Where can I find out about the costs of living in the Villages?

[bobk544]

Hello, is there a Villages link that talks about the typical costs of living in The Villages like what the House Insurance might be on a 300k home and typical monthly HOA/Amenity fees? And in many posts, I see discussions about a "bond" purchase or something like that and haven't got a clue what this "bond" item is all about?

Thanks very much for any help on these questions and or pointing me to a link on these kinds of topics!

[Kenswing]

Hello, is there a Villages link that talks about the typical costs of living in The Villages like what the House Insurance might be on a 300k home and typical monthly HOA/Amenity fees? And in many posts, I see discussions about a "bond" purchase or something like that and haven't got a clue what this "bond" item is all about?

Thanks very much for any help on these questions and or pointing me to a link on these kinds of topics!This is from The Villages website:

The Villages - Florida's Friendliest Active Adult 55+ Retirement Community (https://www.thevillages.com/cost-of-living-in-the-villages)

The bond is basically a public loan that was secured in order to install the community's infrastructure. The residents of the community get to repay that bond. Different villages have different bond amounts.

[Cupcake57]

Hello, is there a Villages link that talks about the typical costs of living in The Villages like what the House Insurance might be on a 300k home and typical monthly HOA/Amenity fees? And in many posts, I see discussions about a "bond" purchase or something like that and haven't got a clue what this "bond" item is all about?

Thanks very much for any help on these questions and or pointing me to a link on these kinds of topics!
The Villages Newcomers Jerry and Linda have a youtube channel that broke down their monthly expenses-it was probably about a year ago-that might be helpful as a ballpark.

[OrangeBlossomBaby]

Hello, is there a Villages link that talks about the typical costs of living in The Villages like what the House Insurance might be on a 300k home and typical monthly HOA/Amenity fees? And in many posts, I see discussions about a "bond" purchase or something like that and haven't got a clue what this "bond" item is all about?

Thanks very much for any help on these questions and or pointing me to a link on these kinds of topics!

Insurance can vary, depending on the size and type of the home, its value, how close/far it is to/from a wetland, garage, pool, enclosures, safety/security systems, etc. etc. etc. Your best bet would be to call the Villages Insurance to get a better idea.

The only "HOA" is the actual homeowner's association, which is a membership group of people who support the developer and the development that the developer developed, and all things related. The POA is the property owners' association, which is a membership group of people who support the individual homeowners within the development. Often the two groups are in sync with each other. On occasion, they are opposed to each other. As a result they serve as a checks and balances network.

The HOA fees - don't exist in the Villages. You pay an amenity fee of approximately $164/month (the recently announced rate), which covers all the recreational facilities, golf cart and multi-modal paths, executive golf courses and executive play, walking trails, etc. etc.

The bond is a typical developers' bond you'll find in any planned development. The main difference is here, it's considered a separate fee and passed off to the buyer above and beyond the selling price of the home. In other communities the cost is built into the selling price of the home, OR the cost is absorbed by the developer as a cost of doing business (or the cost is otherwise split between buyer and developer). In some parts of the Villages, the bond has already been paid off, and buyers of pre-owned homes in those areas don't have to pay any bond fees at all.

There are also property taxes, which in Florida, are determined by the most recent purchase price. So if you're buying a home that was owned by someone else for the past 20 years, and that owner paid $1000/year for property tax, you might be in for an unpleasant surprise to learn that the house you just bought is now being taxed $2000/year. The good news, is that it'll continue being (more or less) $2000/year until you sell it to someone else.

There's water fees, sewer fees, electricity, cable/internet, lawn maintenance (which is required but you can do it yourself, you aren't required to hire someone else to do it. As long as it gets done), pest control (Florida = fire ants, termites, cockroaches), groceries, a golf cart (or two), dining out, any clubs you want to join (most clubs are founded and run by individual members of the community) that have fees (typically $10-20 per year plus any materials for crafting clubs), etc. etc. etc.

Figure after all is said and done, you'll be looking at around $1400/month for EVERYTHING including dining out once in awhile. That does NOT include any mortgage on your home, since most people here pay cash.

