[dewilson58]

Originally Posted by Mleeja

I chuckle every time some mentions “the developer should pay higher impact fees”. Do they really think the developer is going to eat these fees? No, they go into the price of the home. The impact fees are lower because many of the items covered by impact fees in other areas are addressed by the developer (and the home owner) through the development bond.

Yep.


$1/day



No body loves increased Property Taxes, but there are about five posters who won't let this go. The increase is here, move on & vote differently if they want.

[tuctba]

Originally Posted by jebartle

NO BOND lake county!

May have been true at one time. Our Pine Ridge bond is 28K.


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[Bkosloski]

Originally Posted by gmdds

We are looking at houses in the new southern area...the bond is the same approx. $30K vs. the other previous areas. With the county paying for the roads in the new area (thus 25% tax increase), why has the bond stayed the same when the developer isn’t incurring that massive cost??

We are in Sanibel and our bond is $30,000.

[DOTT0206]

All I have to say is that every county commissioner who is currently sitting on the commission needs to be voted off when they are up for election. The newly elected county commissioners should consider reviewing the actions of the current county manager and a possible replacement.

[alurb]

Originally Posted by gmdds

We are looking at houses in the new southern area...the bond is the same approx. $30K vs. the other previous areas. With the county paying for the roads in the new area (thus 25% tax increase), why has the bond stayed the same when the developer isn’t incurring that massive cost??

30,000 bond + 25% tax increase + increase in house valuation.

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[drhntr8]

The bonds have gone up and the developer is not doing what has always been done..they are to pay our share of the impact fees that are now due...the developer has always built the roads and donated them to the county as part of his share of the impact fees.

[Advogado]

Originally Posted by DOTT0206

All I have to say is that every county commissioner who is currently sitting on the commission needs to be voted off when they are up for election. The newly elected county commissioners should consider reviewing the actions of the current county manager and a possible replacement.

The new commissioners should also request an investigation of why the present commissioners hiked taxes instead of the Developer's $901 impact fee to pay for infrastructure that should have been paid for by increasing the fee.

[Dlbonivich]

Bonds have always been popular in Florida. The Villages did not invent the idea. I have sold new construction all over Florida and some developers do a bond and some do not. I find the ones with bonds have better amenities and they are better maintained. In response to the amount of bond being paid south of 44, you are paying for interior streets lamp posts rec centers sewers etc. the major improvements to county roads to accommodate new traffic is being provided by tax dollars.

[Altavia]

Originally Posted by NotGolfer

Bonds pay for the infa-structure of the neighborhoods....ie. power, sewer etc. that goes in to be able to build. Our amenity fees pay for the flowers etc.

The bond has a positive aspect from my perspective because at least in the Villages, this means the local amenities are substantially in place when you move in. This keeps property values high providing more tax revenue.

Otherwise in my experience, the clubhouse and pool tend to not be finished until the development is substantially completed. Or not at all if the developer fails.

[champion6]

Originally Posted by jebartle

NO BOND lake county!

Originally Posted by Advogado

I think that you will find that you are mistaken about that: Lake County Amortization Schedules

The correct statement is: No bond in Lady Lake.

The homes in Pine Hills and Pine Ridge - which are in Lake County - do have a bond and are shown at the link in Advogado's post.

[Advogado]

Originally Posted by Robbie0723

The county is responsible for the roads Because all taxpayers benefit from the growth via additional tax revenue from the new homes. That's why taxes have not increased in over a decade.

No investment in the glue that connects the community means you're mortgaging the assets of you heirs via much higher taxes later

The less than a dollar a day for $300k in assessed value increase is essentially an investment to minimize future tax increases relative to freezing growth at the current level.

At the end of the day, there is no budget Santa Claus, the consumer (homeowners/tax payers) will pay no matter how you split the pie.

You can read about impact fees on the Sumter County website. There is no doubt that the infrastructure resulting from the Developer's massive expansion of The Villages should be paid for by an increase in the Developer's $901 impact fee and not by the taxpayers of Sumter County through a tax increase.

Every time you pay your taxes from here on out, you are, in reality, writing a check to the Developer in the amount of the tax increase. That doesn't bother you?

[Advogado]

Originally Posted by Dlbonivich

Bonds have always been popular in Florida. The Villages did not invent the idea. I have sold new construction all over Florida and some developers do a bond and some do not. I find the ones with bonds have better amenities and they are better maintained. In response to the amount of bond being paid south of 44, you are paying for interior streets lamp posts rec centers sewers etc. the major improvements to county roads to accommodate new traffic is being provided by tax dollars.

The problem here is not the bonds, it is the tax increase.

Bonds are fine (if not used to overpay the Developer), but it is amazing that the Developer has gotten away without disclosing their existence when advertising house prices.

[OhioBuckeye]

Originally Posted by bilcon

The bonds are $30K in the newer areas? WOW, they were only in the low $20K above 466A for a designer home. Am I right?

Don’t know why their bonds are higher but the only thing I can think of is TV are selling the same designer in the new area ( Fenney) for less money than what people in the old area that are trying to sell their preowned homes, then making up the difference on the extra $10,000. extra from the bonds. I really think people don’t do their homework before buying.

[manaboutown]

Originally Posted by Advogado

The problem here is not the bonds, it is the tax increase.

Bonds are fine (if not used to overpay the Developer), but it is amazing that the Developer has gotten away without disclosing their existence when advertising house prices.

The Villages agent I used dodged any discussion whatsoever about the bonds. He never brought the fact that a pile of bond indebtedness comes with every new house. I knew about the bonds from TOTV and asked him about them. He just shrugged his shoulders and admitted yes there are bonds but when I asked him how much he professed ignorance of their amount. Hard to believe but I found his actions and words at least underhanded if not deceptive.

[Advogado]

Originally Posted by manaboutown

The Villages agent I used dodged any discussion whatsoever about the bonds. He never brought the fact that a pile of bond indebtedness comes with every new house. I knew about the bonds from TOTV and asked him about them. He just shrugged his shoulders and admitted yes there are bonds but when I asked him how much he professed ignorance of their amount. Hard to believe but I found his actions and words at least underhanded if not deceptive.

You are not alone.

It is incredible that the Developer has gotten away for decades without disclosing the existence of the bond in his advertising. It seems to amount to about 10% of the value of the house and is really a part of the purchase price.

In other words, the Developer's ads understate the true cost of a new house by about 10%. It is like a car dealer advertising a new car for $30,000 and later you find out that there is an additional $3,000 charge for the engine.

If you feel that you were deceived by the Developer's advertising, I would suggest you file a complaint with both:

>the Federal Trade Commission: - FTC Complaint Assistant and

>the Florida Attorney General: Florida Attorney General - Consumer Protection Division Contact Form