[Tbugs]

Yes, you should have made thorough investigations on the costs before moving. That is only common sense.

Your husband plays golf on the championship courses while you work 3 jobs? That is not a problem of The Villages but rather seems to be a domestic issue.

Working 3 jobs just to maintain living expenses is definitely a drain on you and that means you are not enjoying the great Villages lifestyle. There is always the option of selling your house in The Villages (no problem selling houses here) and moving to a less expensive home in a less expensive area.

In other parts of Florida, houses are a lot cheaper and you could take the money from this house and buy either a smaller one or a similar one. Of course, your husband is your problem, too. Tell him to get his butt in 3rd gear and help out with the working situation.

[BobKat1]

I think the OP said her husband works 2 jobs. Still 5 jobs is A LOT. Must be tough to keep all of the employers happy with that many commitments.

[Jhooman]

Originally Posted by arabianhorse59

I have lived here now for close to 2 years. I am a full time resident and moved here because my husband is a golf addict! I can honestly say that this is the most expensive place I have ever lived in my life and I came here from Illinois, the over tax em state. I realize alot of you sold property and moved down here with no mortgages on your backs but, we couldn't do that. We have a mortgage here but, I am talking about the over the top fees for everything. The monthly fee for golf is $150, trail fees, mandatory garbage fees at $55 a month (whether you have garbage picked up or not! If you own property, you pay it!), the internet for $96 a year, Progress Energy, which is the most $$ utility company I have ever had to deal with...on and on. I am young enough that I am able to work (I am 51) and I have to hold down 3 jobs to keep food on the table here.
Before people buy here, they need to research the fees. If I would have known that this place was so costly, I never would have moved here!

I'm so sorry to hear about your situation.

Before I retired I was a Financial Consultant for 30+ years. When I established a new client, I requested they read "The Richest Man in Babylon". This simple book helped my clients and millions of people to take responsibility of their financial lives. This book even helped me many years ago when I was a mess financially. Fast forward, I'm retired and moving to TV living right sized and abundantly.

Taking full responsibility for my life has given me great freedom. It was painful to look at my mistakes, but once I did, my life began to thrive.

[rsetterlund]

I guess one question I have is how do you find time to ride your horse, working 3 jobs, and how does your husband find time for golf, working 2 jobs? I am sorry you feel it is to expensive in TV. There are so many things to do that are free, after the amenity fee is paid. We are moving into our home in two months after owning the house for two years and investigating expenses for three years. I have a spreadsheet where I track all my expenses and compare them with the costs of owning a home in MA. I then spent three years developing a budget to see if we could afford TV. The bottom line is we can, but we spent the effort to determine that. One thing that you could do is move to a smaller home, that would reduce some of your expenses.

[Cateca]

W moved here from Puerto Rico and find that except for food and gas, our cost of living is about one quarter less. And compared to St John, USVI, where we also lived, cost of living is HALF. Take electricity, for ex. Here the kilowatt hour is about 10 cents. It is about 20 cents in Puerto Rico and about 30 cents in St John. Food, however, is a different story. Publix prices are higher than Pueblo prices (largest food chain in the Caribbean), and this makes no sense since transporting food to the islands is costly.

[John_W]

An item I didn't see mentioned was, since you're a working person you should realize Florida is only one of seven states that do not have state income tax. Here in Maryland we have to pay 4.75% of our net income over $3000. So let's say, you net about $15,000 a year, you would be paying almost $600 that you don't pay now. I just looked up Illinois and they have just raised the state income tax from 3% to 5%.

Another item is electric rates. We live in an average 2 story 1880sf home, 3BR 2 BA and our last BG&E bill was $377. Yes, it's the most expensive time of the year, but our home is fairly new, built in 1998, we have no children, just 2 adults and the home has a Carrier heat pump. We set the temperature at a cool 66 degrees and we have to use 3 small space heaters to keep from freezing. I know many people that pay $500 - $700 a month for electric.

I lived in Florida from 1959 until 1989 before moving here and I can tell you, everything was cheaper in Florida. You don't get paid as much, but many jobs you're only talking about a couple of dollars an hour more, which can't even begin to make up the difference in the cost of living.

[VillagesFlorida]

Originally Posted by John_W

An item I didn't see mentioned was, since you're a working person you should realize Florida is only one of seven states that do not have state income tax. Here in Maryland we have to pay 4.75% of our net income over $3000. So let's say, you net about $15,000 a year, you would be paying almost $600 that you don't pay now. I just looked up Illinois and they have just raised the state income tax from 3% to 5%.

