Did you see the FSBO currently being advertised on TOTV? Price "reduced" to $349K. But, Zillow says it's only worth $321K, and it sold 2.5 years ago for $222K. The house is 24 years old.

Where did I say it was smart or not smart to pay off a bond?

& if someone sells a home in 3 years, you're right ... he didn't pay $20,000 ... he/she paid the interests & costs and borrowed the money. Those "near 4% Bonds" you mentioned, were a great deal when you could borrow money at 3%, huh?

A bond is just another type of mortgage. You borrow the money and pay it back over time. The exact same considerations someone would make with a mortgage, is exactly what you'd do with a Bond. Weigh the interest rates and do what you think is prudent. It's just a mortgage that's secured differently. As someone else pointed out, it's not backed with a personal guaranty, but backed by it's priority lien, so it's not a "personal debt".

The one and only time I can think of, when a Bond is different than a mortgage from a Buyer's perspective, is when the financing ratio is tight. A Primary Lender who's selling mortgages on the secondary market, has Loan to Value ratios to worry about. A CDD Bond is a slightly different circumstance from that viewpoint. That said, it sort of washes itself out, as it affects income to expense ratios.

Plenty of Villages Too High
 

Hey, there are plenty overpriced homes out there. Some are by realtor, some by The Villages, some BO. I get it. Most homes are coming off that 2022 wish list though lol. A realtor certainly doesn’t guarantee the lowest price.

Buyers do need to do their Homework. Prices are downward against last month’s comps.

Check out this clown show

Homefinder - The Villages(R) Homes and Villas for Sale


It was purchased in 21 for 799,990. Pardon Our Interruption Now asking 1.2 million.

Investment of a pool at 130 k. I think they are just wishing upon a star.

The house you mentioned was bought in 2021 for 222,000 dollars. What a joke! Now they want 350k!

///

This is great article on the subject.

The obvious flaw in the situation, is the general use of REALTOR® as a noun and that will likely be the catalyst when they lose their trademark.

https://www.washingtonpost.com/archi...-3032bf96dc3a/

Be careful here because if you pay your tax bill in November, the 4% discount applies to the total, including the bond, of which the bond holders are not eating the discount, it is made up by the admin fee.

The home with the 375k and 25k bond would cost more in the long run. The 25k bond can not be written off. The 400k would be included in the mortgage payment…. Now you can write it off .

The market is mixed.
Attachment 101360

Attachment 101361

Attachment 101362

Thanks Brian. That is a great article. I guess I understand why Retiredguy felt the need to respond to the use of the term realtor. From the article...

"Local NAR member associations nationwide are under orders to police uses of the word Realtor and intervene when necessary."

You may be on to something that we are headed for a buyers market...

Nice observation, had not comprehended that.

That is dependent on the current bond value. If the home is 15 years old, at least half or more of the bond will be paid off. If the homes are new....then the bond value is the difference.

"Geez, it's 4th grade math." ;-)

Don't let the tail wag the dog.

"Realtor Real estate agent National Association of Realtors Often used by the public, the media, and even real estate agents to refer generally to any real estate agent, but the term is a legally recognized trademark of the National Association of Realtors. The terms "Realtor" and "Realtors" refer to members of this association, and not to real estate agents generally. The National Association of Realtors is engaged in ongoing efforts to prevent the mark from becoming generic. These efforts include, among other things, writing to members of the media to complain of improper usage, distribution of information and guidelines on correct usage, and the development of an educational video on the subject.[163]"

From: List of generic and genericized trademarks - Wikipedia

I have been guilty of using Xerox as a verb, and many of the listed marks such as Tupperware, Thermos, Scotch tape, Q-tips, post-it and Crock-Pot as nouns.

Thank you all!
 

Finally! We now have a handle on the typical real-world savings of a bond vs. no bond. And also the tax considerations. And that maybe we need to re-think our realtor. We thank you all for your helpful insights.

Weirdly, our original concerns made us even more interested in The Villages. Your quick opinions and helpful responses in this forum are indicative of exactly the kinds of neighbors we'd like to be around.

Thanks again to everyone that answered our question.