[Bogie Shooter]

Hello, is there a Villages link that talks about the typical costs of living in The Villages like what the House Insurance might be on a 300k home and typical monthly HOA/Amenity fees? And in many posts, I see discussions about a "bond" purchase or something like that and haven't got a clue what this "bond" item is all about?

Thanks very much for any help on these questions and or pointing me to a link on these kinds of topics!

Helpful site:
Village Community Development Districts (http://Www.districtgov.org)

[Bill14564]

Others have provided explanations of the items you asked about.

My expenses are about $1500/month before food.

Specific items you mentioned:
Water/Sewer/Amenity (one bill): $250/month
Electric: $120/month
Bond (paid as part of yearly tax bill): $1,500/year
Remainder of property tax and assessments: $4,500/year
Home insurance: $1,000/year

[Garywt]

Everyone is a little different and we are not there too often but we have our mortgage that includes P&I, insurance, taxes and bond (escrow about $500), our amenities and trash fee of about $185, electric of about $55-60, our water and sewer about $55 and cable and wifi for $130.

[JohnN]

Others have provided explanations of the items you asked about.

My expenses are about $1500/month before food.

Specific items you mentioned:
Water/Sewer/Amenity (one bill): $250/month
Electric: $120/month
Bond (paid as part of yearly tax bill): $1,500/year
Remainder of property tax and assessments: $4,500/year
Home insurance: $1,000/year

Those are good estimates, depending on the value of the home.
I think the bond at $1,500 is probably a bit low these days and can vary, so check that out

[mike1946]

We bought a massive double-wide (2,500 sq ft) on the historic side in 2002 for $105.000. No bond (paid off years ago) grandfathered in single digit raises in county and amenity costs etc. etc. No mortgage ....all up everything except groceries and dining we reckon about $5,500 a year... depends what you buy and where... our purchase has been fantastic for us ...now worth up to $200k we have a championship golf course view which of course bumps up our value.

[Catalina36]

I recently purchased a resale with the bond paid in full. When you purchase a new home buyers have to pay a bond used for infrastructure. Some buyers pay the bond monthly for 20 or 30 years. Some buyers put the bond amount in their mortgage and just pay it off right away. Some buyers after paying the bond for several years realize the bond interest rate is high and refinance their home and just include the balance of their bond. THATS WHY ITS BEST TO FIND A RESALE WITH THE BOND PAID OFF. Thumbs up.

[jebartle]

This is from The Villages website:

The Villages - Florida's Friendliest Active Adult 55+ Retirement Community (https://www.thevillages.com/cost-of-living-in-the-villages)

The bond is basically a public loan that was secured in order to install the community's infrastructure. The residents of the community get to repay that bond. Different villages have different bond amounts.

Lady lake no bond

[capecodkev]

I just received a price the other day for home owners insurance on a $300,000 replacement value of $882.

[Alaska Butch]

My costs minus an home insurance or payment or bond payment is around $700 a month. Bonds if added to your home price is what it really costs to purchase your home. I look at it like a way for the developer to defer risk in case the entire development does not sell. Of course that has not been an issue. You can pay off a bond at time of purchase or make payments. Get more info from the Villages or realtors near the area. Last I heard around $30k for a bond on a $300k home.

[nicksgram51@yahoo.com]

New to the area. I thought the amount was only the balance that we pay on it, did not realize they add interest. Does anyone know what interest they charge?

[allsport]

It is a way to hide the hidden cost of your home and make them seem cheaper. Insurance has gone up significantly in the last 10 years and you have no choice but to pay it. They will also cancel you when an area has too many claims. If you can get USAA, it will cost you a little more but they are rock solid. I was cancelled and then told I was uninsurable because my roof was over 10 yrs old. While I was trying to find a new vendor, I was going to put a new roof on and turns out that the roof had significant wind damage according to the adjuster so the company that cancelled me, bought me a new roof before we parted company. They were cancelling me because they wanted out of the area and karma stepped in. If they had renewed my insurance, I would never have known I had damage.

[Bill14564]

New to the area. I thought the amount was only the balance that we pay on it, did not realize they add interest. Does anyone know what interest they charge?

