[JB in TV]

Originally Posted by Shimpy

Isn't this the way the rest of the country operates? You buy a home and the price reflects what the markup is including what it costs to build it plus the infrastructure.'The Villages does it this way to make their homes seem low priced until you realize that you have a bond which normally would be included into the selling price.

If I am not mistaken, CA has something called "Mello-Roos" (named after the two legislators whose bill was approved and put into law) that allows the developer to charge each homeowner a specific amount on their property taxes to pay for the infrastructure. I know when we were looking at new properties there 10-11 years ago, some developements had it and others did not. It added quite a bit to the tax bill. Not sure the details, but it seems very much like the bond in TV.

EDIT: Just looked this up on wikipedia... "...A Mello-Roos District is an area where a special property tax on real estate, in addition to the normal property tax, is imposed on those real property owners within a Community Facilities District. These districts seek public financing through the sale of bonds for the purpose of financing public improvements and services.[3] These services may include streets, water, sewage and drainage, electricity, infrastructure, schools, parks and police protection to newly developing areas. The tax paid is used to make the payments of principal and interest on the bonds.

Many communities requiring new schools and infrastructures such as public parks and roads impose Mello-Roos...."