[Hankg42]

Originally Posted by ilovetv

The way we see it, the costs of building water, sewer, streets, curbing etc. were included in the price of the lot we bought to build our homes on in other states. It didn't seem strange here to see a breakout of those costs.

All the bond amounts of various housing "units" here are available at Village Community Development Districts

There at the link, the original per-home bond amount is shown with the interest rate assigned in the beginning, and the bond is amortized over 30 years, and the mortgage-like payments on it are billed with the annual county property tax bill.

Some homeowners choose to pay off the bond entirely to get rid of the annual payment that is added onto your county property tax bill, and to avoid the interest charges over the years.

Many others do not pay off the bond, because the remainder of the bond principal will be paid by the next buyer/owner. (The bond principal owed, if not all paid off, goes with the home.)

A TV sales rep can tell you how much of the bond is remaining on a used home being sold by TV, and they can tell you the bond amount on a new home.

An MLS agent can tell you how much of the bond is left on an MLS-listing used home.

The annual amount due on a home bond not yet paid off in Sumter County is shown on the property tax bills here, as "Non Ad Valorem Assessments". https://sumter.county-taxes.com/public

The best way to know bond specifics is to ask a TV sales rep or MLS realtor about a specific property listing.

I think pretty much everybody who's buying a lot to build on, in a development/subdivision in other locales, is paying the same "bond" costs, but these infrastructure costs are just blended into the lot selling price.

That infrastructure cost is why development lots are more expensive than a half acre in the pasture where one would have to build a road in, and build septic system, well, etc. etc. One way or the other, the home buyer pays for that.

Thank you!

I was hoping that that realtors and sales reps were up front about it, and that it wasn't one of those hidden costs that surprise you later on. Regardless, I now know some additional questions to ask, based on the good advice in this thread.