Go to the Bond Amortization Schedules (https://www.districtgov.org/departments/Finance/amortization.aspx) page and look up the details for your area. For me, the actual interest rate is 5% BUT, there is a fixed Admin fee that brings the effective rate to 5.5% this year and over 6% by the time my payments would end.

[Darcue]

You can find that link on the website TheVillages.com. Utilities are normally what you mighty pay for your current home - taxes are not bad if you Homestead - living here full time. The big difference is a Bond charged and that can be extremelty high, depending upon the cost and newness of your home. The newer the home, the higher the bond balance. On a $300,000 home which is new, the bond can be around $30,000 amortized over 30 years and then a bond maintenance payable monthly. I am Realtor and would be happy to send you more information if you wish.

[Dlbonivich]

You have to look at your district, each one is different. Some are pretty high.

[nick demis]

Hello, is there a Villages link that talks about the typical costs of living in The Villages like what the House Insurance might be on a 300k home and typical monthly HOA/Amenity fees? And in many posts, I see discussions about a "bond" purchase or something like that and haven't got a clue what this "bond" item is all about?

Thanks very much for any help on these questions and or pointing me to a link on these kinds of topics!

The Villages site bases their numbers on a $250,000 home. If you plan on a designer home you had better plan on the home being $350.00+.

[graciegirl]

Hello, is there a Villages link that talks about the typical costs of living in The Villages like what the House Insurance might be on a 300k home and typical monthly HOA/Amenity fees? And in many posts, I see discussions about a "bond" purchase or something like that and haven't got a clue what this "bond" item is all about?

Thanks very much for any help on these questions and or pointing me to a link on these kinds of topics!

The cost of living here are this;

The amenity fees are right around $150 a month.
Everything else is pretty much the same..cost of food is slightly higher. The cost of your home does not have the cost of the infrastructure added in, if it is new. So just add that into the cost of the new home and you will have the real price. Some pay off this infrastructure cost * (called "the bond") right away and some pay it off over time. The amenity fee is based on the cost of living index and once it even went down. They do not "dock" you unexpectedly for changing the golf courses or make you pay to eat at the restaurants like some private clubs do. I find that, you can make a big difference in how much you spend here by whether you intend to cook at home a little or a lot, by the size of home you buy and just other reasonable choices.

[DAVES]

New to the area. I thought the amount was only the balance that we pay on it, did not realize they add interest. Does anyone know what interest they charge?


Check what I am saying. First of all if you have a mortgage call your bank and they can tell you the interest you are paying or who to call. We decided to pay ours off. The interest rates I've heard are 4-5%-they are not the same. It depends on the date of your home, the date of the bond. To make it perhaps more confusing we were told the rate will renegotiate in roughly two years from now. You cannot as you can on a mortgage send extra money and pay the bond off in a shorter time. You need to find the money to pay it all off. Others cannot answer the question for you. Do you have the money to pay it off in full? What is that money earning for you?

To pay it off or not to depends on how long you plan on staying in your home. A typical villager moves three times. I never understand that. Do it right the first time, whatever that means to you. It is far less expensive than doing it over and over and over again

[Bilyclub]

To get the homestead exemption you have to be a a full time resident by January 1st. Florida Real Estate Taxes are for that calendar year unlike some states that are for the prior year. You have to apply for the Homestead Exemption before March 1st in Sumter County. They also want a Florida DL/ID and a letter from your prior county saying you gave up the homeowners exemption there.

[charlieo1126@gmail.com]

Insurance can vary, depending on the size and type of the home, its value, how close/far it is to/from a wetland, garage, pool, enclosures, safety/security systems, etc. etc. etc. Your best bet would be to call the Villages Insurance to get a better idea.

The only "HOA" is the actual homeowner's association, which is a membership group of people who support the developer and the development that the developer developed, and all things related. The POA is the property owners' association, which is a membership group of people who support the individual homeowners within the development. Often the two groups are in sync with each other. On occasion, they are opposed to each other. As a result they serve as a checks and balances network.

The HOA fees - don't exist in the Villages. You pay an amenity fee of approximately $164/month (the recently announced rate), which covers all the recreational facilities, golf cart and multi-modal paths, executive golf courses and executive play, walking trails, etc. etc.

