[Papa_lecki]

Originally Posted by LeRoySmith

I'd think after 13 previous districts they'd have a pretty good formula (that formula may be start low while you're selling so it's not too much of a shock and increase 2nd year after most are sold). I also noticed some excavation/plumbing along the walking paths next to the preserve but that would have been a 20-25k project.

I bet, when they prepared the budget, they were told development was going in certain places, and how many home to plan for.
Somewhere, the assumptions in the budget didn’t match realty

Ask what assumptions were used in the budget prep.

[frayedends]

I’m a still a bit confused on that Ewac or whatever but apparently it changed our budget by over 1 million. People on the Lake Denham Facebook pages are not happy. We don’t even have an adult pool. Landscaping isn’t maintained that well, etc.

[Rainger99]

Originally Posted by Bogie Shooter

Can’t anybody run for a district board? There’s your chance…….

I don’t think you can run until 6 years after the district was created. For the first six years, it appears that the developer controls the entire board.

The Board of Supervisors is currently comprised of five landowner seats, which means all five supervisors were elected by landowner votes (one vote per acre or part thereof). After six years of existence, and 250 registered voters residing in the District, the seats will transition in staggered terms to qualified seats. Once the transition begins, eventually all supervisors will be elected by ‘qualified electors’ (registered voters) residing in the District. They are elected on a non-partisan basis on the general election ballot.

[Topspinmo]

Originally Posted by tophcfa

Something doesn’t seem right, one would reasonably expect a relatively low maintenance fee for residents in a new area, with all new stuff to be maintained? Based on your 56% increase, it appears your annual maintenance fee is well over $900. Our Village, north of 466, is approaching 30 years old and our annual maintenance bill is just below $400. Appears to be yet another compelling reason for prospective Villagers to consider a pre-owned home.

I still be watchful which district, some costs continually has increased if that’s financial worry?

[Altavia]

Originally Posted by frayedends

I’m a still a bit confused on that Ewac or whatever but apparently it changed our budget by over 1 million. People on the Lake Denham Facebook pages are not happy. We don’t even have an adult pool. Landscaping isn’t maintained that well, etc.

I agree it does not compute.

Don Wiley is one of the few people who can break. down the complexities here to a level I can comprehend.

[Goldwingnut]

Originally Posted by Altavia

I agree it does not compute.

Don Wiley is one of the few people who can break. down the complexities here to a level I can comprehend.

I’ll have more facts on this issue in a day or two, I am checking on some information but I’m also tied up with both the BOCC election and getting ready for a Gold Wingnut Live broadcast at 3:00 PM today. I’ll try to address some of it this afternoon if I’m able to get the information in time.

[Goldwingnut]

Originally Posted by Rainger99

I don’t think you can run until 6 years after the district was created. For the first six years, it appears that the developer controls the entire board.

The Board of Supervisors is currently comprised of five landowner seats, which means all five supervisors were elected by landowner votes (one vote per acre or part thereof). After six years of existence, and 250 registered voters residing in the District, the seats will transition in staggered terms to qualified seats. Once the transition begins, eventually all supervisors will be elected by ‘qualified electors’ (registered voters) residing in the District. They are elected on a non-partisan basis on the general election ballot.

The Land Owner Elections will be held in November for seats 3, 4, & 5 of CDD14. Each land owner (a joint ownership is still only a single land owner) is entitled to one vote for each acre or portion there of that is owned. If you own a 1/4 acre lot you get one vote, if you own 2 acres you get 2 votes, if you own 1 1/8 acres you get 2 votes. When the board was first elected there was but one land owner, the developer, and they owned all the acres of land. Now they own very few acres as they have been sold as homes or deeded to the county (as roadways), or have been deeded to the CDD (the public areas).

Residents can submit their names for consideration to be CDD supervisors for seats 3, 4, & 5, and the resident landowners hold an overwhelming majority of the votes in the election.

A word of caution to anyone considering running, your first year is a crash course in budget realities and budget law, and you will quickly learn that online rhetoric and digital courage is a far cry for the reality of balancing a government budget. And of course the first time you have to make a decision that someone dislikes (because of their own lack of knowledge and understanding) you pick up many new names besides CDD Supervisor, names like idiot, incompetence, puppet, lackey, and the like. It’s a thankless job and the pay is not worth the headaches.

[frayedends]

Originally Posted by Rwirish

Not hidden and it’s not free.

Let me clarify for the folks that only read the first post before replying.

At the sales office when signing the initial purchase agreement (the $2500 down) they mentioned the bond price and that it’s paid over 30 years. They are also up front about the monthly amount it comes to. They also tell you how it’s billed yearly. They don’t mention the interest rate. I knew the payment had interest based on the numbers.

The maintenance fee was not mentioned. I did my due diligence and found that fee before I signed the final purchase contract with the large deposit. I knew of all the fees and costs before I purchased. But I did comment that they aren’t up front about some of these costs when selling a home. No big deal.

So again my thread is about a 56% increase after year one seeming excessive. Most of neighbors seem to agree.

In regard to the post quoted, not sure when I said I thought it was free.

[frayedends]

Originally Posted by Goldwingnut

I’ll have more facts on this issue in a day or two, I am checking on some information but I’m also tied up with both the BOCC election and getting ready for a Gold Wingnut Live broadcast at 3:00 PM today. I’ll try to address some of it this afternoon if I’m able to get the information in time.

Thanks Don!

[scubawva]

The fees aren’t hidden or not disclosed. It’s clearly disclosed, you don’t need to dig for it. On The Villages .com page, on the “cost of living” section for each style of home it’s listed. Far from trying to hide the fact they exist an estimated cost is given.

