[RayinPenn]

A friend asked for the expected cost of living in tv. I know Ive seen that in a post. Can someone please direct me.

[graciegirl]

When we got our "packet" from The Villages, with the CD, there was an estimated cost of living. We thought it was pretty accurate...with fluctuations for going out to dinner with drinks, more or less and size of home. We had a Designer at that time and felt it was close to the mark.

There have been discussions on this forum about it and most posts agreed that it was a fair estimate.

[Bill-n-Brillo]

From TV's web site:

Cost of Living

Bill

[champion6]

At the bottom of TOTV, is the Nuts and Bolts section. At the top of that section are three messages that will help you a lot. Good luck!

[Villageshooter]

take that info from the TV with a grain of salt,they are here to give the most biased info to get you sign on the line, these are the same folks who dont even mention the HUGE expense of a bond that developers should absorb as a cost of doing bussiness, the cost of food here is out the roof, just go to the local WINNDIXIE or PUBLIX. Aldi and Walmart are you best deals. This is wonderful place, there is NO WHERE any where in the world like it! Just ask LOTS of questions. Unless you have a ton of $$$ be careful when you get your cup of KOOLAIDE, know what you are drinking.

[CMANN]

Originally Posted by Villageshooter

take that info from the TV with a grain of salt,they are here to give the most biased info to get you sign on the line, these are the same folks who dont even mention the HUGE expense of a bond that developers should absorb as a cost of doing bussiness, the cost of food here is out the roof, just go to the local WINNDIXIE or PUBLIX. Aldi and Walmart are you best deals. This is wonderful place, there is NO WHERE any where in the world like it! Just ask LOTS of questions. Unless you have a ton of $$$ be careful when you get your cup of KOOLAIDE, know what you are drinking.

I just finished working on our expenses and projections. I don't find anything wrong with the projections of TV, for what they cite. There are other expenses that are expected. Entertaining, food, car, etc. These are expenses that will be no matter where you live. Prices do go up in snowbird season and then go down in the summer. For most people, I would venture to say that you could not live the life back home for the price of lining it here; if you could live it back home at all.

[graciegirl]

Originally Posted by Villageshooter

take that info from the TV with a grain of salt,they are here to give the most biased info to get you sign on the line, these are the same folks who dont even mention the HUGE expense of a bond that developers should absorb as a cost of doing bussiness, the cost of food here is out the roof, just go to the local WINNDIXIE or PUBLIX. Aldi and Walmart are you best deals. This is wonderful place, there is NO WHERE any where in the world like it! Just ask LOTS of questions. Unless you have a ton of $$$ be careful when you get your cup of KOOLAIDE, know what you are drinking.

I respectfully disagree. The bond is factored into homes sold elsewhere as part of the expense of the infrastructure. If you add 25K to most homes for the "real" price you will have a good idea of the homes price.

As for the cost of living estimate given out by The Villages, I still say it is a reasonable estimate.

[elevatorman]

The bond paid over 30 years with intrest is about $1500.00 / year. If you get a mortgage it can be escrowed each month along with taxes and insurance. Go here to see the bond amortization for the district you will buy in. (note Unit 226 is a Premier section) http://www.districtgov.org/departmen...on_sumter.aspx If you don't know your district choose something at the end of the list. I think TV estimate is close, and the "Nuts and Bolts" has some other items that help with a budget.

[keithwand]

Bonds are very common especially in new developments. We have a 30 year bond on our home on Orlando which was built in 2004.
We listed our home for sale; got a fair offer in which the house probably would not have appraised and the "buyer" was assuming the bond.
We turned them down and decided it made more sense for us to do a long term lease.
The Villages bond was "normal" for us and did not factor in to the equation when building our home in TV.
Don't get me wrong; it would be nice not to have to pay it but it is not uncommon today in newer developments.