The bond is a typical developers' bond you'll find in any planned development. The main difference is here, it's considered a separate fee and passed off to the buyer above and beyond the selling price of the home. In other communities the cost is built into the selling price of the home, OR the cost is absorbed by the developer as a cost of doing business (or the cost is otherwise split between buyer and developer). In some parts of the Villages, the bond has already been paid off, and buyers of pre-owned homes in those areas don't have to pay any bond fees at all.

There are also property taxes, which in Florida, are determined by the most recent purchase price. So if you're buying a home that was owned by someone else for the past 20 years, and that owner paid $1000/year for property tax, you might be in for an unpleasant surprise to learn that the house you just bought is now being taxed $2000/year. The good news, is that it'll continue being (more or less) $2000/year until you sell it to someone else.

There's water fees, sewer fees, electricity, cable/internet, lawn maintenance (which is required but you can do it yourself, you aren't required to hire someone else to do it. As long as it gets done), pest control (Florida = fire ants, termites, cockroaches), groceries, a golf cart (or two), dining out, any clubs you want to join (most clubs are founded and run by individual members of the community) that have fees (typically $10-20 per year plus any materials for crafting clubs), etc. etc. etc.

Figure after all is said and done, you'll be looking at around $1400/month for EVERYTHING including dining out once in awhile. That does NOT include any mortgage on your home, since most people here pay cash. to pay cash ,why tie up your money with such low interest rates, put 20% down let the home rise in value and leave the other money to invest in whatever savings.vehicle you choose

[rstebbins]

You can go to the community district site and look up the bond on your home. there are three components to the payment. Principal, interest and a admin fee that was .06 percent on my bill. The rate was just over 6 percent with the admin fee. This shows up on your annual tax bill until paid off. It is not tax deductible as a property tax since a large part of the bond payment is principal and not based on the value of the home

[OrangeBlossomBaby]

to pay cash ,why tie up your money with such low interest rates, put 20% down let the home rise in value and leave the other money to invest in whatever savings.vehicle you choose

They weren't asking for financial advice. They were asking for data, information.

What I said was true. Most people pay cash for homes in the Villages. That is a fact, whether you think it's a good idea or not.

It is also why mortgage is not included in cost of living in the Villages, in most publications. You don't factor mortgage payments into a monthly cost of living, on a property that has no mortgage on it.

Also FYI - Gracie's estimate of "right about $150" for amenity fee is incorrect. It is $164 for any property purchased, presently. If you buy this month, that's what your amenity fee will be, and continue to be. Next year it might be $172, but that will be for people who buy next year. This year's buyers will still pay $164.

That's why we have residents in the Villages who only pay $84/month for their amenity fees. It's how much it was at the time they purchased the house.

[dkaufnelson]

One important point that has not been mentioned is that your taxes will be much higher if your Villages home is not your primary residence. Florida has tax incentive plans such as home steading and save our homes tax credits that are given for primary residence homes only. Bonds on new homes are higher than resales but I was told by my mortgage company that I could not put my bond amount in my mortgage as it is billed as a tax and not part of the purchase price. I lived in Connecticut before moving here and find The cost of living is much less than most places up north. Good luck.

[GeeWhiz]

The $1000 + per month does not include lawn maintenance. It assumes you do your own. You have lawn mowing $50 - $65 per month, Shrup triming ~$115 per 3 months (Does not include trimming tall palms), grass treatment for insects, weeds, and fungi, ~$65 every 2 months, de-weeding mulch and flower beds ~ $20/month. All of this can be done by the owner for considerably less cost and the numbers quoted may be trimmed by shopping vendors. Good luck!

[charlieo1126@gmail.com]

I’ve lived in 5 new neighbors in villages and before Covid I was out somewhere every night and most people I meet didn’t pay cash and most of them like me could but don’t take my word under cool facts about the villages about50% do they probably still have Christmas club accounts also

[APovi]

[QUOTE=bobk544;1901628]Hello, is there a Villages link that talks about the typical costs of living in The Villages like what the House Insurance might be on a 300k home and typical monthly HOA/Amenity fees? And in many posts, I see discussions about a "bond" purchase or something like that and haven't got a clue what this "bond" item is all about?

