[pili]

My husband and I plan to retire next year and are very interested in TV. We plan to visit next May to look at homes. Any information anyone can provide is appreciated. I'm a little confused as to Bonds and CDD (or something similar) that has to be paid. Is this a fee that has to be paid every year? I think CDD is for use of facilities (Club Houses, etc) but I'm not sure about bond. It seems like this may make living at TV more expensive than other 55+ communities.

We are interested in a designer home. I understand these homes do not have fenced yards. Do they have any yard at all? Does anyone know how long it takes for new homes to be built? We cant move till November or December 2008 (we need to sell our house first).

Anyway, I'm so glad I found this forum. There are lots of good information here. Thank you all. 8)

Pili

[nanci2539]

Let me start off by saying I am in your boat, haven't moved yet but it's where we want to be! If you do a search on some of the issues you need answers for, you will get a lot of information.

The bond is a one time fee. What TV does it put it up front! It's not hidden. When you buy a new home in any state, you're paying the "bond" but it's typically in the price of the home. What TV does is tell you what it is up front. When we had our home built here in IL; I'm sure the builder passed on what he paid to build the road, put the water and electric lines in and everything else required to start a development. The builders do not absorb this cost themselves, it is passed on to the home buyer. It's just the manner in which they do it; put it in the selling price or separate it like TV does.

Homes in TV are not built to taste. Meaning, you can't customize. They have a lot of homes in inventory so hopefully, you will find one pretty close to what you want. For us, location and privacy mean a lot. We want a designer home too!

I don't think TV is more expensive then some of the other communities compared to what they offer. And we can go on and on about that!

I am sure many of the people on this board who are Village residents can offer much more than I just did and probably will correct me if I didn't get it right about the bond!

Your best bet is to hook up with a Village sales rep prior to coming down for your visit. Or just keep reading all the helpful posts on this board; its' a wealth of information.

[DickY]

I just returned from my lifestyle preview and had a great visit. One of the thing I did when I left was pickup The packet that they send to you if you request a free video tour from thevillages.com website. This is the third one I got and the DVD is new and the packet has a lot of useful information including floor plans and model names. It is worth getting. One of the enclosures is a monthly estimated cost of living that has on it a Development District Assessment which will vary depending on the unit and I believe is the bond payment as a monthly fee, which goes away when the bond is paid. The Amenities fee is a separate cost of $130 a month for free golf on the executive courses, swimming, tennis, activities, neighborhood watch, etc. If you buy pre-owned the bond is paid on some of those so it would not apply. Going down for a lifestyle preview is a great way to get a feel for TV.

[nanci2539]

You can pay the bond up front if you choose or pay it monthly in installments. This I am sure of but anyway you pay it, it's a one time fee.

[Frank2]

The bond is a onetime fee to cover the expense of each village infrastructure.

You have the option to pay it in full at the time of closing or in quarterly payments if/when you pay your taxes quarterly.

I'm not aware the bond is payable in monthly installments. I learn something new every time I visit TOTV.

[Villages Kahuna]

When the developer of TV begins the development, he has to grade the land, install roads and sewers, utility lines, street signs, roadway lighting, etc. The total cost of this construction for each community development district (CDD) is divided among the houses built in that district on an ad valorem basis. That is, the front-end costs are divided among the houses in the CDD based on the selling price of each home. (The more expensive homes pay a greater proportion of the costs than the less expensive homes.)

Another poster here was correct in observing that every new residential development has similar costs, but their developers handles those costs in different ways. Many simply include their land development costs along with a price he sets for each lot in his development, along the cost of actually building each house in the development, then adds his desired profit margin in order to arrive at the selling price of each house. In the Villages, the developer separates the land development costs from the price charged for each lot and the price of each house model. When a prospective buyer is considering the purchase of a house in TV, he is faced with three costs: the price of the lot he chooses (larger lots with golf course views are more expensive than smaller lots with no views); the price of the house he chooses; and the amount of the bond (or land development costs) associated with the particular lot and house he is considering.

The price of the lot and house must be paid to the developer at closing. The developer actually "pays himself" for his land development costs up front by having the CDD, which the developer controls initially, issue a municipal bond, the proceeds of which are used to repay the developer for his land development expenditures. So, at some point each CDD "begins life" with the obligation to pay the interest on and eventually repay the municipal bond principal which reflects the land development costs in that CDD.

