[Hifred]

It won't be long. Retirement day for me is June 30th. My possessions are in a POD, I am closing on the sale of my home May first and before you know it I will be coming to live in the Villages. A dream I have had for a number of years. I want to make sure I understand and budget correctly so I can enjoy the lifestyle without being overwhelmed by costs. The amenity fee is straight forward and is the monthly cost for using the pools, rec centers, entertainment and such. This I believe is about $159 to $179 a month. Then there is the bond fee which I believe I understand. That is the cost of the infrastructure and is paid once a year with your tax bill. The bond fee is based on the number of homes in your community and the location of your home. So villas pay less than premier homes, etc.. This cost is paid yearly and does not change. What I don't understand is the CDD Maintenance fee. Does this amount change over time? Can their be more than one CDD Maintenance fee? How is the CDD Maintenance fee determined? How do I know what to expect? Is this fee voted on by residence? Is this fee capped at a certain percent a year? Is this amount higher in a newer area than in an older area? I heard there may be a fee for the repair of a bridge would that be an example of a CDD maintenance fee? The reason I am asking is that if you live in an area that is not near the bridge would you be billed for it? I am not sure if the CDD maintenance fee is just for your neighborhood or if you can incur a fee for that just because you live in the Villages in general. Your help is appreciated with answering these questions.

[retiredguy123]

The bond is an amortized loan payoff for the intial construction of the infrastructure, including roads, untilities, etc. The maintenance fee is the shared cost for the annual maintenance, repairs, etc. of that infrastructure, and it can vary from year to year depending on the cost to maintain the infrastructure. The residents do not really have much control over the annual maintenance charge.

[Hifred]

Thank you. That is the best explanation I have heard. Would you say that CDD maintenance is more expensive in the older areas since the infrastructure is older? In a new area I would think that there would not be a CDD maintenance fee. Or does everyone in the Villages share in the cost as a whole. For example the bridge that needs reinforcing. Do all CDD areas pay for that?

[retiredguy123]

I think that each area is different and has their own designated infrastructure to maintain. I really don't know if the older areas have a higher maintenance fee or not. But the tax bills are publc record, and you can chack out the fees for every house on the county website.

[HIgolfers]

Districts 5-12 wil pay for repairs to Morse Blvd Bridge. Even though it is located within District 5, I guess there has been a agreement within the PWAC (Project Wide Advisory Committee) to have all the districts within PWAC share this major expense.

[Bogie Shooter]

Originally Posted by Hifred

It won't be long. Retirement day for me is June 30th. My possessions are in a POD, I am closing on the sale of my home May first and before you know it I will be coming to live in the Villages. A dream I have had for a number of years. I want to make sure I understand and budget correctly so I can enjoy the lifestyle without being overwhelmed by costs. The amenity fee is straight forward and is the monthly cost for using the pools, rec centers, entertainment and such. This I believe is about $159 to $179 a month. Then there is the bond fee which I believe I understand. That is the cost of the infrastructure and is paid once a year with your tax bill. The bond fee is based on the number of homes in your community and the location of your home. So villas pay less than premier homes, etc.. This cost is paid yearly and does not change. What I don't understand is the CDD Maintenance fee. Does this amount change over time? Can their be more than one CDD Maintenance fee? How is the CDD Maintenance fee determined? How do I know what to expect? Is this fee voted on by residence? Is this fee capped at a certain percent a year? Is this amount higher in a newer area than in an older area? I heard there may be a fee for the repair of a bridge would that be an example of a CDD maintenance fee? The reason I am asking is that if you live in an area that is not near the bridge would you be billed for it? I am not sure if the CDD maintenance fee is just for your neighborhood or if you can incur a fee for that just because you live in the Villages in general. Your help is appreciated with answering these questions.

Some answers can be found here.
Residential Bond Assessment Information
Bond Amortization Schedules
VCDD FAQs

[OrangeBlossomBaby]

Also the bond might not even exist, if you're buying in one of the locations where the area's bond has been completely paid off already. There are also some homes whose owners paid THEIR portion of the bond off early, so when they sell, there's no bond for you to take over. New homes in new areas will of course carry a bond responsibility. Pre-owned homes might or might not, and whatever bond they do have, would be reduced by the number of years someone else has been paying it.

[Bogie Shooter]

Originally Posted by Jazuela

Also the bond might not even exist, if you're buying in one of the locations where the area's bond has been completely paid off already. There are also some homes whose owners paid THEIR portion of the bond off early, so when they sell, there's no bond for you to take over. New homes in new areas will of course carry a bond responsibility. Pre-owned homes might or might not, and whatever bond they do have, would be reduced by the number of years someone else has been paying it.

It is not their portion, there are two different bonds.

[JoMar]

Why is so hard to understand there is nothing wrong with the Morse Street Bridge? I was at the PWAC meeting and everyone kept talking about the bridge repairs and the District explained several times that the bridge is fine and the issue is erosion of the island it sits on. They went into detail about what was needed, permits, engineering approval from the State, involvement of the corps of engineers and then the last resident stood up and asked about how the bridge was going to be paid for. The District Manager, in frustration finally said something like ....thank you, I hear you. Make sure you get the details from the sources, like that meeting, people on here don't always hear facts and prefer their own stories over the facts. The CDD's and District Office and the County will provide everything you need to know.

[CWGUY]

Originally Posted by JoMar

Why is so hard to understand there is nothing wrong with the Morse Street Bridge? I was at the PWAC meeting and everyone kept talking about the bridge repairs and the District explained several times that the bridge is fine and the issue is erosion of the island it sits on. They went into detail about what was needed, permits, engineering approval from the State, involvement of the corps of engineers and then the last resident stood up and asked about how the bridge was going to be paid for. The District Manager, in frustration finally said something like ....thank you, I hear you. Make sure you get the details from the sources, like that meeting, people on here don't always hear facts and prefer their own stories over the facts. The CDD's and District Office and the County will provide everything you need to know.