For whatever reason assuming a '5%+ Bond Balance' is generally accepted by 'Resale' Home-Buyers in The Villages.
It's a 'lien' on the house you are buying which should be paid off by the seller, just like any other 'mortgage'. If not - Why not?

[stebooo]

I've always heard with regard to housing it is about 12k. The rest is up to you. Whatever your doing now will work

[John_W]

Back in Maryland electricity for January would of been $400, my last SECO bill in TV for January was $126, so I can't complain. However, it's my first bill in almost ten years I've ever received that was over $100. This is a masonry 2BR 2BA CYV. Normally it runs between $75 to $95 a month depending on the season.

I only have 4 bills a month, besides SECO, I have Century Link for telephone and internet, that was $93, without the home phone it would be $49. The other bill is the Villages Utilities, which covers irrigation water, drinking water, sewage and garbage and amenities and it was $239. I've had Directv for the past 12 years, it's higher than probably most TV services, but I enjoy having the ease of a on-screen channel guide, easy to record, have over 300 channels almost all are in HD, and convenience. Directv was $160 this past month, but I'm still paying off NFL Sunday Ticket and it will drop $50 a month.

My CYV was purchased new in 2011 and the bond was $14,000, I pay $1,100 a year onto my taxes. My homeowners insurance with Gabrillo Coastal through my Villages Insurance agent is $619. Other than taxes, that's all there is. This is a very cheap place to live.

All my other day-to-day expenses for everything else, gas, food, eating out, recreation, etc I put on my credit card and get one bill a month and by doing that I get about 2% of it back.

$126
$ 93
$239
$160

That's only $618 a month

[Bilyclub]

[QUOTE=bobk544;1901628]Hello, is there a Villages link that talks about the typical costs of living in The Villages like what the House Insurance might be on a 300k home and typical monthly HOA/Amenity fees? And in many posts, I see discussions about a "bond" purchase or something like that and haven't got a clue what this "bond" item is all about?

For whatever reason assuming a '5%+ Bond Balance' is generally accepted by 'Resale' Home-Buyers in The Villages.
It's a 'lien' on the house you are buying which should be paid off by the seller, just like any other 'mortgage'. If not - Why not?


Because TV is a sellers market. Have you gone and looked at what houses are selling for and what the seller originally paid for the house?

[CoachKandSportsguy]

With the number of sights and places to check out while living in FL an RV is the perfect solution for summer travel while cruise ships are still laid up. :a040:

Yes, agree with all of the above for the summer vacations in CO, PEI, NE, etc. Spend a month seeing the grandkids in the Northeast, then heading west for mountain and national park living in the summer time golfing in the rockies where the drives go farther

Have an F250 6.7 Diesel all purchased, ready to tow the remains of New England down to the TV house, as it will be just clothes, computer equipment, and a handful of furniture pieces and a tool chest, as we moved most everything down in two trailer trips two years ago, and furnished in the correct FL style down there. . .

My brother and there are friends who will join us as well. . .

travel trailer guy

[Hifred]

My biggest shock when I came here to live from downtown Chicago was the price of food and water. The cost of groceries here is crazy to me. I was at Walmart today and the cost of a watermelon is $6.79. I spend about 1.75 times more in groceries than I spent in Chicago.

I bought my homeowners insurance from State Farm because it covers sink holes at the standard deductible. All the other homeowner policies we looked at came with catastrophic ground collapse but had very large deductibles such as 10% of the policy. So if you had a problem you would pay $30,000 before the insurance would kick in. Our State Farm policy is $1200 a year on a $380,000 house.

The cost of water here is very expensive compared to Chicago. You get two water charges. One for portable water that you can drink and bathe with and the other which comes from the ponds which is for your yard. Every month I pay about $250 dollars for both types of water, sewer, amenity fee and trash collection.

