Talk of The Villages Florida - Are amenity fees going up??

Talk of The Villages Florida (https://www.talkofthevillages.com/forums/)

- The Villages, Florida, General Discussion (https://www.talkofthevillages.com/forums/villages-florida-general-discussion-73/)

- - Are amenity fees going up?? (https://www.talkofthevillages.com/forums/villages-florida-general-discussion-73/amenity-fees-going-up-328097/)

Quote:

Originally Posted by rustyp (Post 2065447)

Nice - very helpful. November is not far away.

After all the info he provides……a cheap shot is not necessary.

Jan closing- May contract date seems unfair!

Quote:

Originally Posted by Goldwingnut (Post 2065639)

Sorry I forgot to get back on this thread about the amenity fee adjustment date.

Here are excerpts from email responses I received from the director of finance Anne Hochsprung:

The 12-month rolling average CPI is applied one month in arrears to the anniversary date of the land sale. (January 31 CPI is applied to March anniversaries.)

The 3-year average is used for specific units/lots in the VCSA service area. If you would like the specific information, we would be happy to provide it to you.

and

The specific language that is provided to a resident is as follows:

“ All documents have an anniversary date which is – in almost all cases – the month that the original contract for sale (not closing date) to the first buyer occurred. Therefore, these anniversary dates vary based on the month of contract signing.”

This can mean the date a contract is signed for the purchase of the lot by a homeowner or by the developer to build as a spec home.

The VCSA is the Village Center Service Area approximately 17,948 residents in District #1, Lady Lake and Lake County - some of the original sections have the 3 year adjustment while the rest of the residents are on a 1-year rolling average adjustment cycle. Either way, 1 or 3 year, the math works out about the same over time.

Based on the date information provided it is the date of the original contract signing for the lot sale or build contract and not the sale/closing date of the property - new or resale. This could, in some cases, lead to what appears as an unjust hit for an increase based on timing - buy a resale in January and pay the new higher prevailing rate and then have an anniversary date shortly thereafter resulting in an increase based on the CPI adjustment. It might seem unjust but where do you draw the line? If one were to say have no increase in the first year after a resale purchase then a favorable anniversary date could have the rate go unadjusted for up to 23 months; how would this be just to the rest of the residents?

It's not a perfect system but in the end, it works out relatively equal for all the homeowners over time.

We closed Jan 2022 (179.00 amenity fee)
Just received new amenity fee based off original homes contract, our amenity fee went up to 194.00. How is this possible and or fair?
Should have a 12 month reprieve from higher fee or simply adjust fees based on current contract date.

Quote:

Originally Posted by Dvanjvan (Post 2098140)

We all have different ideas on a "better way" of doing this and what is "fair", if we change the way it is done now then it won't be "fair" to someone else. The explanation of how this happens is explained earlier in this thread.

Quote:

Originally Posted by davem4616 (Post 2048571)

does a bear do 'you know what' in the woods?

Yes. But, does it make a sound if no one is there to hear it?

Quote:

Originally Posted by Dvanjvan (Post 2098140)

It’s not fair to you because the inflation increase was 8%. When the increases were 2 or 3%, no one complained.
The Cleveland Fed just released a report that CPI is 10%, so your increase is more fair than the houses whose anniversary date is in the future, and will see an even higher increase.

Quote:

Originally Posted by Dvanjvan (Post 2098140)

Why?

Quote:

Originally Posted by Rainger99 (Post 2048919)

As far as I can tell, if you close after 1/1/22, your amenity fee will be $179. If you closed before 1/1/22, it will go up on the anniversary date of your closing.

Will everyone's amenity fee then go up to $179? Or will everyone's amenity fee go up based on the rate of inflation? Is that calculated yearly (the inflation rate for 2021) or for the inflation rate for the 12 months before your anniversary date? Do they use a rolling inflation rate? All of 2021 for everyone so that everyone will be paying $179 - or do they do individual calculations for everyone?

I believe on the anniversary of your home you will get the new rate at that time and it will be good for a year.

Be prepared, they go up every year

Our amenity bill went up this month (bill due mid July). The contract on our house was signed August 2021.

Mine have gone up every year. Dec 2020 I was at $163, Dec 2021 raised to $174 and now Aug 2022 raised to $183.
So it seems to me that they can raise it whenever they feel like it.

Quote:

Originally Posted by docimomo (Post 2125200)

Mine have gone up every year. Dec 2020 I was at $163, Dec 2021 raised to $174 and now Aug 2022 raised to $183.
So it seems to me that they can raise it whenever they feel like it.

It is not whenever they feel like. It changes annually based on a cost of living index (not sure which one) on the anniversary date of when the house first was put up for sale. All of the houses in your area probably have the same change date.

It was increasing annually. But in the past 12 months I have had two increases, one in December and one on this last bill.

Quote:

Originally Posted by LuvtheVillages (Post 2048654)

Not immediately.

Your amenity fee will go up every year, in the anniversary month of when you bought, by the CPI index percentage.

So in a few years your fee will be more than $179.

Interesting and made me want to check:

2017 $145.00
2018 $147.96
2019 $151.69
2020 $156.19
2021 $156.19 NO INCREASE!
2022 $165.91
2023 ????????????????

All in all, a bargain.

My father lived in South FL for 0ver 25 years in a very large 55+ 3 floor elevator condo development and he was paying as of 2018 $543/Month CONDO (HOA?) FEES for a 1 bedroom PLUS multiple times over the 25+ years he was hit with a $500-$1000+ "special assessment." They had 1900+ units there and 2 pools, 4 tennis courts and 2 golf courses. BUT they were close to Costco, BJ's, hundreds of restaurants and lots of civilization. :D

Quote:

Originally Posted by smurphy (Post 2125221)

The rate used is CPI-U. That is U for urban workers nationwide. There are hundreds of CPI rates (price indexes) but the CPI-U is the most commonly reported.

It should be no surprise to anyone that the CPI-U is manipulated to be lower than it would otherwise be. The reason for this is so many Federal unfunded liabilities are tied to this CPI such as social security, Federal and military pensions. The manipulation is subtle. The 'basket' that is used to determine food costs, for example is changed periodically to "reflect changes in consumption" less red meat and more chicken, etc. This fails to acknowledge that less red meat is consumed because it is too expensive. In a different ploy housing costs are also under reported.

So, your amenities are actually increasing too slowly. That is if those costs mirror the CPI-U, which they do not

I also closed earlier this year, amenity fees were $179 until this week's bill now at $195.22.
In an older area north of 466. Not complaining, but how often do these increases occur? This increase was not on the purchase anniversary date either. Also do amenity fees vary dependent on location, or longevity of residence?