[Schaumburger]

Originally Posted by momesu

Well being selfish and looking to buy sometime next year.....I say pay the bond. I will be looking for resale home with low or no bond. Others may not car but to me a large bond just raises the price of the house in an invisible but financially draining way, Like I say though that is a selfish thought on my part.

Suzanne

Just a wannabee...but I agree with you Suzanne. If I were to buy in TV today, I would be looking at resales with low or no bond. Don't want to lay awake at night worrying about $. Just my 2 cents.

[shcisamax]

We decided. Paying bond.

[Villages PL]

Originally Posted by shcisamax

We were going to pay off the bond but there seems to be a difference of opinion. We just thought why finance the bond at 6%. A few people have mentioned that when selling, new owners do not care. They care about the price of the house but for some reason do not think about the taxes/bond. Thoughts?

Many of us do think about the bond. In my case, when I found out about the bond, I told the owner it was too much...a deal breaker. When she offered to subtract the bond amount from her asking price (which was already a fair price), I gave her a deposit on the house. I paid cash for the house and immediately paid off the bond. That was over six years ago and I'm glad I did what I did.

No mortage payements, no bond payments, no credit card payments and no car payments: What a great feeling it is to be debt free!!!!

[Don Dukes]

Another stupid question. What is a bond and does everyone have to pay it? Is this a Florida thing?

[Schaumburger]

Originally Posted by Don Dukes

Another stupid question. What is a bond and does everyone have to pay it? Is this a Florida thing?

I'm a wannabee, so a TV resident can explain it better than me or please correct me, but here is my stab at it.

A bond is a sum of money added on to new TV homes being built or were built in Sumter and Marion Counties. The homes in Lake County have no bond. I believe the bond is to pay for the infrastructure (roads, sewers, etc.) in the newer areas -- someone correct me if I'm wrong.

The bond payment is paid once a year at the same time you pay your property taxes in Sumter and Marion Counties. The bond is designed to be paid off in 30 years, although I believe you can pay it off faster than 30 years as some people appear to have done.

Last year I visited a new patio villa for sale (sales price was approx. $137,000) in the Village of Buttonwood. The bond on that patio villa was approximately $13,000. The bonds on more expensive homes are higher than that So if you see a pre-owned home for sale that lists "low bond balance", "bond paid off," or "no bond" that is a plus for some people (like me). When I went to open houses last year, and the listing said "low bond balance" or "bond not paid" I always asked how much the bond balance was, and how much the yearly bond payment was.

Hope that helps. The bond thing was a mystery to me at first as home bonds don't exist in the Chicago area.

[shcisamax]

I might be wrong but my realtor said the bond is not based on the house but rather the land.

[kfierle]

My understanding is that the bond is based on the density of the neighborhood. Designer neighborhoods would have a higher bond than a patio villa neighborhood. The fewer homes, the higher the bond. More homes, lower bond.

[shcisamax]

Yes. The more lots in the designated area, the lower the bond price to pay for that area's infrastructure. Designer has more lots to sell ...higher density...than in a premium area so the cost is lower.

[Ohiogirl]

Bond is not directly related to price or size of home, but density of lots in neighborhood. Last time I checked, patio and CYV neighborhoods had the same bond, designers and cottages had the same bond (higher than villas), and premier neighborhoods had a higher bond (larger lots).

But a previous poster said something about the interest rate being the same as your mortgage - I don't think that is true. The bond interest rate is set (I think) when the bond is set, prior to the first home being built in that district.

I do think that since rates in general have come down, that the newer bond interest rates are well below what they were when we bought in 2006, but probably a % or so higher than prevailing mortgage rates. I also think that maybe some of the higher bonds have been refinanced at lower rates than they were originally.

Someone who has bought recently can tell us what the bond is in their district (are we up to District 10? - Sanibel, Fernandina and maybe Charlotte.

[shcisamax]

I think when my husband was in TV last week, he checked at the bank and they said the bond was 6%. I think that was Wells Fargo.

[ljones190]

Originally Posted by Ohiogirl

Bond is not directly related to price or size of home, but density of lots in neighborhood. Last time I checked, patio and CYV neighborhoods had the same bond, designers and cottages had the same bond (higher than villas), and premier neighborhoods had a higher bond (larger lots).

But a previous poster said something about the interest rate being the same as your mortgage - I don't think that is true. The bond interest rate is set (I think) when the bond is set, prior to the first home being built in that district.

I do think that since rates in general have come down, that the newer bond interest rates are well below what they were when we bought in 2006, but probably a % or so higher than prevailing mortgage rates. I also think that maybe some of the higher bonds have been refinanced at lower rates than they were originally.

Someone who has bought recently can tell us what the bond is in their district (are we up to District 10? - Sanibel, Fernandina and maybe Charlotte.

we bought in 2010 in St Charles, bond rate 6.375%, we plan to pay off in July 2012.

[Bogie Shooter]

This is from the "nuts and bolts" threads.
Bonds
The purpose of the bond is to recover the costs of the infrastructure (sewer, water, streets, electric, cable, etc.) in your section. The bond is calculated based on the cost of the infrastructure for that section divided by the number of houses in the section. The annual amount of the bond payoff will be part of your property tax bill. I am pretty sure that the bond is a 30 year bond at 7% interest. It is like a 30 year mortgage. The bonds are fairly high south of 466. The bond goes down very little each year as most of the payment goes to interest. Be very sure to cover the bond, bond payment, length of the bond interest rate and payoff options with your sales rep or realtor. If you are buying a pre-owned property, be sure to find out how much is left on the bond.

[Dirigo]

Originally Posted by Villages PL

No mortage payements, no bond payments, no credit card payments and no car payments: What a great feeling it is to be debt free!!!!

Amen to that!

We bought a house with no bond. We paid $38K less for the house than the owners paid when it was new (house+bond). The paid-off bond was a bonus, but what we really liked was the extreme privacy; 100+ empty acres behind us, smack dab in the middle of TV, that will never be built upon.

Got a pretty nice golf cart and some furniture too. The house was hardly lived in but we have renovated it to our taste and liking.

No mortgage payments, no bond payments, no credit card payments, and no car payments. WE'RE DEBT FREE! We're already living in TV. The lovely Diane is retired and I will be retired mid-year. Dreams do come true if you work hard enough!

[kentucky blue]

Originally Posted by Dirigo

Amen to that!

We bought a house with no bond. We paid $38K less for the house than the owners paid when it was new (house+bond).

If you are planning on living in your home forever,pay off the bond.If at anytime you plan on selling ,DON'T,you will never recoup the cost of the bond payment,.....................................NEVER .

[eweissenbach]

When looking at homes we simply add the price of the home and the amount of the bond to come up with the selling price. Most people don't pay off the bond as they cannot really add that to the selling price when, and if, they sell. The bond is problematic in that it does not add to the home value, it carries a higher interest rate than a mortgage, and if you pay it off you cannot generally recoup it when you sell, so it is actially worse than if it were a part of the sales price. I have heard people claim it is no problem, as they pay it as part of their taxes and don't really notice it. Well, I gotta tell you, I would notice an additional $2000 or so when I pay my tax bill. I have also had TV sales people try to convince me that it really should not be added to the price of the home when considering the gross price because it is paid with the taxes and not a big deal. That is an insult to my intelligence. I understand exactly why the bond is a part of the new home purchase, as it allows the developer to finance the infrastructure while keeping the price of the home reasonable, but to think it is anything other than an additonal cost of the purchase is irresponsible.