The bond is based on the CDD you live in. We have paid off our bond. When we bought our home in 2019 the house was 12 years old and the bond was reduced to $17,000 because those who owned the home before us had paid the bond fee. In addition to the bond we pay a maintenance fee for our area which is 196 that is in The Village of Charlotte. The additional maintenance fee is $703.82. We also pay a fee for the fire department which is on our tax bill in the amount of $124. If we wouldn't have paid the bond off our fee would have been $1626.68. In total with the bond paid off our property taxes were $4,635.49. The year prior before we paid the bond they were $6074. If you find a home with a bond paid you will save quite a bit on your property taxes each year. In the new areas the bonds are $45,000 and are amortized over 30 years. The thing is that you pay interest and they stack all the interest upfront so the actual amount of the bond doesn't decrease sizably the first few years.

Internet for a mid range speed through spectrum is $50 a month when bought in conjunction with cable TV. So my whole bill is $150 for a silver package that does not include HBO or Showtime but gives us a lot of channels. We get our electricity from SECO and it runs from a high of $390 a month in the summer to a low of $130 a month in the winter. Our home is all electric. With Covid we eat at home but it was less last year before Covid because we would go to restaurants and wouldn't use the electric stove.

Other costs to consider are lawn care services. We bought a battery powered mower and cut our own grass. But we spend a lot of money on palm fertilizer and plant food.

[OrangeBlossomBaby]

The cost of water here is very expensive compared to Chicago. You get two water charges. One for portable water that you can drink and bathe with and the other which comes from the ponds which is for your yard. Every month I pay about $250 dollars for both types of water, sewer, amenity fee and trash collection.


Some parts of the Villages don't have two sources of water, only one.

Your amenity fee takes up $150 (minimum, since you say you bought in 2019) per month out of that $250.

So you're paying $100/month for water, sewer, and trash collection.

That's not expensive for a large property that requires a lot of sprinkler system activity.

We pay around $70/month for everything - on a small piece of property, and we make attempts to conserve water when we can.

[Bilyclub]

I bought my homeowners insurance from State Farm because it covers sink holes at the standard deductible. All the other homeowner policies we looked at came with catastrophic ground collapse but had very large deductibles such as 10% of the policy. So if you had a problem you would pay $30,000 before the insurance would kick in. Our State Farm policy is $1200 a year on a $380,000 house.



Do you have the actual sinkhole coverage or the standard catastrophic ground collapse coverage ? I just got my bill from State Farm for this year and it went up $200.

[Topspinmo]

to pay cash ,why tie up your money with such low interest rates, put 20% down let the home rise in value and leave the other money to invest in whatever savings.vehicle you choose

Interest has nothing to do with principal. So you payment little lower, but that don’t equate to principal. Why do you think they want people to refinance every time interest rate drops. ????? Wait for it??? So you start over paying principal where the money is made.

[BayLady57]

Hello, is there a Villages link that talks about the typical costs of living in The Villages like what the House Insurance might be on a 300k home and typical monthly HOA/Amenity fees? And in many posts, I see discussions about a "bond" purchase or something like that and haven't got a clue what this "bond" item is all about?

Thanks very much for any help on these questions and or pointing me to a link on these kinds of topics!

My husband and I are life long Rhode Islanders and are strongly considering relocating to TV primarily to escape our cold winters when I retire in about 1.5 years and doing our 2nd lifestyle visit next month. I have been doing COL research on TV for several years now, and in addition to the wealth of info provided on this forum about this topic, I recently came across a YouTube video by Dave Monty who works in real estate in the TV area which he breaks down the bonds and assessments costs in a very understandable way which you should check out.

[Psacc0]

New to the area. I thought the amount was only the balance that we pay on it, did not realize they add interest. Does anyone know what interest they charge?

Link to Example of 30 year Amortization Schedule on a courtyard villa bought in 2017. You can find these on districtgov.org

https://www.districtgov.org/departments/Finance/amortization/Sumter/District%2012/S12%20-%20Unit%20620%20Tupelo%20Villas.pdf

[bobk544]

I've got a lot of great information to go through now and I see first hand why The Villages really is a nice place to live with everyone being so helpful! thanks again everyone!

[elevatorman]

This video explains the bond. Bond Information and The Villages 5-30-19 Construction update - YouTube (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nGwf7AcmyEI&feature=youtu.be)