Switter |
06-15-2024 11:27 AM |
Quote:
Originally Posted by Danenew20242
(Post 2340588)
Hello,
I am in California and just retired. I have found this unique place called "The Villages", so it sounds and looks very interesting, but I need your knowledge!
Is it really cheaper to live in The Villages or Fl in general? From the little I have been able to glean, there seems to be really no great monetary advantage, so why move there?
Thank you so very much for your time/efforts/comments and advice!!!!!
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I'm from Minnesota (a high tax state) and I feel property taxes here are a lot higher than I was expecting. I paid just over 300K for my house in The villages and my taxes will be about $5200 once I homestead. My place in Minnesota was worth about 450K and I paid about $5600. Gas is a lot cheaper but there are toll roads that you have to account for if you go to Orlando a lot.
The bond on the house I bought was already paid and it had a new roof put on, so that made a big difference. If you're buying a pre-existing house, make sure to check the age of the roof. Your insurance company could force you to replace the roof once it reaches 15 to 20 years old.
I think the amenity fees are very reasonable. Less than $200 a month and I get access to golf, swimming, and hundreds of miles multimodal paths for riding bike. The cost of owning and maintaining a private swimming pool is probably about $100 a month or more if you have someone service it. The pools here are great, especially the sports pools.
You'll want to read the deed restrictions in the area(s) that you're looking at. They are available at Village Community Development Districts. It might not hurt to look at the deed restrictions for all the districts to get a general idea of what they contain. You can even check the cost of utilities for a property on this web site. All you need is an address, no login or anything. You can look at anyone's utilities.
If you find a pre-existing home, make sure there's nothing on the property that is in violation of the deed restrictions. You'll be responsible for bringing it into compliance, regardless of who own the house before you.
There is a guy named Rusty who has a YouTube channel about the villages that talks about a lot of this stuff. He's very helpful.
Good luck in your decision.
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