[eweissenbach]

Originally Posted by keithwand

Bonds are very common especially in new developments. We have a 30 year bond on our home on Orlando which was built in 2004.
We listed our home for sale; got a fair offer in which the house probably would not have appraised and the "buyer" was assuming the bond.
We turned them down and decided it made more sense for us to do a long term lease.
The Villages bond was "normal" for us and did not factor in to the equation when building our home in TV.
Don't get me wrong; it would be nice not to have to pay it but it is not uncommon today in newer developments.

I have no problem with the bond, and I understand the purpose. Gracie is right, in that if the bond was not an option, that money would likely be added to the sales price. The thing that bugs me is that SOME Villages real estate people try to minimize the effect of the bond, and even misrepresent it. When I told one Villages saleswoman that I simply added the amount of the bond to the selling price to ascertain my overall purchase price, her reaction was "Oh no, you can't do that - the bond is paid with the taxes and most people hardly even notice it." I wanted to say - That's the stupidest thing I have ever heard; not notice an extra $1,500 or so a year????? But I just moved on making a mental note that I would never buy anything from her. As a buyer the bond is not a great deal. The interest is higher than todays mortgage interest, and if you pay it off you are unlikely to recoup the majority of it in the event you resell the home.

[rjm1cc]

Originally Posted by RayinPenn

A friend asked for the expected cost of living in tv. I know Ive seen that in a post. Can someone please direct me.

Search this site and you will find a lot of information. I do not live in TV but the positing I saw seemed reasonable. Of course size of home and your preferences will affect the bills. The major "item" for your to concentrate on is identifying expenses that are not listed. In the area of insurance you might have golf cart insurance, sink hole insurance, flood insurance etc. Also termite treatments, water treatment etc. Not everyone will consider all of these as needed.

In 2010 I came up with a budget of 12,000. I think insurance related to the home has increased since then. The 12,000 was what I would spend on housing, no food, medical etc. I assume no mortgage and bond payments. I figured I would cut my own grass and do some other things. I tended to budget on the high side.

[JimPete]

Originally Posted by graciegirl

The bond is factored into homes sold elsewhere as part of the expense of the infrastructure. If you add 25K to most homes for the "real" price you will have a good idea of the homes price.

You are absolutely right Gracie. In the Spotsylvania county (Fredericksburg, Va.) area the county charges the developer $20k to $30K or more per home to build a new community. This helps offset the cost of road improvements, new schools and services incurred because of the expected increase in population. In VA the developer pays that directly to the county. That cost is passed along in the price of the new house. If it weren't the builder would probably go out of business.

The only difference is in TV that cost is paid directly to the county by the homeowner and most other places it is paid by the homeowner through the developer as part of the price of the house.

Jim

[l2ridehd]

Plan on $1000 a month for all living in TV cost. Add to that food, entertainment, insurance, health care, taxes, clothing, etc. those things that you will spend no matter where you live. Add a golf cart. Purchase 5K plus $50 a month to operate. The $1000 should cover all utilities including cable, lawn service, pest service, property taxes on a 250K home, amenity fee, trash, water, and a few annual repairs. Property taxes can be more or less depending on your home. You can exist OK here if you home is owned outright on 30K a year. You can live on 50K a year, very nice on 75K a year, and really enjoy life on 100K a year.

[2 Oldcrabs]

I think the developer's estimates are close except for insurance for us. With home. auto. umbrella, flood and golf cart insurance we are about $300 a month. But I am sure I am way over insured, especially if we never use it. If you are looking at expenses Vs income, please make sure the income is sufficient if one the the spouses dies.

[jblum315]

Originally Posted by 2 Oldcrabs

I think the developer's estimates are close except for insurance for us. With home. auto. umbrella, flood and golf cart insurance we are about $300 a month. But I am sure I am way over insured, especially if we never use it. If you are looking at expenses Vs income, please make sure the income is sufficient if one the the spouses dies.

Everybody is over-insured, until something bad happens, right?