Quote:
Originally Posted by Advogado
Agree. However, since the bond can be immediately prepaid, it would not be "actually more than if it were part of the house"-- IF IT WERE DISCLOSED BY THE DEVELOPER IN HIS ADVERTISING. As you correctly point out and as I indicated in my earlier post, the Developer's not disclosing the existence and amount of the bond is deceptive advertising and puts Villagers who pay off the bond at a competitive disadvantage when they resell their homes.
Do I think that the Developer will voluntarily disclose the bonds? Not a snowball's chance in hell.
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In real world terms, if it were immediately prepaid it would still be more. For example, I would be paying say $300k for a home with a $30k bond - if I get a mortgage the mortgage will be based on a $300k sales price rather than $330k. Thus I would have to come out of pocket for the down payment PLUS the bond payoff. After paying off the bond if I had to sell right away for some reason, if I asked $330k, (without consideration for sales commission of 6%) I would be at a disadvantage competing with new homes just like mine advertised at $300k. If I sell ten years down the road and a potential buyer looks up what I paid for the house, the county site will reflect that I paid $300k, which may affect the offer they are willing to make. All of these are costs that I need to be prepared to absorb if I pay the bond off immediately.