Just received my first CDD bill
 

:shocked::

I need to look for the paperwork when I purchased the house but I remember the amenity fee being about $165.

The following is the bill I got for the period of 2 Jul to 5 Aug:

Water base 9.70
Water use 10.40
Irrigation base 8.97
Irrigation use 47.02
Sewer base 17.24
Sewer use 19.95
Amenity fee - August 313.55
Sanitation - August 37.51
PO STN FEE $190

total of 655.35
balance forward 371.38
amount due 283.97

So I am guessing that 371.38 is credit that I paid at time of sale.

My questions are what is PO STN FEE and is the Irrigation use a set price?

Is there a way to lower the irrigation use?

thank you!!

Hi why is your amenity fee $313.00? Mine is $162.00?

Irrigation use is your sprinkler system. Check to see how ,any days is runs and for how long each day?

exactly, your sprinklers have to be running way too often and for too long...the 'irrigation use' amount should be about half that amount

my first one was a shocker too....I thought it was all water charges, until I realized the amenity fee was in it

The PO charge is for the privilege of having to walk/ride a half mile or so to get your mail since no mailboxes by our homes.

the mailboxes are $190 a month?

Go pay your bill in person and they will explain everything.
As for irrigation, ask a neighbor to show you how to use your timer box.

Is it possible everything was doubled? I have no idea what the PO fee is.
They’re very helpful In explaining everything if you give them a call at the phone number on the bill.

The mail STATIONS are air conditioned and that is a huge plus for those of us who receive prescription medication in the mail.

Looks like your amenity fee was for 2 months and your sprinklers must be running every day or for longer than needed time. Just need to water twice a week, and only when we don't get rain every day like now in rainy season.. There are numerous threads here about watering if you search for them. My sprinklers have been off for 2 months. Can't get away from base cost.

thank you, everyone...you are all a very helpful bunch!

My first bill was pro-rated and I called the phone number on the bill and they explained it.......following month it leveled out.

I believe the post office fee is a one time charge

As a future resident, that's a relief to hear.

One time fee and make sure you got 3 keys.

I got two keys

Didnt realize the inside was air conditioned. Good to know as we get prescription meds in the mail too, except when it is shipped by ups in styrophone containers

Back in the day the Villages kept a key. Any house under 10 years old should have 3 keys.

From an old post: "I don’t think it is still true, but I believe at one time the Villages would keep the third key. We have two homes in the Villages, both built in 2005, both had two keys. For the first one, the two keys turned over at closing did not work in the assigned mailbox. The Villages gave us their key, which worked, but we needed at least two keys. Our realtor had USPS change the lock and turned over three keys for that box."

Also check your sprinkler heads. Our water bill was pretty high when we first bought the house, and for every month after even though we bought in March and didn't move in until November. The house was vacant inbetween, except for a week here or a few days there when we drove some of our stuff down.

I checked with the water company and they insisted that was normal useage for our area. I knew there was no way it could be normal since we weren't even THERE for most of it, to use that much water and the sprinklers were only going on twice a week for 15 minutes each time.

One day my husband was walking around the side of the shed while the sprinklers went off and saw that the water was GUSHING out of the sprinkler. The lawnmower guys must've mowed it completely off, we couldn't even find the missing pieces of it, and we have no idea how long that'd been going on.

We replaced the sprinkler head, fired our lawnmower guy, started mowing our own lawn, and the water bill dropped around 65%, AFTER we moved in.

Yes,you can cut back on the ammt,of time...in the Garage is a timer and all you need

Rent for a year!

Run your irrigation less.

Irrigation use
 

Wow, I wish my irrigation use was as low as yours. My yard is not very large, but I like green grass. I water twice a week and my irrigation use is around $100.00 per month. I guess the amenity fee can vary, depending on the Village you live in as mine is $155.00, but the rest of your bill seems normal, with the exception of the PO billing. That may be a one time charge. Wait until your next bill and see what it is. My total is around $300.00 every month, but a little less in cooler weather as I irrigate less during those months.

I am pretty sure this is a one time charge. The key would be included?

You may also want to check your closing statement as YOU may have been given credit for the prior months charge which would then mean you would also owe the balance forward amount. The balance forward amount to me means prior charges that haven't been paid. Which would be fine as long as you were given the proper credit on the settlement statement. Same with your property taxes - you should have been given credit on the settlement statement for the portion of the year you didn't own it. Then you become responsible for the entire tax bill when it comes out in November.

Since it's your first bill, my guess is that it covers more than one month. Before getting yourself worked up over it, call them for an explanation.

You can go to this link and type in your address (or any Villages address) and it will show a detailed online bill. Mine includes a bar chart showing the number of gallons of potable and irrigation water used. If you think your bill is too high, type in a neighbor's address and compare your bill to their bill.

https://bsaonline.com/OnlinePayment/...pe=10&uid=2523

If the irrigation bill is correct and not prorated, and your timers are set to minimize watering you may want to have the system checked to see if you have a small leak in one of your zones.

The post office fee is one time. When the Villages is selling a house they have the water run everyday to ensure the grass remains green; a neighbor or your landscaper, or ASI irrigation can assist with setting up timers.

No. That’s a one time charge.

Check out “Gold Wingnut “ on YouTube. It is quite informative.

Make sure your irrigation timer is set appropriately. Each month will vary depending on how much you use. The total of your bill is about what we pay each month.

We only received 2 keys. We live in El Cortez.

When we bought our house in 2016 we only got two keys, but we wanted three keys - - - one each on our two golf cart key chains and one for our car key chain. You can’t get a USPS key made anywhere, so I went to the PO in Spanish Springs across 441/27 from Rolling Acres Plaza and had them change our two key lock to a three key lock for a fee of $25.

The postal fee is a one time charge. You are correct the $371 is a credit from money paid at closing The irrigation charge is not a set fee. You can lower your irrigation charge by watering less.

It will adjust next month. We have same on our first bill.

I had similar questions on my first bill. Here is what I was told:
Water, irrigation, sewer are paid in arrears. Sanitation and amenity is paid on month in advance. I didn't have a postal charge so I would call about that.
Irrigation, call MICO and have someone come out to have an orientation with you on the system. Ken was so helpful and still helps with our questions. There is a seasonal setting that will override your current settings. I personally didn't want that so he turned it off for me, but the system only allows it to be turned off for 99 days. I will need to do this again in few months as there are instructions in the materials at our house.

Mail box fee
 

No, you pay a one time fee for rekeying the mail box when you purchase a house. Being robbed. I needed to have a new key for my mailbox and the post office did it for $30. Somebody is making a cool $160 On each new house sale.

I am surprised your inspector didn't go over the irrigation system. I am not there all 12 months so I prefer a courtyard villa with stone for this reason. When you are gone the landscapers run over sprinkler heads and damage occurs. This happened in my first home where I had grass. Then I bought the CYV and am very happy. I shut the irrigation system off as there is plenty of rain for the plants during the summer months. Call and they will explain the bill over the phone in full. Get that irrigation system set correctly too.

What Village do you live in ?