I knew about the fee a year before I stepped foot in TV simply by looking at TV website.

Every agent discloses the fee when asking about costs. At Open Houses when asking about costs the fee. You simply missed those disclosures.

Why such an increase is worth pursuing. Is this typical of a new village?

[jimdecastro]

Originally Posted by Bill14564

Never mentioned at all:
On my annual bill I have six lines, property tax is one, the bond is another, and the maintenance fee is a third. I don't recall the realtor sitting down with me and going over each of the lines on the bill. I can say it probably wasn't mentioned but then neither were three other lines on the bill.

Interest on the bond:
Not as significant as it might be since it is probably low (maybe not for Denham) and you can't make advance payments to lower the amount of interest you pay. You have a choice, pay the 360 months (or whatever) or pay the current balance on the principal. We chose to pay the principal to have no bond payment going forward. Since the interest might vary for each "unit" (neighborhood) I wouldn't expect a realtor to have the number handy. The information on the payments is readily available on districtgov.org.

Maintenance increase:
56% is a huge increase, no doubt about that. $900 is a lot to pay for maintenance fee, no doubt about that either. Three possible reasons for the increase: 1. A new CDD is just now finding out what its expenses really are; 2. A new PWAC for some of the southern districts might have just found out what its expenses really are; or, 3. The SECO lighting increase might have hit the maintenance fee (though $330 seems steep for this). Along with the bond amortization info, districtgov.org also has a link to the minutes of your CDD board meetings. Find the recent meeting where the maintenance fee increase was discussed and see if any reason was given.

1. Why would only CDD find this out?
2. The W in PWAC stands for "wide". They do not really operate CDD to CDD.
3. We have Duke here.

[Bill14564]

Originally Posted by frayedends

I’m a still a bit confused on that Ewac or whatever but apparently it changed our budget by over 1 million. People on the Lake Denham Facebook pages are not happy. We don’t even have an adult pool. Landscaping isn’t maintained that well, etc.

In July of 2023 an agreement was made for CDD14, CDD15, and the Eastport CDD to join a project-wide effort to provide certain common services such as landscape work. Prior to this the same work should have been being performed but each of the three members were either funding it individually or it had not yet been turned over by the Developer.

In theory, sharing common efforts across the project area (CDD14, CDD15, and Eastport) should have some efficiencies that save money. In theory, budget lines that previously supported this work should decrease while the budget line for contribution to the project-wide group increases. That does not appear to have happened.

Taking landscaping only, the budget line increased $40K. Since some of this work should now be provided by the project-wide effort (EMAC) and since the EMAC budget line significantly increased to cover landscaping, it isn't clear why CDD14 landscaping costs increased rather than decreased. This would be a good question for the CDD14 board.

It is possible that some of the new cost is due to the Developer transitioning some of these services to the CDD.

It is possible that some of the new cost is due to new areas being completed and added to the land to be maintained. (it cost nothing to maintain fields of dirt but costs more now that the grass and flowers have been put in).

It is possible that the cost to individual homeowners could decrease as more homes are built. However, more homes would also come with more area to be maintained by the EMAC and the funds from the additional homes might only cover the additional work.

These are all good questions for the CDD14 board during their budget sessions. There will be another chance to raise these questions during the upcoming public hearing on the maintenance fee increase.

Just a note: The adult pool would be an amenity covered by the amenity fee. Amenities such as pools are not part of the maintenance fee, the CDD14 budget, or the EMAC budget.

[La lamy]

I feel for you OP. Reminds me of what they do with new condos. They bait you to buy with a crazy low maintenance fee which quadruples in the next 4 years. They shouldn't be allowed to do such insane increases. If they didn't properly calculate the real costs it should be on them.

[jimdecastro]

Originally Posted by frayedends

Gotta say I'm not happy. First off, the Villages hides the fact there is an annual maintenance fee when buying a home. They talk about the bond (and try very hard not to mention the interest you pay on it). But they never even mention maintenance fee on top of amenity fees.

I did find it and I did see it was about $600/year for Lake Denham. Well today I found out they are increasing this by 56%!!!!

Now I'm sorry, this is a bait and switch or someone royally messed up. We are a 1 year old neighborhood. Adding $330 to annual costs is not insignificant.

Nothing I can do but I have to vent. I don't trust the Villages at all anymore. Even if you do all your due diligence in finding the costs to live here, they will just jam more costs on you. Talk me off the ledge!

Not just LD - Newell and Dabney, too. The ONLY explanation would be that CDD 14 is moving away from The Developer control (happens at the 2-year mark). I would love to know what Citrus Grove's increase was in 2023 and what they pay now. In Unit 44 I go from $536 to $837. I am unhappy but it is not a HUGE deal because it is an annual fee - that my agent DID mention. I believe many think the Amenity Fee is going up 56% to $300 monthly - that would be unbelievable. I urge all CDD 14 residents to go Sept 12 (I will be in Orlando until noon and will head there myself). It is also worth mentioning that District 14 has far fewer amenities than others. We have only 1 adult pool and one family pool for 2 Villages. And we also had model homes AND lifestyle visit homes in Newell for the benefit of TV

[Cranky]

Originally Posted by Altavia

Does that mean the maintenance fees might come down as the areas around Eastport fill in?

Is Middleton paying their fair share?

Middleton has their own: MMAC. Our maintenance fee is going up to $2800 for the year for our Middleton home. This is why Middleton is failing. Can I afford it? Yes. But how many young families have $7k a year just for a bond and maintenance.