We just bought new and had a whole spread sheet comparing costs and future costs.....new was better financially for us.

We've done both. First 2 homes were new, 3rd one a resale. Paid more than my share towards the bonds, will never buy another home with a bond balance hanging over my head.

Or they may prefer the quiet, lack of traffic, and golf courses with trees in the north end. I do.

Resale vs New
 

All depends on personal preference, where do you want to live, looking to make friends with other new Villagers, what is your vision, and logistics. Our first home was a villa in Hadley, great area convenient to almost everything The Villages has to offer. Our new home is south of 44. We chose there because we could not find a resale that meet our criteria in the older areas. So we ended up purchasing in the southern villages with out any regrets we love it here. I am a firm believer there is no bad area in The Villages it all what you vision of paradise is.

Overall, getting a great location and neighborhood is far more important than the initial cost. Buy an existing home and youll get to enjoy the upgrades the former owner made, but perhaps need to make some changes. Build or buy new and you'll have a clean slate to work with but you'll buy some upgrades.

We built new on an empty lot in the historic area and were fortunate to find a lot on a golf course, not for the golf but for the view. We were able to build new and not have a bond. But we had to add stairs to access the garage attic, an epoxy floor for the garage and driveway. And we furnished the place.

But our main criteria was the location not cost. We really liked the easy access via golf cart to 3 grocery stores, medical, Lowes, Walmart, etc in the historic area. Golf cart access was an important consideration as we are full timers and we thought about what our life would be like in 20 years when we may have more difficulty driving a car . For others it may be proximity to recreation or the town squares. Also consider what surrounds the house. There are many lots along the villages perimeter, natural areas, ponds (lakes) where you can enjoy an unobstructed view or a courtyard villa which offers privacy and some neighborhoods see a lot more traffic than others.

Bingo
 

[QUOTE=Girlcopper;1864546]And many want to be able to use their lanai for 4 seasons and enclosing it is how. Too hot in the summer n cold in the winter so why waste the space and not enclose it???[/QUOTE
110% CORRECT
ALSO STICK " RELATIVES "AND OUT OF STATE ACQUAINTANCES OUT THERE

I agree completely. We upgraded the gutters, water softener system and are now adding a birdcage to extend our Lanai. Privacy screens also coming. All at decent prices.

That is not true
 

For round numbers, lets say the bond is 10% of construction price.. $30K on a $300K house, for a total of $330K. Lets say the house price increase is 4% annually from $300K. 4% compounded over the next three years is a 12.5% increase, or $337K.

So three years of modest price increases will return the cost of the bond paid off. After 5 years of living in the house the value will be $365K, which easily recoups the price of the bond, and more.

What you won't recoup is the interest you pay for not paying the bond off early, so I don't know what math you are looking at, but from a simple financial point of view, only a flipper after a year or two won't get his money back, unless the house sells significantly above the total combined cost, which is always possible.

sportsguy

But don't you need to take into account the opportunity cost? Right now the interest rate on a bond is 3.67%. That's almost as good as a free loan. Instead of paying that off why not invest in something that pays more?

Your answer isn't relative to the point made which was bond payoff early and recouping the cost when sold. The statement made was that one does not recoup the bond cost if paid off early when selling a house unless paid off on the amortization schedule.

Your point is a profit/income/wealth maximization / optimization answer with just a generalized assumption of a low interest rate.

sportsguy

And that statement was generally correct. That is because you can not re-coop the bond by adding it to your asking price. Buyers will not look your way. As far as re-cooping the bond with appreciated value - OK, but that growth takes place whether you pay off the bond or not. Paying the schedule means I keep more profit after selling.