What are the HOA fees, rules for common areas, renting, and living there.

[joelfmi]

Knowing how much you’ll have to pay each month in homeowners association fees helps you understand your budgetary expectations. Plus, knowing what the HOA fees cover gives you an idea of what extra costs you might incur for things not covered, which varies from community to community.

The price for your house is what gets you into an active adult community but it’s the homeowners association fees that you’ll be paying for the years ahead. While these fees go towards worthwhile services (lawn care, trash removal, exterior maintenance, amenity upkeep, just to name a few potential items), they can be a source of discomfort for many residents who didn’t know the specifics going in or until they were already buying.

So why is it so hard to find out what a 55+ community’s HOA fees are? Turns out there are a few reasons.

HOA fees are not fixed and are subject to change at different intervals depending on the community. They may change every year or even as quickly as every quarter. When we say they change, we really mean that they’re probably going up in order to cover the costs of upgrades, emergency maintenance, and inflation.

Visit an active adult community, don’t be afraid to ask for as much information as you need to make an informed decision, which includes a full breakdown of HOA fees, a history of how the fees have changed over time, and a copy of the HOA’s annual budget common area Rules for homeowner. Your agent should be able to help you procure this information if you’d prefer (and if they tell you they can’t, you might need a new agent).

[Garywt]

Well since this is The Talk of The Villages and there are no HOA fees here, this is a non issue.

[Papa_lecki]

…but it’s the homeowners association fees that you’ll be paying for the years ahead.

This is an easy one - there are no HOA fees in The Villages - so the answer is $0

[BrianL99]

Knowing how much you’ll have to pay each month in homeowners association fees helps you understand your budgetary expectations. Plus, knowing what the HOA fees cover gives you an idea of what extra costs you might incur for things not covered, which varies from community to community.

The price for your house is what gets you into an active adult community but it’s the homeowners association fees that you’ll be paying for the years ahead. While these fees go towards worthwhile services (lawn care, trash removal, exterior maintenance, amenity upkeep, just to name a few potential items), they can be a source of discomfort for many residents who didn’t know the specifics going in or until they were already buying.

So why is it so hard to find out what a 55+ community’s HOA fees are? Turns out there are a few reasons.

HOA fees are not fixed and are subject to change at different intervals depending on the community. They may change every year or even as quickly as every quarter. When we say they change, we really mean that they’re probably going up in order to cover the costs of upgrades, emergency maintenance, and inflation.

Visit an active adult community, don’t be afraid to ask for as much information as you need to make an informed decision, which includes a full breakdown of HOA fees, a history of how the fees have changed over time, and a copy of the HOA’s annual budget common area Rules for homeowner. Your agent should be able to help you procure this information if you’d prefer (and if they tell you they can’t, you might need a new agent).


There goes a minute of my life wasted, that I'll never get back.

As everyone has said, not only are there NO HOA fees in The Villages, we don't even have an HOA!

& I hate when someone steals someone else's words and passed them of as their own, without attribution. These are the words of Sean Keeley, at least give him credit as the wordsmith []Page not found - Retirement Communities | 55+ Communities | 55places (https://www.55places.com/blog/why-is-it-so-hard-to-find-active-adult-community-hoa-fee-information).

[Bogie Shooter]

Knowing how much you’ll have to pay each month in homeowners association fees helps you understand your budgetary expectations. Plus, knowing what the HOA fees cover gives you an idea of what extra costs you might incur for things not covered, which varies from community to community.

The price for your house is what gets you into an active adult community but it’s the homeowners association fees that you’ll be paying for the years ahead. While these fees go towards worthwhile services (lawn care, trash removal, exterior maintenance, amenity upkeep, just to name a few potential items), they can be a source of discomfort for many residents who didn’t know the specifics going in or until they were already buying.

So why is it so hard to find out what a 55+ community’s HOA fees are? Turns out there are a few reasons.

