Would the 38K bond on new homes be a deal breaker?
 

Bonds have escalated to 38K on new homes. Would this be a deal breaker on a new home purchase, or would you consider it just the cost of living in The Villages and enjoying the active lifestyle?

Bought 3 houses here the bond was never a deal breaker for us. We wanted to live here for the active life style

Wow, I had no idea they had gone that high . It seems like it would make a pre-owned home with no bond much more financially attractive, especially if it was in a central portion of The Villages.

Deal breaker for sure... we’re not looking at a $10,000. dollar bump on a home purchase here. $38,000 in addition to the price of a home and the cost of closing here, in my mind, is ridiculous. But then that’s why some people fair better in retirement. They have sound financial sense.

Is this for designer series homes? I assume in the Deluna or chitty chatty areas? Are all the new houses being built currently in the same CDD? I think I read that bonds are district specific is that correct?

DeLuna is in CDD12 and Chitty Chatty is in CDD13. The bonds are not specific to the CDD but to the subdivision (Unit #).

Adjusted for inflation the bonds have not gone up significantly over the last 20 years. Also consider in the newer areas, CDDs 12 & 13, there is a lot more green/open space than anywhere else in The Villages and the overall population density is lower. This results in longer road, more pipes, and more infrastructure in general that has to be paid for. You will pay for it one way or another, as a bond or just rolled into the price of the house the way other developers do it.

This video explains the bonds here in The Villages:

The Villages 5-30-19 Construction update and Bond information - YouTube

For me yes, 38K really The minimum, the real money in the interest.

I thought the 25% tax increase offset the developers costs?

It's the price of inflation. In January 2012 a new designer home bond was $24,000 and you could get a masonry spec designer home with tile floors, 2 car garage, stainless appliances and granite counter tops for $250K. I knew the original buyer of this home and it's about 100 yards from me, he moved to a golf course lot on Havana and sold the home two years later for $340K in 2014. It has resold 2017 for $359K.

If price is your determining factor, I would still buy a resale even though they have gone up, the bond has to be lower than $24,000 and you would be in the established Villages. This particular home is 2050 Odessa Circle in Tamarind Grove. 3-1/2 miles form LSL and 3-1/2 miles from Brownwood. Here's the home when it was listed in 2017. To give you an idea of distances, this home is 14 miles from Fenney.

2050 Odessa Cir, The Villages, FL 32162 | Zillow

Now, to give you an idea of a home that is actually on the market now. This 2012 built masonry designer home in Tamarind Grove sold new for $245K. It's now for sale for $399,900. I don't know anything about this home, other than it's for sale now.

2319 Newburn Ln, The Villages, FL 32162 | MLS #G5028653 | Zillow

https://photos.zillowstatic.com/cc_f...000000000.webp

You need to stop reading that other website.

The 25% increase had nothing to do with the developer, it was the county administration that has been mismanaging the tax money, trying to make themselves look good by lowering taxes the last 14 years so they could brag about what a good job they were doing. Instead they should have been holding the tax rate constant putting away the money for the growth and increased maintenance costs.

The developer/bonds pay for all the new roads and infrastructure for a new development. The impact fees are supposed to pay for upgrading existing county infrastructure (CR468 & CR501) to support the developments that the county approves. One has to ask what they are doing with the money.

The developer doesn't care what the impact fee is, it's just another line item in building the house and they will pass it on to the buyer, just like all taxes are. Do you really think an extra $1000 will stop the sale of any new home in The Villages, I think not.

We are in home number two and paid the bond in full for both. The bond is part of the home value to us. Paying it like a second mortgage is foolish to me. Yes, there is interest on the bond if paid over time that is higher than mortgage interest. If you can’t pay the bond off, at least add it to your home payment and pay less at the end of the note.
The Rep’s will tell you that no one pays the bond up front, but this is false. At closing on our first home, the buyer confessed to us that our home was a little high, but that our bond was paid so it became a better purchase.

Today’s bonds are approximately:
Patio Villa $19,000
Courtyard $25,000
Designer $35,000

You can find the occasional Cottage home in a Patio Villa neighborhood and pay the $19,000.

Agree!!
 

We paid off the bond 4 years ago. With an interest rate of 6 5/8%, it was a "no brainer". We have had our home for 8 years and intend on staying here as long as possible.
For new buyers, you need to add the balance of the bond to the purchase price-that is what you are REALLY paying for the home.

This post is about the Bond pricing on new homes that adds to the total price.
What about that hush hush lot premium price? I see retention pond lot premiums on the new homes south of 44 going for a crazy price of $150K give or take.
That is a far cry from the $30k I paid for a water view years back.
Are people being a little crazy to pay these prices?

At $38,000, yes a deal breaker.

It was the life style of TV that attracted us...we actually never gave much thought to the bond when we were looking at houses here. Our focus was on the right floor plan and the location. We have no mortgage, but have not paid off the bond.

I'll revisit whether to pay the bond off again. I'm just not sure that the majority of potential buyers will see an existing bond as a deal breaker on a resale. If I pay off the bond, it will drive up what my listing price is when I sell...and impact how my home competes with similar designer model houses on the market. I think location, location, location is far more of a factor than whether the bond is paid off or not. We're 3 1/2 miles from Brownwood. 3 miles from Lake Deaton Plaza and about 4 miles to LSL.

I suspect that some potential buyers of new and resale homes will be turned off due to the bond and they'll go elsewhere. I just look at it as part of the cost of buying a home in The Villages.