Where can I find out about the costs of living in the Villages?
 

Hello, is there a Villages link that talks about the typical costs of living in The Villages like what the House Insurance might be on a 300k home and typical monthly HOA/Amenity fees? And in many posts, I see discussions about a "bond" purchase or something like that and haven't got a clue what this "bond" item is all about?

Thanks very much for any help on these questions and or pointing me to a link on these kinds of topics!

This is from The Villages website:

The Villages - Florida's Friendliest Active Adult 55+ Retirement Community

The bond is basically a public loan that was secured in order to install the community's infrastructure. The residents of the community get to repay that bond. Different villages have different bond amounts.

The Villages Newcomers Jerry and Linda have a youtube channel that broke down their monthly expenses-it was probably about a year ago-that might be helpful as a ballpark.

Insurance can vary, depending on the size and type of the home, its value, how close/far it is to/from a wetland, garage, pool, enclosures, safety/security systems, etc. etc. etc. Your best bet would be to call the Villages Insurance to get a better idea.

The only "HOA" is the actual homeowner's association, which is a membership group of people who support the developer and the development that the developer developed, and all things related. The POA is the property owners' association, which is a membership group of people who support the individual homeowners within the development. Often the two groups are in sync with each other. On occasion, they are opposed to each other. As a result they serve as a checks and balances network.

The HOA fees - don't exist in the Villages. You pay an amenity fee of approximately $164/month (the recently announced rate), which covers all the recreational facilities, golf cart and multi-modal paths, executive golf courses and executive play, walking trails, etc. etc.

The bond is a typical developers' bond you'll find in any planned development. The main difference is here, it's considered a separate fee and passed off to the buyer above and beyond the selling price of the home. In other communities the cost is built into the selling price of the home, OR the cost is absorbed by the developer as a cost of doing business (or the cost is otherwise split between buyer and developer). In some parts of the Villages, the bond has already been paid off, and buyers of pre-owned homes in those areas don't have to pay any bond fees at all.

There are also property taxes, which in Florida, are determined by the most recent purchase price. So if you're buying a home that was owned by someone else for the past 20 years, and that owner paid $1000/year for property tax, you might be in for an unpleasant surprise to learn that the house you just bought is now being taxed $2000/year. The good news, is that it'll continue being (more or less) $2000/year until you sell it to someone else.

There's water fees, sewer fees, electricity, cable/internet, lawn maintenance (which is required but you can do it yourself, you aren't required to hire someone else to do it. As long as it gets done), pest control (Florida = fire ants, termites, cockroaches), groceries, a golf cart (or two), dining out, any clubs you want to join (most clubs are founded and run by individual members of the community) that have fees (typically $10-20 per year plus any materials for crafting clubs), etc. etc. etc.

Figure after all is said and done, you'll be looking at around $1400/month for EVERYTHING including dining out once in awhile. That does NOT include any mortgage on your home, since most people here pay cash.

Helpful site:
Village Community Development Districts

Others have provided explanations of the items you asked about.

My expenses are about $1500/month before food.

Specific items you mentioned:
Water/Sewer/Amenity (one bill): $250/month
Electric: $120/month
Bond (paid as part of yearly tax bill): $1,500/year
Remainder of property tax and assessments: $4,500/year
Home insurance: $1,000/year

Everyone is a little different and we are not there too often but we have our mortgage that includes P&I, insurance, taxes and bond (escrow about $500), our amenities and trash fee of about $185, electric of about $55-60, our water and sewer about $55 and cable and wifi for $130.

Those are good estimates, depending on the value of the home.
I think the bond at $1,500 is probably a bit low these days and can vary, so check that out

We bought a massive double-wide (2,500 sq ft) on the historic side in 2002 for $105.000. No bond (paid off years ago) grandfathered in single digit raises in county and amenity costs etc. etc. No mortgage ....all up everything except groceries and dining we reckon about $5,500 a year... depends what you buy and where... our purchase has been fantastic for us ...now worth up to $200k we have a championship golf course view which of course bumps up our value.

I recently purchased a resale with the bond paid in full. When you purchase a new home buyers have to pay a bond used for infrastructure. Some buyers pay the bond monthly for 20 or 30 years. Some buyers put the bond amount in their mortgage and just pay it off right away. Some buyers after paying the bond for several years realize the bond interest rate is high and refinance their home and just include the balance of their bond. THATS WHY ITS BEST TO FIND A RESALE WITH THE BOND PAID OFF. Thumbs up.

Lady lake no bond

I just received a price the other day for home owners insurance on a $300,000 replacement value of $882.

My costs minus an home insurance or payment or bond payment is around $700 a month. Bonds if added to your home price is what it really costs to purchase your home. I look at it like a way for the developer to defer risk in case the entire development does not sell. Of course that has not been an issue. You can pay off a bond at time of purchase or make payments. Get more info from the Villages or realtors near the area. Last I heard around $30k for a bond on a $300k home.

So, we pay interest on the bond?
 

New to the area. I thought the amount was only the balance that we pay on it, did not realize they add interest. Does anyone know what interest they charge?

It is a way to hide the hidden cost of your home and make them seem cheaper. Insurance has gone up significantly in the last 10 years and you have no choice but to pay it. They will also cancel you when an area has too many claims. If you can get USAA, it will cost you a little more but they are rock solid. I was cancelled and then told I was uninsurable because my roof was over 10 yrs old. While I was trying to find a new vendor, I was going to put a new roof on and turns out that the roof had significant wind damage according to the adjuster so the company that cancelled me, bought me a new roof before we parted company. They were cancelling me because they wanted out of the area and karma stepped in. If they had renewed my insurance, I would never have known I had damage.