The home buyer has more flexibility with regard to the payment of the bond associated with his new house. He can opt to pay the bond amount associated with his house "up front" or he can pay it off over the term of the underlying municipal bond that was issued. The amounts paid by homeowners up front are then used to reduce the principal amount outstanding on the municipal bond. Those homeowners who choose to pay their bond obligation over the life of the underlying bond pay their bond obligation divided by the number of years until the maturity of the municipal bond plus interest at rate of the underlying municipal bond for their CDD.

Home owners who choose not to pay their bond obligation up front have even more flexibility. Each year at the time their real estate taxes and bond payment are due they are given the option of paying off the remaining portion of their bond obligation, thereby avoiding any future payments or interest. Again, if interim payments such as this are made, the payments are applied to the reduction of the amount outstanding on the municipal bond.

So there you go. That's my best shot at explaining what "the bond" is and how it works. Unfortunately, TV developer, in attempting to define and separate all the costs associated with each house clearly, has created one of the least understood elements of the cost of buying and owning a house in TV.

[Sandy222]

Thanks for the explanation of the bond. Now could you shorten that to 2 sentences ...I find everyone gets very confused. We had some good friends that didn't buy here in TV just because they got such a run around when asked what the bond was. You did a good job :bigthumbsup:

When we bought in 2001 , a resale patio villa, the Realtor never mentioned the bond to us. At the closing she said we were very lucky that the bond was paid. Good thing.

We came for a week promo visit and bought our house the last day. Should have asked more questions, but sometimes we don't know the questions to ask. This board is so informative for new buyers.

The house did not have a sprinkler system either which being from up North, (MA) we didn't even know we needed one.

My advice just ask questions until you get a clear answer.

[ripwho]

One more quick question re The Bond - can one 'write it off' as a tax deduction? Thanks for all the help in this Forum!!!

[darbyduff]

Rip- You are asking all the questions we asked before we made the decision that there is no place we would rather be. We are moving down in Sept!

Do yourself a favor. At the bottom of the Forum page there are numbers. Take some time to read all of the posts (or as many as you can before you get totally biggie) (I think there are over 100 +! Everything you always wanted to know will be answered on those pages. Bond, Villages, 1st Visit, Comparison between other 55+ areas etc. And these are written by those that live in TV and those that can't wait to move here. In other words, people like you and me! (Not the developers and realtors) Then take a mini vacation.....come on down, look around, talk to the residents here (not hard to do because remember- "This is American's friendlest hometown" ) and then go back home to think about it. Believe me, THAT IS GOING TO BE YOUR PROBLEM........Waiting to move to TV. (And losing a lot of your friends because your not going to be able to stop talking about TV.

Good Luck.....We will all be watching your progress!!!!!

[ripwho]

DD - real good advice... I'm sort of in that state of mind here now.. Visited some friends last April .. I cant wait to pull that retirement trigger... probably gonna need a year!! I've got some T-times set already!!! Thanks

[pili]

All of you guys are awesome!!! You have answered so many of my questions. The one thing I didn't realize was that we couldn't customize the new homes. That may be a problem. I have several options I want and I would like a small pool. I guess we'll have to wait till we visit what's available.

There was one question as to whether the bond could be deducted on tax return. I'll definetely would like to know. Another person made a good point as to not getting the cost of the bond back if you pay upfront when selling the house. That was a good point. On the other hand, I'll hate to be paying interst on it. Our plan is to use the money from our present home to buy home in Florida and pay cash.

I'm so glad I found this forum. I'll be reading it every day if I get a chance when not at work. Thank you again.

[kitscottage]

Hi all - I'm going to be moving to TV in about 2 yrs. I have been on a lifestyle preview and have gathered as much info as I can. My understanding is that the bond for a 2B2B Patio Villa currently is around $11,000. Designer homes go up to $20-25,000. The larger the home, the larger the bond. If the bond is not paid in full up front, it is added to your tax bill. I believe you can take as much as 30 yrs to pay off the bond. Because it is included in your tax bill, it is tax deductible. I don't think it is viewed as a loan so you are not paying interest on it. You have the option of paying it off every year when you get your tax bill. If you buy a pre-owned home where the bond is not paid off, you assume payment for the balance.

Please correct me if I am wrong. ???

I love TOTV!!! It is so full of great info!!!! Thank you all!!!

[nanci2539]

So am I understanding that you don't pay interest on a bond if not paid in full? If you take the 30 years to pay it, you're only paying the bond and interest isn't added?

[kitscottage]

I was told by Citizen's Bank that the bond was not considered a loan and was included in your taxes. I'm not sure about the 30 years. I was hoping someone would confirm that.

[golfnut]

It's on the tax bill as a seperate line item.