[MikeandClara]

How close is the estimated cost of living in TV to what is stated in the book about the Villages. Can someone please explain the bond to me?? Looking to move to TV but need more information. All information will be appreciated.

[twoplanekid]

By using the search tool on this site, you will find out ->
How much is the bond?
Moving to the Villages - Part 3

and much more. It's like a google search but stays on this site so has the best Villages info.

Try it as it will help you find a lot of information you seek.

[John_W]

Twoplane is right, when I moved here I had 20 pages of notes all taken from this website. You don't need any book. Whatever you want to know, go to the search button at the top above the word contractor. Type in a couple of words and you'll get a page of threads real quick. The day after closing I had a painter, the best one you can get, painting the inside of my place before my furniture arrived. I had the best handyman putting in attic stairs, cabinets knobs, etc. I knew basically who to call and what to do before I even lived here.

I don't know what's in the book, but a quick answer to the bonds. Where most developers add the costs of the infrastructure to the price of the home, The Villages (TV) makes it a separate price according to the type and location of your home. You can pay it in a lump sum, or pay over 30 years as part of your yearly taxes. A quick price index would be; Patio Villas $10,000 Courtyard Villas (CYV) $14,000 Cottages $21,000 Designer Homes $23,000 and Premier Homes $40,000. These are ball park when I moved here in 2011. We have a CYV with a bond of $14,000, instead of paying it off, we pay an extra $1100 a year on our taxes. Here's our place

[Nursebarb1]

Wow, that is pretty much it in a nutshell, John W., as I understand it.

[asianthree]

Our patio was around $11,000. Our cottage around $12,500, still working on the figures for the designer. That's not your mortgage, if you should have one. The villages booklet is pretty on the spot for calculations on cost of living here.

[graciegirl]

I agree that the information The Villages gives you is pretty close. The variables are how much you eat out or DRINK out, how much you entertain IN and how much you want to add to your house in landscaping or fancy stuff.


I think that the groceries cost a little more than in Cincinnati, but the taxes are less and the water and electricity is less. Your air conditioning will wear out faster here and the cost of having your lawn cut per month is just around fifty dollars. PER MONTH. It costs more to fertilize and weed and have your bushes cut. Cutting your bushes yourself is not hard. Weeding is.


Much more emphasis is put on how you keep your property here than where most of us lived. Most people CARE that you keep it neat and nice and your house washed. It costs about $40 to have your house washed.


We have varying deed restrictions about lawn ornaments and they are most strict south of 466. (We have a 466 AND a 466A) The villages get newer as you go south. Deed restrictions are enforced with a fine, but another resident has to report you and that can be done with an anonymous phone call.


There is entertainment on all three squares nightly except for Christmas and some groups are more popular than others. Some people go to the squares and chain off or put pillows on their seats way early in the day and that aggravates the heck out of other residents, but The Villages does not officially regulate this practice.


Most of us are over 55 and some of us are way over 55. It is my PERSONAL view that we are all very interesting and mostly a lot of fun.


I would like to personally welcome you. I love this place and I don't work for the developer or have never met him. I did sit five rows behind him and the family at the Sharon not long ago.

[Dr Winston O Boogie jr]

Originally Posted by John_W

Twoplane is right, when I moved here I had 20 pages of notes all taken from this website. You don't need any book. Whatever you want to know, go to the search button at the top above the word contractor. Type in a couple of words and you'll get a page of threads real quick. The day after closing I had a painter, the best one you can get, painting the inside of my place before my furniture arrived. I had the best handyman putting in attic stairs, cabinets knobs, etc. I knew basically who to call and what to do before I even lived here.

I don't know what's in the book, but a quick answer to the bonds. Where most developers add the costs of the infrastructure to the price of the home, The Villages (TV) makes it a separate price according to the type and location of your home. You can pay it in a lump sum, or pay over 30 years as part of your yearly taxes. A quick price index would be; Patio Villas $10,000 Courtyard Villas (CYV) $14,000 Cottages $21,000 Designer Homes $23,000 and Premier Homes $40,000. These are ball park when I moved here in 2011. We have a CYV with a bond of $14,000, instead of paying it off, we pay an extra $1100 a year on our taxes. Here's our place

Or, you can buy a home in Lake county where there is no Bond. Also, on many pre-owned homes, the bond is paid off.