HOA fees are not fixed and are subject to change at different intervals depending on the community. They may change every year or even as quickly as every quarter. When we say they change, we really mean that they’re probably going up in order to cover the costs of upgrades, emergency maintenance, and inflation.

Visit an active adult community, don’t be afraid to ask for as much information as you need to make an informed decision, which includes a full breakdown of HOA fees, a history of how the fees have changed over time, and a copy of the HOA’s annual budget common area Rules for homeowner. Your agent should be able to help you procure this information if you’d prefer (and if they tell you they can’t, you might need a new agent).

And which village do you live in?

[Kenswing]

There goes a minute of my life wasted, that I'll never get back.

As everyone has said, not only are there NO HOA fees in The Villages, we don't even have an HOA!

& I hate when someone steals someone else's words and passed them off as their own, without attribution. These are the words of Sean Keeley, at least give him credit as the wordsmith []Page not found - Retirement Communities | 55+ Communities | 55places (https://www.55places.com/blog/why-is-it-so-hard-to-find-active-adult-community-hoa-fee-information). If I’m not mistaken he is in violation of copyright laws by not linking the original article.

[MsPCGenius]

We may not have "HOA" fees, but we do pay for amenities.
In my opinion, HOA=amenities fees; a monthly cost regardless of what you call it....

[Papa_lecki]

We may not have "HOA" fees, but we do pay for amenities.
In my opinion, HOA=amenities fees; a monthly cost regardless of what you call it....

By that logic your property taxes are an HOA fee, your mortgage, utilities, internet etc.

Amenity fee covers activities/amenities

HOA fees cover things like building maintenance, property maintenance, insurance, water, etc.

[OrangeBlossomBaby]

If I’m not mistaken he is in violation of copyright laws by not linking the original article.

That's never stopped anyone from doing it on ToTV before, why bring it up now?

[BrianL99]

We may not have "HOA" fees, but we do pay for amenities.
In my opinion, HOA=amenities fees; a monthly cost regardless of what you call it....


Is not an "opinion issue", it's either right or wrong. We do not have HOA fees.

[Flyers999]

Let's take a sample expense. The cost of maintaining the vehicle gates including the wages required for the employees to operate them. Doesn't either the HOA fee or the amenity fee pay for this? (Depending whether you live in TV or a "normal" retirement community.)

[villagetinker]

OP, as I recall if you go to the villages website, they have a listing of the 'typical' monthly costs, and there have been several previous threads on this subject that may provide some clarity.

[RustyN]

Just to be fully clear there are some older villas in the northern part that actually do have HOA fees. It was set up that after the villas aged 30 years they set up their own HOA fees. And with that said about 99% of the villages does not have HOA fees in the traditional sense. The villas are up near Spanish Springs.

[msilagy]

The Village of DeLaMesa has an HOA fee to cover the cost of maintaining their private pool in the middle of the complex of courtyard villas, flowers, and the maintenance of a large park surrounding the pool. That is the only one I know of. Completely private and villagers do not have any rights to the use of their pool. The fee is between $65-75 a month from each homeowner.

[spinner1001]

There goes a minute of my life wasted, that I'll never get back.

As everyone has said, not only are there NO HOA fees in The Villages, we don't even have an HOA!

& I hate when someone steals someone else's words and passed them of as their own, without attribution. These are the words of Sean Keeley, at least give him credit as the wordsmith []Page not found - Retirement Communities | 55+ Communities | 55places (https://www.55places.com/blog/why-is-it-so-hard-to-find-active-adult-community-hoa-fee-information).

OP also copied from another source in another TOTV thread posted yesterday:
https://www.talkofthevillages.com/forums/villages-florida-non-villages-discussion-93/healthcare-due-dilligence-very-important-before-moving-villiages-338413/

Written by BH on August 6, 2020:

[KimmieK]

This OP is on a roll — first Healthcare rant and now HOA fees

[QUOTE=joelfmi;2178589]Knowing how much you’ll have to pay each month in homeowners association fees helps you understand your budgetary expectations. Plus, knowing what the HOA fees cover…..

