[villagerjack]

Originally Posted by ggnlars

Taxes based on assessed value. That value starts with the sales price. Here in Florida this is modified based on recent sales of similar housing units. Exactly how frequently this is down is county dependent, but in another part of Florida, we saw our taxes go directly with the housing bubble. When the prices went up by a factor of 3, so did the taxes. However, the taxes also fell when the assess levels fell. This was for non resident owners at the time.
TV is like a giant Condominium. Condo’s have common areas that are maintained by assessing all units equally. In this case the equality pertains to a given village or area. The way I understand it, the bonds are set by the cost of the infrastructure for a given village divided by the number of units. An acre lot and a villa lot in that area has the same bond. That is a one time charge that you can finance or pay off. The maintenance fee is just that. It pays for the on going expenses for the grounds, roads and common facilities. This includes the staff that support those facilities. Depending on the size an complexity, the maintenance fees for a Condo are 400 to 1000 per month. $750 per year sounds like a bargain.

Monthly condo fees and TV annual maintenance fees are not exactly comparable since condo fees usually include fees for amenities, security ( if any) road maintenance, roofing, siding and Regime Insurance etc. in The Villages, Things like roofs and siding and Insurance are borne by the owner and roads are the property of the County. Amenities are paid separately, about $150/month. There are also annual trail fees if you play golf.