IMHO people don't listen to facts when they don't fit their agendas.

[Goldwingnut]

Originally Posted by JoMar

Why is so hard to understand there is nothing wrong with the Morse Street Bridge? I was at the PWAC meeting and everyone kept talking about the bridge repairs and the District explained several times that the bridge is fine and the issue is erosion of the island it sits on. They went into detail about what was needed, permits, engineering approval from the State, involvement of the corps of engineers and then the last resident stood up and asked about how the bridge was going to be paid for. The District Manager, in frustration finally said something like ....thank you, I hear you. Make sure you get the details from the sources, like that meeting, people on here don't always hear facts and prefer their own stories over the facts. The CDD's and District Office and the County will provide everything you need to know.

It keeps being twisted by that other website to raise their click count and revenue. The other website is very anti-Villages because of personal conflicts with the members of management with the villages. They are making their money by stirring up conflict and providing selective information that makes this community look bad. There is unfortunately a segment of trolls within and outside the Villages that stoke the fires of the website with their comments.

Let's not go down this rabbit hole again and derail the OP's question.

[Goldwingnut]

This previous post (#9 in the thread) explains in detail how the bond and maintenance fees are divided for each home.

Newbie Bond Questions

To clear up the maintenance fee question a little bit more, the actual maintenance cost budget is determined every year during the Spring/Summer budging process (attend the April-July meeting for full details and information). These cost are then divided as described in my other post.

We as Supervisors and the District Staff take the process very seriously and much work is done to contain cost. In my district, CDD10, the actual total maintenance budget and maintenance assessments have decreased by 3% over the last 5 years. It's not a huge decrease but considering increased costs, being able to even establish a level budget over that time period would be a huge win for everyone.

One of the driving factors on cost controls is the use of the Project Wide Fund model. Each CDD from 5 through 12 contribute a large portion of their annual budgets to the PWF were economies of scale are leveraged to keep costs down. Almost all of the common tasks (landscaping, etc.) in every CDD south of CR466 fall under the PWF.

Every district has a large amount of property that is designed for the common good of the residents and falls under the PWF. The advantage of this common maintenance and responsibility is most easily demonstrated in the happenings of CDD4 and their current sinkhole dilemma. Be cause of the structure of the CDDs north of CR466 each is responsible for all their own common area issues. The sinkhole costs have resulted in a 30% increase in maintenance fees for CDD4 residents. A similar cost event happening on properties covered by the PWF would be <3% impact to the residents.

The OP had many questions about the maintenance fees:
Does this amount change over time? Yes, it does generally go up over time due to increased costs.
Can their (sic) be more than one CDD Maintenance fee? No, each home has only one maintenance fee.
How is the CDD Maintenance fee determined? See above and referenced post
How do I know what to expect? Attend your CDD meeting from April to July when budgets are worked.
Is this fee voted on by residence? No, you have elected officials, CDD Supervisors, that do this, it is a representative republic not a democracy
Is this fee capped at a certain percent a year? No, increases are determined each year based on need/maintenance requirements, in some cases they may decrease
Is this amount higher in a newer area than in an older area? Generally no, it's based on the maintenance budget not age, the older districts tend to have less areas to maintain so their budgets may be less because of this.
I heard there may be a fee for the repair of a bridge would that be an example of a CDD maintenance fee? There is nothing wrong with the Morse Blvd bridge, there is erosion of a man-made island that is being addressed. These costs will be covered by the PWF once a course of action and costs are determined. So far nothing has been finalized. It's a complicated topic that deserves its own thread (again).

[OrangeBlossomBaby]

As an aside about this bridge thing. I understand the bridge itself is fine. But my question concerns potential. Does erosion of the island beneath it, have potential impact on the bridge? If not, why do anything at all about it? Just let the island erode and let nature do what nature does with it. If it does have a potential impact on the bridge, then I would say the island should be addressed, but ALSO the bridge should be looked at to see if there is any kind of reinforcement that can be made to it, to withstand future potential erosion to the land beneath it.

Again - if the island's erosion doesn't impact the bridge, it's a non-issue. If it does impact the bridge, then it is a bridge issue.

[Velvet]

...

[Goldwingnut]

Originally Posted by Jazuela

As an aside about this bridge thing. I understand the bridge itself is fine. But my question concerns potential. Does erosion of the island beneath it, have potential impact on the bridge? If not, why do anything at all about it? Just let the island erode and let nature do what nature does with it. If it does have a potential impact on the bridge, then I would say the island should be addressed, but ALSO the bridge should be looked at to see if there is any kind of reinforcement that can be made to it, to withstand future potential erosion to the land beneath it.

Again - if the island's erosion doesn't impact the bridge, it's a non-issue. If it does impact the bridge, then it is a bridge issue.

The bridge pilings go down to the bedrock (much as it is here in Florida) and the island is man-made, there is no danger to the bridges structure or roadway. There are utilities and a park on the island that are impacted by the erosion. The island could erode into the lake completely and the bridge would continue to fine, the park, its parking, and the buried utilities ultimately become the concern.

CDD5 owes the property, this and dozens of other properties south of CR466 all fall under the maintenance responsibility of Project Wide as a shared responsibility. Nobody wants to pay any more than they have to but this shared responsibility for costs is the best solution. Just ask the CDD4 residents about their sinkhole costs, because north of CR466 there is no Project Wide agreement they carry the costs themselves.