[The Shadow]

Community development districts in Lake and across Florida in financial crisis
First of two parts.
Across Florida, retirees are watching their communities crumble and their carefree lifestyles vanish as they become saddled with bonds and other debts bequeathed to them by dying developers. SNIP........

On Wednesday, we'll take a look at the six failing districts in Lake County.

http://www.orlandosentinel.com/news/...5258868.column

[Lou Card]

I have been seeing this trash come out of the Orlando Sentinel for 7 years now. I have not seen anything said come to be true yet. I would take any article in that news rag with a large grain of salt and move on.

[The Shadow]

Originally Posted by Lou Card

I have been seeing this trash come out of the Orlando Sentinel for 7 years now. I have not seen anything said come to be true yet. I would take any article in that news rag with a large grain of salt and move on.

Check this one out “Tern Bay Country Club Resort” near the West Coast, the Gulf side of Florida, north of Fort Myers, south of Port Charlotte.

Fast-forward two years, to 2007. More than $33 million in development costs later, Lennar cuts loose from the project. Developer Priority Developers walks as well, apparently forgetting to tell the golf course lawn mower service to stop cutting the grass. The CDD starts missing its payment obligations on operations and management, and the project tailspins into default. Said golf course lawn mower service, Hawkins Environmental, Inc., winds up at an advertised foreclosure sale on June 29, 2007, and walks away with title to the entire tract for $100. SNIP….

http://www.housingcrisis.com/financi...d-comeuppance/

[Talk Host]

Originally Posted by Lou Card

I have been seeing this trash come out of the Orlando Sentinel for 7 years now. I have not seen anything said come to be true yet. I would take any article in that news rag with a large grain of salt and move on.

I guess you believe the writer fabricated the information.

[Lou Card]

Originally Posted by Talk Host

I guess you believe the writer fabricated the information.

I just re read the article. Sorry, I thought it was about the Villages. I do feel for other communities that are having these issues. I jumped the gun thinking it was talking about the Villages.

[spk7951]

While I do not hold the Orlando Sentinel in high regard the problems facing Arlington Ridge are very real and serious. I have been following their problems lately as we had considered it three years ago but now things have gone bad for those that live there.

[graciegirl]

Things have gone bad for almost everybody in the U.S. financially. I don't think anyone got through the last few years without losing money. I think smaller developments are surely at risk. I don't worry about us so much, because we continue to grow, and hopefully our population is largely people who are careful with their money.

I personally do not like Lauren Ritchie's style of writing. At one time she was asked if she had ever been to The Villages and I think she said "No". Can anyone remember that and help me here? She had written quite a bit about us but never visited, as I remember it.

I am not crazy about The Orlando Sentinel. Period.

Just my opinion. I may be wrong. I am not a heavyweight English Major.

[Russ_Boston]

I guess the question we would need to ask ourselves would be "Should everyone not buy into ANY retirement community that was run with CDDs"?

To answer that I guess you'd have to look at results. TV has been run in that manner since 199* (not sure exactly when CDD's were established). In that time have any of the districts, including those that have been turned over by the developer, been in financial trouble? I think the answer is no. So it seems that TV has survived at least the first few years of this economic turmoil. And it appears that perhaps we've done the CDD concept a little better than other developments? Perhaps!

[Russ_Boston]

Originally Posted by Talk Host

I guess you believe the writer fabricated the information.

No but remember the old saying about "lies, damned lies and statistics"!

[spk7951]

Originally Posted by Russ_Boston

I guess the question we would need to ask ourselves would be "Should everyone not buy into ANY retirement community that was run with CDDs"?

To answer that I guess you'd have to look at results. TV has been run in that manner since 199* (not sure exactly when CDD's were established). In that time have any of the districts, including those that have been turned over by the developer, been in financial trouble? I think the answer is no. So it seems that TV has survived at least the first few years of this economic turmoil. And it appears that perhaps we've done the CDD concept a little better than other developments? Perhaps!

But would anyone be safer in a non CDD community? Case in point: Kings Ridge in Clermont. The developer completed the community and then sold the rights to the amenities to a private party who then promptly raised the prices by almost 2x. Problem was that the covenants supposedly allowed for the homeowners to have the opportunity to take over control of the amenities before an outside concern could bid for them.
I agree that the CDD concept might work a little better here but in our visits to much smaller communities we were very concerned about what happened there after build-out then we were with TV.

[Russ_Boston]

I do think the state (and deep pockets) of the developer are a major concern. I'll bet that many of the other bankrupt developments relied heavily on developer influx of cash. Here it is done right, meaning that they build out all the amenities prior to construction of homes in each development unit. Then the CDD is turned over and the monthly fees are used and budgets are prepared.

[cynkr67]

We bought a pre-owned in April and plan to spend the majority of the year at TV. Since then, though, I've read alot about the problems with the tax-free bonds and the IRS. From what I've read this applies to the recreational and common areas funded by our amenity fees. Though we are very excited about living in TV, I'm not sure we would have purchased had we been aware of this controversy. The last news I've been able to find on this is from July of last year. Anybody know what the status is currently?? Thanks!!

[Russ_Boston]

That's the current state.

I personally don't think you have much to worry about. Enjoy!

[golfnut]

You pay your money and take your choice, I personally don't see any other communities in central FLA that hold a candle to TV, in fact I can name many that have gone under in the last few years while TV continues to flourish, jmho.................gn

[JimJoe]

Does anyone know any of the residents of those CCDs that are in trouble? How much trouble are they in and how did it happen? Do they think it can happen in TV?