Another item is electric rates. We live in an average 2 story 1880sf home, 3BR 2 BA and our last BG&E bill was $377. Yes, it's the most expensive time of the year, but our home is fairly new, built in 1998, we have no children, just 2 adults and the home has a Carrier heat pump. We set the temperature at a cool 66 degrees and we have to use 3 small space heaters to keep from freezing. I know many people that pay $500 - $700 a month for electric.

I lived in Florida from 1959 until 1989 before moving here and I can tell you, everything was cheaper in Florida. You don't get paid as much, but many jobs you're only talking about a couple of dollars an hour more, which can't even begin to make up the difference in the cost of living.

Just paid my SECO bill for last month...$119 and change. My CYV is all electric and we used an appreciable amount of heat during the time period. I was thinking that this was a really reasonable amount to pay for energy costs until I got an e-mail from my friend, who lives in snowy, cold Maine. She just had propane and heating oil deliveries that totaled $750! I don't know if the propane will take her through the winter but I DO know that she will have more oil delivered and probably had had 1-2 deliveries before this last one. She lives alone. Now I am thinking that our energy costs are "peanuts" compared to what SHE is paying. And, we do not skimp on the heat, either. There is no doubt in my mind that it costs us a lot less to live here, even with the amenity fee we pay every month.

[JenAjd]

I posted an early comment here and see this thread still has "LIFE". I'd say the percentage is high on people refuting the expense of living here as not expensive. I still maintain it's cheaper here than in the midwest, where we too are from. We don't keep the heat on if it doesn't get too cold at night. We prefer a cool house anyway as we had it that way up north in winter (heat turned down to save money) so are used to it. The sun heats the house in the daytime. If it's going to be a frost producing night of course we turn on the heat. When it's hot we have air on and keep the blinds shut where the sun is coming thru. That's one way to cut costs. I think if the author of this post would tally ALL expenses for one month and I mean all...she'd see where their dollars are going. Her early posts were full of excitement about coming here...so what changed/????

[youngretiree]

I have lived here for 4 years and want to respond to the cost. The utilities and maintenence fees here are VERY reasonable imho, esp. with all the amenities and considering u save so much on gas by having the movies and everything so close. My home is built so well that I have barely had to have anything done to it & also, appears to have built higly considering energy savings, which is properly the code today. The only thing that hurts me is the end of the year taxes plus bond. Mine together were $2743 if paid by Dec 31. I have a 2 bedroom courtyard villa. That in addition to the homeowners fee is a big hunk of change. My mortgage payt. is to a family member so I have no escrow account.

[John_W]

Originally Posted by youngretiree

...The only thing that hurts me is the end of the year taxes plus bond. Mine together were $2743 if paid by Dec 31. I have a 2 bedroom courtyard villa...

How much of the $2743 is actually taxes? Do you know the average amount of a bond on a new home? I've heard $12,500 for villas and $20,000 and up for homes. I'm interested in either a 3BR CYV such as a Bonita or Siesta or a cottage like a Hammock in the $160-175K range. Does anyone know what the bond on a cottage would be?

For comparison, I have an average 3BR 2BA home in the suburbs of Baltimore that's appraised for taxes at $277K and my yearly taxes are $3200 total. HOA is only $30 a month, but the only benefit is garbage pickup.

[obxgal]

John, we have a Bonita in Duval. Our taxes were $1777.86 this year. Bond was $13038.83 but we paid that off when we purchased our house.

[Ohiogirl]

Originally Posted by obxgal

John, we have a Bonita in Duval. Our taxes were $1777.86 this year. Bond was $13038.83 but we paid that off when we purchased our house.

there will still be a "maintenance bond" that must be paid every year. You cannot pay that off. I believe it's for maintaining common areas in your CDD. I think our taxes were slightly lower this year (due to slightly lowered property value) and I think the taxes and maintenance bond were under $2200, maybe even a little less. We also paid off the "bond" on our Bonita (ours was a little under $10,000 in CDD #6).

[obxgal]

Broken down:
Taxes $1387, Fire $81, maintenance bond $309

[youngretiree]

John,

U asked about the breakdown on the $2743 end of the year real estate bill for my 2/2 concrete courtyard villa:

taxes: $1,418
assessments: $1410

(Note the totals don't match due to having gotten a discount for paying by Dec 31.)

Early

[Ohiogirl]

Wow, we have a Bonita in Sabal Chase - built just before Duval in 2006. Our latest tax bill is $1997.39 plus $324.51 for maintenance bond and 81.00 for fire district, total of $2306.78.

However, we just moved down this fall and filed for the Homestead Exemption for next year - that could be the difference. Is there also an additional homestead exemption once one or both of us turns 65? I seem to recall another form at the county office.