[Two Bills]

Be sure your sins will find you out.
Specially on the internet, and TOTV!

[Marathon Man]

Here we go again. This guy like to pot-stir.

[PennyAnn]

You receive a bill each month for approx $240-$290, which includes amenity fee, water and sewer, trash pickup. Approx $170 of that is Amenity Fee (hoa sort of).

[Bellavita]

HOA Amenity fee all the same your paying for services

Mine is $182 a month

[UsuallyLurking]

HOA fees cover not only amenities (club house, pool, etc.) but also things like landscaping and so forth. The HOA equivalent for The Villages is the amenity fee + the district assessment fee (which varies from district to district but also from housing type to housing type).

[ex34449]

Call it what you want. Fee for HOA, amenities, license, registration, parking, ticket, fee, fine, disposal, etc, etc ...
They're all just taxes with a different name. Surely I'm not the only one that gets that am I?

[golfing eagles]

Call it what you want. Fee for HOA, amenities, license, registration, parking, ticket, fee, fine, disposal, etc, etc ...
They're all just taxes with a different name. Surely I'm not the only one that gets that am I?

You mean as opposed to receiving all those services for "free"??? Yeah, we all "get it"

[ex34449]

You mean as opposed to receiving all those services for "free"??? Yeah, we all "get it"

Example/s. You buy your phone, you pay the monthly bill thru your carrier. What is the service fee you pay to Uncle Sam?
You buy tires, you wear tires out. You get new tires and pay a fee for the old ones... same applies to a battery.
You buy a car. You pay a tax plus a registration fee so you can get it licensed. You pay for a license to be able to drive it. You pay an outrageous amount of tax every time you fuel it up. You drive it on the turnpike and get charged to drive on the road you already paid for thru your fuel tax. And every year, you pay another 40 plus for a plastic sticker the size of a stamp so you can proudly display your having paid the renewal tax for something that's already been paid for.
Nothing is free but few taxes are called what they are. A tax!

[golfing eagles]

Example/s. You buy your phone, you pay the monthly bill thru your carrier. What is the service fee you pay to Uncle Sam?
You buy tires, you wear tires out. You get new tires and pay a fee for the old ones... same applies to a battery.
You buy a car. You pay a tax plus a registration fee so you can get it licensed. You pay for a license to be able to drive it. You pay an outrageous amount of tax every time you fuel it up. You drive it on the turnpike and get charged to drive on the road you already paid for thru your fuel tax. And every year, you pay another 40 plus for a plastic sticker the size of a stamp so you can proudly display your having paid the renewal tax for something that's already been paid for.
Nothing is free but few taxes are called what they are. A tax!

Are you suggesting that we consider The Villages amenity fee that pays for 110 recreation centers, Community watch, some of the MMPs, landscaping, pools and several other things "a tax"????? Or is it a fee that pays for services??? It's more like paying for a ticket to see a show than it is a tax on gasoline.

[ex34449]

Are you suggesting that we consider The Villages amenity fee that pays for 110 recreation centers, Community watch, some of the MMPs, landscaping, pools and several other things "a tax"????? Or is it a fee that pays for services??? It's more like paying for a ticket to see a show than it is a tax on gasoline.

Well you do pay a tax when you purchase a ticket for a show don't you?
To pay to use something is one thing but are you not taxed on the purchase?
You landscape your yard, the little ol ladies on the cart report it. You fight it. Now we all know how that's going to work out but do you think all of the people involved are volunteering? Even the lawyers that write the nastygrams? Where does that money come from?

[ex34449]

I'm admittedly getting a bit off topic. All I'm saying is that there is an HOA and you pay for it. It's just a different name or acronym.

[golfing eagles]

Well you do pay a tax when you purchase a ticket for a show don't you?
To pay to use something is one thing but are you not taxed on the purchase?
You landscape your yard, the little ol ladies on the cart report it. You fight it. Now we all know how that's going to work out but do you think all of the people involved are volunteering? Even the lawyers that write the nastygrams? Where does that money come from?

