2 Very basic questions. Construction of Villas & Taxes
 

1) Are ALL the vinyl sided Villas constructed of wood frame ?

2) Which county has the highest taxes ?

Thanks, Will

Along with county taxes, you may have 'city' taxes, Wildwood, Lady Lake, Fruitland Park and Leesburg I believe have these, hopefully someone will have a good resource to research this question. My understanding is that houses NOT located in these areas have lower taxes.
As for you first question I believe the answer is yes, but a quick call to the villages sales department should be able to confirm this as I have no idea about the new construction south of 44.

Vinyl siding over a wood frame is the most economical construction method. It wouldn't make financial sense to install vinyl siding over concrete.

Lake County has the highest property taxes.

From what I have observed vinyl is on frame houses.

Marion county has the highest property taxes. Some areas have additional city taxes in addition to county taxes & those raise the tax bill quite a bit.

Unincorporated Sumter county has the lowest property taxes.

I think Lake County has higher taxes than Marion County, 6.2 mils vs 4.3 mils.

Remember “all in the family” when Archie had his brick house aluminum um sided…

Go to the county and city sites and look up the tax. Try tax assessor or tax collector.

Taxes
 

Look for a used home in unincorporated Villages. All new construction areas have city taxes now. Wildwood extended their incorporation of city limits all the way to Middleton and even beyond to collect their windfall. A 500 k home is over 10,000 a year just in bond and taxes. Add insurances and utilities to that at about 600 a month? Wildwood charges around 1500 of that per year.

So many variables in TV looking for a home to buy. I feel I should budget an extra $1000 monthly for just for property taxes, city taxes, & bond payments if I purchase a Villa in the (right or wrong) area of TV.. When they say you are BUYING a Lifestyle.... they are not kidding !

For a villa with no mortgage, figure about $1200 - $1500 per month for carrying costs. This would include bond, property tax, homeowner's insurance, pest control, lawn maintenance, utilities, etc.

My costs are less. Monthly costs for a courtyard villa are:

Electric, $130
District water, amenities, etc., $270
Homeowners insurance, $75
Lawn care, pest, etc. $85
Property tax and bond, $333
Total, $893 per month

These can be misleading as they take into account homestead exemptions and the Save our Home laws which limited tax increases

Actually, Marion county is 4.29 vs 5.0364 for Lake. However, Marion has a higher school tax levy and an additional 4.83 MUNI SERV levy, that Lake doesn't have as a separate item. Adding in either Lady Lake, Fruitland Park or Leesburg city levy will push those areas higher than Marion County, which has no city levy.

Sumter
 

Wildwood taxes are large, but then we are also hit with Sumter county taxes and school taxes (go figure 80 percent of pop is 60 or older). The only one that skips by on taxes is the Developer. His impact fees are less than 1000 dollars per developed lot.

Taxes are probably the single largest annual expense since moving to Florida.

The proposed Lake County millage rate for 2024 is 6.206. Also, I think that most of the Villages houses located south of Rt. 466A in Lake County are in the city of Fruitland Park. I think this may be the highest taxed area in The Villages, the villages of Pine Ridge and Pine Hills.

Thanks !

This is the exact reason many posters advise to buy a preowned home in unincorporated Sumter County. Additional taxes and bond payments add to your required monthly payments. Why pay them if you don't have to? As an added bonus, many courtyard villas in older areas have maintenance free yards. Lower water bills and more free time! What's not to enjoy? Don't do something silly like planting high maintenance palm trees and you have it made!

Thank you for the encouraging response...I like the way you think !
Will

With a new Courtyard Villa (carrying a small mortgage) are my estimated in line with reality ? Thank for your opinion.

Pretty close to my expenses now but future home insurance may be a get big increase.

Well my bond on a courtyard villa in Monarch Grove is $1300 per year, so that is a significant difference from your estimate. My monthly amenity bill is around $305 which includes water, sewer, trash and amenity fee.

Variables
 

There are variables there too. Insurance goes up if the house is vinyl sided, the roof is older than 5 years and if the roof isn’t hip designed.

