New lot availability in Sumter?
 

Taking a look at the property tax rates in Lake County it looks like it makes more sense to wait until new lots are available in Sumter County to build my new Villages Home. I'm not is a rush as I currently live in Chitty Chatty. In speaking to a Villages agent they continue to try to steer me back to what's available now in Lake Denham/Dabney areas (Lake County). For those that have been here for some time and watched the Villages grow I'm wondering your thoughts on which areas we will see new lots in Sumter County first, around the new Shallow Creek golf course or south of Monarch Grove near the new square at Eastport? Also, 2023 or 2024?

The following Gold Wingnut link may be helpful.



Villages Maps

Be sure to consider Wildwood taxes when making the comparison. I don't know if you pay them in Chitty Chatty but you must likely will in any new Sumter location.

It makes great sense for a retiree to know what their tax future holds. Sumter is much lower than Lake or Marion. In fact, taxes were cut last year in Sumter county.

Plenty of nice resales available in Sumter Co.

When you add on the Wildwood taxes the difference is minimal when comparing apples with apples.

Won’t those new lots in Lake County be paying tax to the City of Leesburg? That balances out the tax City of Wildwood collects.

Lake County's assessment is LESS than Sumter....5.0364 vs 5.59
Leesburg's assessment is HIGHER than Wildwood...4.0192 vs 3.000
Lake County's school assessment is HIGHER than Sumter...6.248 vs 4.584
Lake County's water district assessments are HIGHER than Sumter 0.5057 vs 0.226

In my opinion, property tax is not a valid reason to decide on where to live in The Villages.

You are very fortunate that you don't have to be concerned about an extra $1000 or $2000 per year, every year. Good for you.

Perhaps other people are in a different situation.

I believe that property tax is one of several considerations when selecting a home.

Taxes matter. Government needs to work efficiently. Far too easy and lazy for them to raise taxes. It’s why I fled up north

I agree with you 100% but not referring to @RETIREDGUY123's post specifically and "knowing" him (only) from here on TOTV I doubt it was meant as a generalization applicable to everyone but a lot of that does goes on around here. Especially from the "if you don't like it, move" crowd when someone complains that restaurants are too expensive.

I think people simply assume we are all in the same situation. There are posters here who in virtually every post make sure they mention they have 3 homes here. :D There definitely is a lot of money around here but sadly it's not equally allocated! :D :D

I know for US it absolutely mattered when we bought here. When we bought our 1st home 55 years ago in NJ we had to pass up on 2 homes because the taxes were so much higher even though the home cost was much lower. Here it all depended on exactly what we got for our NJ home when we sold it. I'd love to have lived in South FL in civilization but simply couldn't afford it and couldn't afford to stay in NJ after my wife retired with the NJ taxes well over $10,000/yr vs $3000 (inc bond) here. Some of us live month to month and some can afford 3 homes. Sure wish I was in the latter group. :D

You only know what the current tax rate is, not what it will be 5 or 10 years later.

. Yea, for sure, but if the initial rate is costing you $10K a year you might not be able to afford the house. If the initial rate is $2K a year you might say to your self: "Self, if it doubles in 10 years and everything else remains the same will I still be able afford to live there?" So the INITIAL taxes can easily price one out of buying a specific home. Same as having a paid off bond vs not. Or needing a new roof or not. For many folks it does not matter, but for many it does. Some of us got it and some of us just don't! :D

You couldn't afford the taxes 55 years ago and you can't afford them now 55 years later. What does that tell you?

. And just to add, your taxes pretty much stay fixed down here if you are a full time resident within a few points based on some marker. They LIKELY won't go up that much here. The Florida "Save our homes'" law. The guy who lived here before me from 2009 to 2016 was paying like $700/yr but we started at $1600 or so.

It clearly tells me you are having a reading comprehension issue. WHEN WE LEFT NJ **AFTER** my wife retired our taxes were over $10G not when we bought in 1971. Then is was $697 PLUS we were both just out of college and BOTH had full time jobs and we knew our income would be increasing. Even then we couldn't buy a home we liked because it's taxes were over $2K. So get your facts correct before you make silly comments. ;)

We were just in Newell yesterday and talked to several agents and they all told us approximately the same thing, on a house that is $450,000-500,00 the taxes and bond combined would be right around $10,000 per year in that area, which is Lake County!

Seems like the 2 or 3 thousand dollar difference in taxes should not be deal breaker. If you're talking about buying / building a 500k house and that amount seems significant then maybe a lower value house should be considered. I'm sure there are many of us who live in the Villages that are extended beyond where we should be financially.

Since most have not answered your question, Well Point will be the next village opening up and it will be a great location for you.

Absolutely. Location and recurring expenses.

Looks like a no brainer after your research

True but why not consider the best, most financially sound, selection? Many of us consume well below our means. Guess it is all a matter of your spending attitude. Spending $1k less per year in taxes might buy you a premium beverage package or room upgrade on your next cruise (lol).

I heard that the bonds on the new homes are much higher. Also, there is a cost to moving - look at all the costs.

Why should the money be equally allocated? I have no ill will towards those who own 3 homes. They obviously did better in their careers and investments. Our money goes further here than it did in CT.

I wonder if all these new apartments and family villages will mean more fire stations, more schools..... more things tax payers pay for to support the huge influx of new people to Sumter.

Where is Well Point going to be?

We have been here for 7 years and we live in Osceola Hills.

I have always thought that Monarch Grove is the most desirable neighborhood south of Route 44 I think the new areas south of Monarch Grove and north of Eastport will probably be very nice.

They will have easy access to Magnolia Plaza and the new stores that will be built near the intersection of Meggison and Route 468 (Warm Springs Road).

Well Point is the village which will be located along the Southern border of the village of Monarch Grove.

Yes, it will.
That's why counties charge developers an impact fee for every new house or apartment that they build.

A subject for another thread.

Not allowed to post maps from GoldWingnut's website! See permission info at <https://www.goldwingnut.com/villages-map>.

Why are all the north villages deleted from the map? Kind of rude. :)

You are 100% correct. To tell you the truth, I had forgotten where I got that map. I have removed it from the post. Thanks for keeping me on the straight and narrow.

All of the villages are on the map I'm looking at from that link.

If property taxes are your main concern move to Hall County, GA. Seniors get a great break. Our home was worth $350K and property taxes were around $1K.

I did the research on real estate taxes - see attachment.
The taxes in Dabney, Newell & Lake Denham will be slightly higher than in Pine Hills and Pine Ridge because the Leesburg millage rate is 4.0192 vs. Fruitland Park at 3.9134.

I guess that some people are living on razor thin budgets, but at the end of the day here we're talking about $1-3/day difference in property taxes in most cases.

I think for most people they could find easier ways to save that much out of their budget instead of moving or buying in a different county.

We moved here in 2013. At that time Villages homes in Sumter County were in the unincorporated part of Sumter County. Even though we were right next to Wildwood we couldn’t vote in their elections. We also did not have to pay Wildwood taxes. Some good things we did back then was paying cash for our house and keeping our fixed costs as low as possible. You may not think an extra $500 or $1,000 a year is that big of a deal but as you age in place you may find that keeping these fixed costs as low as possible was very important. .