The cost of living in The Villages can be almost anything you want it to be. I know people that live here on nothing other than a social security check. They utilize the free entertainment on the squares, go to clubs and rec center events, and don't eat out. They are very happy with the lifestyle.

On the other hand, I know people that live in million dollar homes, travel all the time, take cruises and eat out almost every night.

[2BNTV]

Go to "Nuts and Bolts" section and "zcaveman" has a specific breakdown of all the costs to run a patio villa. It is at the bottom of the "home" section. In fact, "Nuta and Bolts", will tell you everything you need to do, upon moving to TV.

I bought a pre-owned that had very little bond and I am not in Lake County. Some owners pay their bonds when they purchase their homes and some make payments over 30 years. New homes will have a bond attached.

[RickeyD]

,,,

[Carpe Diem]

Property taxes on a middle of the road designer home $2,600 for year. (Jumped $600 this year.) District 6.

[graciegirl]

Originally Posted by Carpe Diem

Property taxes on a middle of the road designer home $2,600 for year. (Jumped $600 this year.) District 6.

Could it be because the value of your home went up?

[Bogie Shooter]

Originally Posted by MikeandClara

How close is the estimated cost of living in TV to what is stated in the book about the Villages. Can someone please explain the bond to me?? Looking to move to TV but need more information. All information will be appreciated.

There is a wealth of information at this site including the bond information.
Village Community Development Districts

[rjm1cc]

Search this site for any expense you can think of and look for those you did not know about. Make a list of all the expenses even if you do not think they will apply. Then use your list to make up a budget. Look for trends in the posts, like eating out more than planned, need handy man to replace lights in ceiling fixtures, annual CDD maintenance charge on my tax bill etc. etc. In general I find water to be about 3 times more than up north. (Did not water lawn up North) but the other costs about the same with the exception of insurance and real estate taxes. You will find good info on this site.

[John_W]

Originally Posted by rjm1cc

In general I find water to be about 3 times more than up north. (Did not water lawn up North) but the other costs about the same with the exception of insurance and real estate taxes. You will find good info on this site.

Biggest difference for us is electricity, SECO is almost nothing. Our CYV electric bill runs about $87 to $97 a month year round. Suburbs of Baltimore, electric was $295 in the summer, $390 in the winter and about $175 in the spring and fall. It used to be half that amount until about 2005 when Governor Martin O'Malley decided to have electric deregulated, he thought competition would lower the price. Instead BG&E more than doubled and no competition came in.

I did water and maintain my lawn nice back there, water cost us $35 every month and garbage was $30 per month. Here's it all part of the amenity bill. Water indoor and outdoor, garbage and amenity all together is about $220 for us. Take away the $135 amenity and it is about $20 more for water per month for us here.

Our biggest difference is on property taxes. Our home there taxes were $3,000 a year, but in Maryland if you made less than $65,000 a year they gave a low income tax break. We only paid about $600 in property taxes a year about the last five years there. Our taxes here aren't bad, but add in the bond and the maintenance and were up over $3,000.

[Challenger]

Originally Posted by John_W

Biggest difference for us is electricity, SECO is almost nothing. Our CYV electric bill runs about $87 to $97 a month year round. Suburbs of Baltimore, electric was $295 in the summer, $390 in the winter and about $175 in the spring and fall. It used to be half that amount until about 2005 when Governor Martin O'Malley decided to have electric deregulated, he thought competition would lower the price. Instead BG&E more than doubled and no competition came in.

I did water and maintain my lawn nice back there, water cost us $35 every month and garbage was $30 per month. Here's it all part of the amenity bill. Water indoor and outdoor, garbage and amenity all together is about $220 for us. Take away the $135 amenity and it is about $20 more for water per month for us here.

Our biggest difference is on property taxes. Our home there taxes were $3,000 a year, but in Maryland if you made less than $65,000 a year they gave a low income tax break. We only paid about $600 in property taxes a year about the last five years there. Our taxes here aren't bad, but add in the bond and the maintenance and were up over $3,000.

The Bond payment is not part of the tax expense on houses in TV but rather a function of the purchase price. It is included on the tax bill but is really the assumption of a prior lein on the property. I also have a CYV (bond paid off) and my tax bill is less than $2200 with the homestead allowance .