Almost all older villas would fall into that category.

Your estimates seem a little on the high side but it’s good to operate that way.

They can't raise it too high, or I may just cancel it and pay them nothing.

my suggestions to get the most bang for your buck. Understand I don’t know your age or income or needs and wants:

1). Buy a courtyard villa. 3 bedrooms and two bath with an interior laundry

2). Buy one in Sumter County and one where the “bond” on the villa (which pays for the village infrastructure) has been paid in full

3). Buy a concrete block stucco (cbs) villa (better soundproofing).

4). get one where the lanai has been enclosed. You’re not going to want to sit out in a screened lanai in August heat or when the storms hit

5). Don’t get a corner villa but do try to get one on an oversized lot.
Corner lots are larger but come with added landscape upkeep but oversized lots give you the extra room behind the courtyard wall.

If you are buying your primary home, don’t skimp. If this is a seasonal home you might not want or need all the extras

Wish I had taken my own advice

I thought Marion County has the highest taxes?

Who do you get your homeowners insurance from?

It depends. See Post No. 15. I think the highest property tax rates are in the Villages of Pine Ridge and Pine Hills, which are in Lake County and within the City of Fruitland Park.

Not even close. While Marion is higher than Sumter, it is MUCH lower than nearly every county/city south of us. Fruitland Park, Lake County, etc are easily 30%-50% higher.

High impact fees are economic killers. Just imagine how much would be added per homesite if they were at a level proposed by a previous county administration. I venture to guess that development would be on a smaller scale and services that follow the homes (grocery stores, doctor's offices, etc.) and workers needed in those areas may not happen. We all determine what will work in a budget and proceed or look elsewhere.

It would depend on if you were Lake County Leesburg.

We have a CYV oversized corner lot. Our first home was a CYV that was not a corner lot. If I had to do it over again, I would ONLY look for a corner lot. In my case I have both sides of the house on my lot - great to use one side to hide the pool equipment. The upkeep is minimal since I replaced all grass with stone. I trim the bushes and trees along the road twice a year.

My lanai is not enclosed. I have a 1,300 sq ft birdcage that fills the back yard. My lanai opens directly onto the birdcage. 2/3 of the birdcage has a vinyl cover, so no rain, and blocks direct sun. I have no issues with heat or storms.

Just another perspective!

Is it Mostly true once you buy your house and it is reassessed for the new amount and you homestead it that the Tax increases are capped going fprward?

Impact fees are not paid by the developer, they are paid by the home owner as the costs of development are part of the purchase price. The developer is just a conduit. Same thing with corporate taxes!

Not exactly. The increase in the assessed value is capped at 3%. The actual taxes are the product of the assessed value (minus the exemptions) and the millage rate. The millage rate can go up also.

Yes
 

True, the Developer doesn’t pay the impact fees that all the other developers in the state pay. They can’t afford the financial impact.

Aren't bonds in that price range on new houses more like $30k or more in Lake County now?

Mine are higher and I dont even live there yet!

Distrtict water is close to $300
rental ins for dwelling is over $800 a year
lawn is $65 a month $122 for pest every other
Gas is about $30
property tax and bond last year was just over $6,000......
Electric about $50 right now.........was up to $80 with the air..........
No interent yet either........

Do you have stones in back only or in front too?

yes

You can find a villa with the bond paid. However, there will be a maintenance fee of a few hundred dollars on your tax bill. The bond never goes to zero.

When looking at homes, ask the sales agent to run the monthly expenses for you. I feel like I am very knowledgable, but when I bought a few months back, I had the agent do this WITHOUT looking at my estimate. This way, I was certain my numbers were in the ballpark. Each agent will be happy to do this for you. Don't be afraid to ask questions. I think I asked around a million while I was looking. It took me 7 months to buy. But, I found what I wanted!

I bought an inherited home that was on the market for 44 days. I made a low ball offer and they came back with a great counter. The family wanted to unload the home quickly because they did not want to continue paying the monthly expenses. Good deals are out there! You have shown you have a smart head on your shoulders. You'll know a great deal when you see it. Good luck!