[GatorFan]

http://www.ocala.com/article/2009071...tax-free-bonds

[Muncle]

The original was in Thursday's NY Times. Once again, "it is a tale told by an idiot, full of sound and fury, signifying nothing." There is almost no new information, no real facts. The one advantage of this article, however, is that it lacks Ritchie's anti Morse and anti Villages venom and talks a bit more about how the IRS action affects those outside TV. This one implies how big the legal implication might really be.



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[Bogie Shooter]

No further comment is needed!

[NancyLou]

Originally Posted by GatorFan

http://www.ocala.com/article/2009071...tax-free-bonds

Thanks for information. We are contemplating TV and trying to learn about this problem and wondering if we should just back down till it is settled. We have our visit to TV on July 25th so we are very interested in what is going on. Also new to this TOTV list, love it.

Nanc in Ohio

[k2at]

Can someone explain in simple terms what this all means? More specifically, if the IRS wins what r the ramifications for the homeowner (us)? If the Villages win, again what r the ramifications for the homeowner. I need an explanation in simple terms as I must just be a simple individual.

Tnx

[Bogie Shooter]

nancylou & k2at go here to learn more about this issue.
Orlando Sentinel what-ifs for The Villages IRS fight
Seems everyone has an opinion.......all different.

[The Shadow]

I am ready to buy a pre-owned home in the Villages. I have waited with anticipation for a couple of months for the IRS issue to be resolve. I have selected 5 houses currently available on the market to look at. Before taking the time to tour the homes I decided to inquire as to the possible schedule for resolving this issue. I first called my salesperson who has been with the Villages for eleven plus years and asked my question. She responded she was only familiar with the bonds sold to build the infrastructure and knew nothing of the tax free/IRS bond issue.

Determination took over, after making a few calls and being transferred several times I found myself talking to Janet Tutt’s office. I told the person on the phone why I was calling and she said I will have Janet call you right back. That was 3 days ago. End of story.

Janet’s silence tells me not to look at homes.

[Muncle]

Originally Posted by The Shadow

I am ready to buy a pre-owned home in the Villages. I have waited with anticipation for a couple of months for the IRS issue to be resolve. I have selected 5 houses currently available on the market to look at. Before taking the time to tour the homes I decided to inquire as to the possible schedule for resolving this issue. I first called my salesperson who has been with the Villages for eleven plus years and asked my question. She responded she was only familiar with the bonds sold to build the infrastructure and knew nothing of the tax free/IRS bond issue.

Determination took over, after making a few calls and being transferred several times I found myself talking to Janet Tutt’s office. I told the person on the phone why I was calling and she said I will have Janet call you right back. That was 3 days ago. End of story.

Janet’s silence tells me not to look at homes.

You may find it hard to believe but A.) she might have something more important to do or B.) she might be sick of answering the question.

http://www.districtgov.org/images/wh...news200906.pdf

[The Shadow]

Originally Posted by Muncle

You may find it hard to believe but A.) she might have something more important to do or B.) she might be sick of answering the question.

Sick of answering questions for a person who wants to buy a house? One that could close on a house in three days? Da! That is an odd sale technique for a person who works indirectly for the Villages. Or C.) Nobody knows anything.

[Muncle]

Originally Posted by The Shadow

Sick of answering questions for a person who wants to buy a house? One that could close on a house in three days? Da! That is an odd sale technique for a person who works indirectly for the Villages. Or C.) Nobody knows anything.

Yes to all your ?'s. She doesn't work in sales. And as for C.) above, if you'd been following this fiasco or even read the articles she's written on the subject, you'd note that this is probably the answer she's sick of giving. But maybe something happened today that changed everything, so we'd better check.

However, were I you I might be tempted to request a new sales rep. For your salesperson to claim ignorance of this issue is inexcusable. Though she likely has no more details than any of us, she should be able to give you background and reaffirm that "C.) Nobody knows anything."




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[Taj44]

It seem obvious to me that anyone associated with The Villages is going to give us the "vanilla version". They don't want to upset the applecart - they've got homes to sell, so they're going to make the issue seem as harmless as can be. Common sense tells me things could be worse than what The Villages is telling us. It might not be, but none of us can know for sure. My sense is, the IRS is after the Morse family for using a dodgy tax practice and wants to set a precident. I'm hoping that some time in the future, IRS and Morse will come to an agreement, he'll pay a fine, and all will be well. I can't imagine the IRS wants a situation where 70,000 retirees are going to get financially hammered. Certainly not good for their reputation. I think its Morse they are after. . But this is all speculation. We really have to sit and wait this one out. This is a link to a recent article on the subject. http://www.theledger.com/article/200...05066&tc=yahoo Here is another link which is an interview from a former employee of The Villages Daily Sun - kind of gives you a perspective on the Morse family: http://andrewblechman.blogspot.com/

[dillywho]

Originally Posted by Taj44

It seem obvious to me that anyone associated with The Villages is going to give us the "vanilla version". They don't want to upset the applecart - they've got homes to sell, so they're going to make the issue seem as harmless as can be. Common sense tells me things could be worse than what The Villages is telling us. It might not be, but none of us can know for sure. My sense is, the IRS is after the Morse family for using a dodgy tax practice and wants to set a precident. I'm hoping that some time in the future, IRS and Morse will come to an agreement, he'll pay a fine, and all will be well. I can't imagine the IRS wants a situation where 70,000 retirees are going to get financially hammered. Certainly not good for their reputation. I think its Morse they are after. . But this is all speculation. We really have to sit and wait this one out. This is a link to a recent article on the subject. http://www.theledger.com/article/200...05066&tc=yahoo Here is another link which is an interview from a former employee of The Villages Daily Sun - kind of gives you a perspective on the Morse family: http://andrewblechman.blogspot.com/

It is also just possible that the IRS will have to go away like it did several years ago when they couldn't prove their case then. Just because they are the IRS doesn't necessarily mean that theyhave an automatic win. This has got to be a really complex situation or it would have already been resolved. Why not get back to the business of why we all came here in the first place and let all the legal-schmeleges take care of their business. Most of us have enough to worry about in these "changing" times without borrowing more.

[GatbTester]

Truly, this could go on between the IRS and TV for quite a while. Yet the real question that has to be answered is: does the quasi form of government here with the CDD's constitute a legally recognized government that can issue bonds in the first place. Once that is decided then I predict a fairly quick settlement one way or the other. It just seems a little strange to me that this way of holding out certain thousands of dollars which can be traced back to infrastructer development is not tied directly to the price of each home as opposed to paying off this amount over the years as a bond or at closing, or once every year when the opportunity presents itself. If our CDD's are a recognized taxing authority then the problem fades away, if not then the IRS could very easily prosecute and most likely win.

[Advogado]

The major new development that has been reported in the news stories, but not mentioned in this thread, is the following: "This month, the I.R.S. widened its inquiry to cover more than $400 million in additional bonds issued by special districts associated with the Villages."

[The Shadow]

People that post here refer frequently to news paper articles. If you would like to see for yourself what the IRS said in a letter to The Villages, this is it. It is a PDF file 34 pages long.
http://www.ccfj.net/CDDVillagesIRSletter.pdf