Of course there's a tax on the ticket. But the ticket is not a tax.

[Bogie Shooter]

I'm admittedly getting a bit off topic. All I'm saying is that there is an HOA and you pay for it. It's just a different name or acronym.

I would say more than “a bit off topic”.:wave:

[newgirl]

I was told 4 yrs ago when I bought that my rate would never go above 5% a year..grandfathered in. They lied, a lot!!! Many are here on a budget and raising fees $21 a month plus is so wrong...

[Bill14564]

I was told 4 yrs ago when I bought that my rate would never go above 5% a year..grandfathered in. They lied, a lot!!! Many are here on a budget and raising fees $21 a month plus is so wrong...

When did your fees increase $21 per month in one year?

[Garywt]

You receive a bill each month for approx $240-$290, which includes amenity fee, water and sewer, trash pickup. Approx $170 of that is Amenity Fee (hoa sort of).

Really not sort of, and this is not true for everyone. I pay $200 and it is amenities and trash only.

[Marathon Man]

This OP is on a roll — first Healthcare rant and now HOA fees

[QUOTE=joelfmi;2178589]Knowing how much you’ll have to pay each month in homeowners association fees helps you understand your budgetary expectations. Plus, knowing what the HOA fees cover…..

He must have lost his job again and now has lots of time to troll away.

[Garywt]

HOA fees cover not only amenities (club house, pool, etc.) but also things like landscaping and so forth. The HOA equivalent for The Villages is the amenity fee + the district assessment fee (which varies from district to district but also from housing type to housing type).

The difference is an HOA we would all have a vote to approve the rates.

[Bogie Shooter]

The difference is an HOA we would all have a vote to approve the rates.

And here we have a vote to elect our District Rep.

[Garywt]

I was told 4 yrs ago when I bought that my rate would never go above 5% a year..grandfathered in. They lied, a lot!!! Many are here on a budget and raising fees $21 a month plus is so wrong...

I bought 4 years ago and was not promised anything. Of course my amenity fee never increased $21 a month. Each year it has increased a couple dollars a month for the year.

[Garywt]

And here we have a vote to elect our District Rep.
Not really the same.

[Bill14564]

The difference is an HOA we would all have a vote to approve the rates.

Of course, you knew your amenity rate and the formula for any future increases when you purchased your home. Your signature on the purchase paperwork was your approval of the amenity fees. Since the rate increases are programmed, future approval doesn't apply.

[Bogie Shooter]

Not really the same.

I know it’s not.

[KAM+6]

Amenity fee also includes free golf on 9 hole executive courses. Huge plus.

[BrianL99]

Amenity fee also includes free golf on 9 hole executive courses.

If you pay an amenity fee for it, it's hardly "free".

You simply don't pay for it when you go to the golf course, you've pre-paid.

[UsuallyLurking]

I was told 4 yrs ago when I bought that my rate would never go above 5% a year..grandfathered in. They lied, a lot!!! Many are here on a budget and raising fees $21 a month plus is so wrong...

If they told you that they lied. The sales contract indicates that increases/decreases in the amenity fee are based on the consumer price index (and yes, believe it or not, there have been occasions where it decreased). Lore has it that back in the day Harold Schwartz would make deals to get people into TV (and it appears to be true; there are a handful of households that are paying $40 a month in amenity fees).
I, too, bought 4 years ago, and I believe by that time a cap (called a "deferral") on amenity fees of $155/month had been removed by both the AAC and PWAC.

[ex34449]

Amenity fee also includes free golf on 9 hole executive courses. Huge plus.

lol

[JMintzer]

If you pay an amenity fee for it, it's hardly "free".

You simply don't pay for it when you go to the golf course, you've pre-paid.

https://i.gifer.com/origin/2d/2d8c5500b7530bedddd22c4b5ea9f18c_w200.gif