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Old 02-11-2011, 06:58 PM
Taj44 Taj44 is offline
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[QUOTE=katezbox;330100...Regarding the bonds. The Sentinel archives do not reach back that far. But Ms Ritchie posted this on TOTV..."this IRS investigation and about the way that the developer has used the community development districts to his benefit -- at terrible expense and liability to Villages residents. "

What expense and what liability? Potential, yes. Actual, no (to date). So again, another case of hyperbole with no support.[/QUOTE]

If you will recall, in 1998 it was necessary for Villages residents to sue the developer Morse because of misuse of funds that were supposed to go towards maintence of Villages facilities. The class-action lawsuit contended monthly amenity fees paid by every homeowner in the community had been misused by The Villages of Lake-Sumter Inc., the Village Center Community Development District and developer H. Gary Morse.

It was considered a long-shot case, but the residents won. Morse and the corporations behind The Villages agreed in a civil court settlement to pay $40 million over 13 years to cover improvements and repairs to recreation centers, swimming pools and other facilities. I would say this was a pretty good example of the developer using the CDD to his benefit. If the residents hadn't sued, he'd still be enjoying the use of the amenity fees.