[mgm4444]

Are maintenance fees and amenity fees the same thing? I thought amenities were $135.00/mo.

I was looking at a house for sale and it said: BOND BAL $12,162.43,ANNUAL BOND PYMT $940.46,ANNUAL MAINTENANCE FEES,$309.37

[Pturner]

Hi Mgm,
The maintenance fee (annual) and amenities fee (monthly) are not the same.

TVers pay a non-ad valorem assessment, which is included on our annual property tax bill. Part of that assessment is your bond payment (if any). The other party is for your numbered CDD's operations and maintenance budget.

Here is where you can find more information about it:

http://www.districtgov.org/faq.aspx

You might have to copy and paste the link into your browser.

[Tbugs]

Yes, that is correct. The monthly ammenity fee of $135 is for pools, rec centers, entertainment, etc. That fee may increase very slightly each year. Mine went up to $136.55 after the first year. Wow, I may have to refinance!

The maintenance fee is constant and is different for each "district".

You can see how it is wiser to buy a re-sale home with a smaller bond than on a new home. The home you were looking at had a $12,000 bond and new homes will have at least $20,000 and up to $40,000 bond. I have friends who moved into a new home of less value than mine. Their bond payment is $1,675 per year - mine is $400.

The Villages does have some fees and costs in it - but it is less than most communities and offers so much more in return.

[mgm4444]

The maintenance fee is constant and is different for each "district".

Ok, I did the maintenace fee math on the resale above - comes to about 25.00/mo. Not a big deal. But, my next question is: do the maintenance fees different alot between districts? Are newer district fees more expensive (i.e. Buttonwood compared to a village in Spanish Springs)?

[English Ivy]

If you go to the www.districtgov.org website and click on the current annual budgets for the different districts you will see a document titled Maintenance Assessment Schedule which shows the amount charged to each unit and villa neighborhood in that particular district for this fiscal year plus the past two years.

The maintenance assessment is not necessarily constant. It can go up or down depending upon the budget process which happens each summer.

It seems the newer the area, the higher the assessment. We're in district 7 and our maintenance is $483. Looking at district 8 in unit 163 their maintenance is $668.

The districtgov.org website has a wealth of info but you have to dig around to find it.

[Bill-n-Brillo]

Originally Posted by mgm4444

The maintenance fee is constant and is different for each "district".

Ok, I did the maintenace fee math on the resale above - comes to about 25.00/mo. Not a big deal. But, my next question is: do the maintenance fees different alot between districts? Are newer district fees more expensive (i.e. Buttonwood compared to a village in Spanish Springs)?

Re: maintenance fee being constant - - - From http://www.districtgov.org/faq.aspx :
-------------------------------------------------------------------------
"The Cost of a CDD

The cost to operate a CDD is borne by those who benefit from its services. Property owners within the numbered CDDs within The Villages are subject to a non-ad valorem assessment, which appears on their annual property tax bill from the county tax collector and may consist of two parts-an annual assessment for operations and maintenance, which can fluctuate up and down from year to year based on the budget adopted for that fiscal year-and an annual capital assessment to repay bonds sold by the CDD to finance community infrastructure and facilities, which annual assessments are generally fixed for the term of the bonds. Because costs and services vary depending upon the individual CDD, specific fee information is available for each community.

The Village Center District and Sumter Landing District operate from the contractual amenity fees collected from the residents within the CDD, and from other general revenues."
------------------------------------------------------------------------

However, read on!

Re: maintenance fee variations between Districts - - - As an example, here's the info for District 7:
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From http://districtgov.org/yourdistrict/...spx?district=7 , then clicking on the "....adopted budget...." link takes you to http://districtgov.org/departments/b...udget%20D7.pdf See page 4 for the assessment schedule. Ours stayed the same from 08/09 to 09/10.....and is dropping a whopping 72 cents for 10/11! Woo-hoo!

This gives you the info for a particular District - you can look up the same for each district. I don't know if there is a single web page or document that shows the info for all the Districts together, though.

-----------------------------------------------------------------------

So other than appearing to vary by pennies potentially from year to year, the annual maintenance fee would seem to "technically" remain the same..........though the Districts have the ability to make it whatever is deemed necessary annually.

Hope that helps!

Bill

[mgm4444]

Thanks, everybody ! -- Learnin' a whole lot here !!

[sulley007]

In my opinion I've found that when a house has the bond paid off compared to the same one with a bond there isn't much of a difference in price. So I am not worried about my bond being paid off as I'd rather keep the cash.

[Pturner]

As if it weren't complicated enough, the annual maintenance fee varies by unit within each district, and in some districts, is further broken down and assessed by lot #.

No doubt $1 of the annual maintenance fee goes for a full time person in each district just to do the math.

[graciegirl]

Originally Posted by sulley007

In my opinion I've found that when a house has the bond paid off compared to the same one with a bond there isn't much of a difference in price. So I am not worried about my bond being paid off as I'd rather keep the cash.

I agree.

[GeorgeT]

Originally Posted by sulley007

In my opinion I've found that when a house has the bond paid off compared to the same one with a bond there isn't much of a difference in price. So I am not worried about my bond being paid off as I'd rather keep the cash.

Maybe so but which one do you think would sell first? If it's the same house with the same price I would opt for the one without the big bond attached to it.

[old moe]

Originally Posted by sulley007

In my opinion I've found that when a house has the bond paid off compared to the same one with a bond there isn't much of a difference in price. So I am not worried about my bond being paid off as I'd rather keep the cash.

But how about all the interest you would pay @ 6% ? If your payt. annual amount stays the same each year that means the beginning years are loaded with interest, prin. goes down very little in the earyl years?? Al

[Russ_Boston]

Originally Posted by old moe

But how about all the interest you would pay @ 6% ? If your payt. annual amount stays the same each year that means the beginning years are loaded with interest, prin. goes down very little in the earyl years?? Al

Correct, similar to a mortgage.

[kentucky blue]

Originally Posted by Russ_Boston

Correct, similar to a mortgage.

Except, unlike a mortgage, the interest payments on your bond are not tax deductible. I have thought about putting my bond on my home equity loan, so i can deduct the interest payments.I've also considered just paying the bond completely off,but i don't think i'll get my $25,000 back if i sell,........ decisions,decisions ,decisions, what's a young man to do?!?

[momesu]

Originally Posted by sulley007

In my opinion I've found that when a house has the bond paid off compared to the same one with a bond there isn't much of a difference in price. So I am not worried about my bond being paid off as I'd rather keep the cash.

Except as a person looking at houses to possibly purchase if I see a house I like at say $200,000 with a no bond and a house I like equally as well for $200,000 but a $20,000 bond remaining on it I am going to go for the house that has no bond. It's effectively $20,000 less by not having a bond payment I would need to take on as an additional payment beyond my mortgage. OR am I misunderstanding how bonds work.
Suzanne