Pay off Bond or Not?
 

It is not tax deductible and yes the interest on it is high. Pay it up front.

It is NOT deductible. However, you can pay it off with a home improvement loan, or credit line and deduct that interest.

This is the site that has the ammoritzation of the bond. Notice there is also a admin fee each year of $98. Village Community Development Districts Your unit and section is on your Village ID.

Most people move here thinking they are buying their last house, However MANY people move from a smaller house to a bigger house or a bigger house to a smaller house or a different view or move for any number of reasons.

SO when you sell your home you must include the price of the bond if you pay it up front and that makes your home APPEAR to cost more than another home or a new home that does not have the cost included.

You will be amazed at how many people move from one home to another here. Many people on this forum have. We have. The cost to move is much cheaper here too.

If you plan to stay and can't find a guaranteed investment with a rate higher than the bond rate, you are better paying it off:shrug:

We have chosen to NOT pay it off both times, although we owned both homes without a mortgage and the reason is that we might want to move again.

Individual Decision
 

Bond interest is not tax deductible, the interest rate on the bond is close to 7% in most cases and there is an additional yearly administrative fee to pay as well.

If you pay the bond for 11-12 years at nearly 7% interest in most case plus a yearly administrative fee of over $100 you will have paid enough actual money to have paid it off up front. If you choose to carry it at that time you will still have another 18-19 yearly payments to make which you would have saved by paying it off in the beginning.

Each person has to decide what works best for them and make their own decision. Bond paid is definitely a selling point but then it did have to be paid by you to be able to say that.

http://www.districtgov.org/departmen...bond_info.aspx

I would recommend you wait a few years to be absolutely, positively sure you are staying in that house. Many more before you thought the same thing, paid off the bond, and got into a new house with a new bond. If people were looking at 2 identical homes and the bond was paid on one they would probably choose the bond paid. Chances of that scenario happening are pretty slim and houses sell here quickly bond paid or not. Don't let that be your deciding factor.

Individual Choice
 

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I would suggest you pay it off ONLY if your young (maybe 50's) and plan on staying in your home forever!! Then it pays off

I agree with Gracie's post. Many people move. We have. Paying off a bond doesn't necessarily mean that a Purchaser will be willing to pay more for your property if you move. It's a feature, and a selling point, but people tend to compare purchase prices.

Bonds are a strange thing. The purchase price of a home is actually the price plus the bond. But many people consider bonds to be separate entities.

Rarely do people get back the money they paid in bond payoff if they sell their home in the first few years. We found houses with bonds paid off may sell for a few thousand dollars higher than similar homes that still have a bond, but no where near the full amount the owner has spent paying off the full bond.

OP,

Gomoho's post makes the most sense by far IMO. Think about it a bit. Even if you wait 2 years and pay it off you'll still have a huge saving and, be more secure with your decision.

No if's or but's, the unpaid bond lien must be considered part of the purchase price. If a buyer falls for the "don't worry about it" line from the agent, the buyer is not much better educated or careing about finances than the "payment-coupon-book-rich" who's refrain is; " I like it, but I don't care what it costs, just tell me what the monthly payments are." That's the dream customer for every sales person!

Also, I think once the build-out occurs and the developer focuses on resales, his agents will begin to fess-up a lot more about the true meaning of the bond. The bond is nothing more than allowing the builder to advertise a lower selling price and defer and officiate all the infrastructure costs. Florida is only one of a very few states that allow this, and it suckers in alot of out of state buyers..