by reporting on an issue we all need to understand, however Lauren Ritchie would have failed my high-school journalism class because she can't write a sentence without sensationalizing it and she conveniently leaves salient facts out of the story.
6. It is not exactly a non-issue - but it may be years before it is resolved. And these types of cases are not unusual. Read a few public companies 10Ks to see the lawsuits, claims etc against them. Note that most large corporations have armies of attorneys on staff. The mere existence of an investigation does not indicate guilt - or at least I thought that is what our constitution said.
7. So what is the downside - if these bonds are found to be not tax free? They will most likely be called and reissued at a higher interest rate and the bondholders would be paid some compensation to make them whole. How much would this be? No clue. But as another poster said, anytime you buy a home there is risk. I would rather live in paradise with this risk now, than wait more years to get here.
Kate (on her CPA soapbox again)
PS - and no I have not drunk the developer's Kool Aid. I think the greed that has permeated our banks and other organizations may have bitten him too. I find it sad to see so many empty places in LSL and SS and have to believe some of this is due to high rents.