[Carla B]

Our premium, for a designer, started out five years ago in the $750 range with $500 deductible sinkhole coverage. Now it is $1130 with 10% sinkhole deductible. No claims history. We did add $30K in improvements in Year Two, and these had to be documented.
We escaped the 10% sinkhole deductible until this year.

In my opinion, insurance companies entice customers with low rates and then begin increasing them. There's always a "new" peril they can use to adjust rates.

[bfdretired]

thanks john for sharing....i just copied your post for my wife....she cant seem to get into the TOTV...yet......i smiled when you said she is always washing clothes and the a/c is running all the time........thats my wife to a T

[murray607]

Originally Posted by Carla B

Our premium, for a designer, started out five years ago in the $750 range with $500 deductible sinkhole coverage. Now it is $1130 with 10% sinkhole deductible. No claims history. We did add $30K in improvements in Year Two, and these had to be documented.
We escaped the 10% sinkhole deductible until this year.

In my opinion, insurance companies entice customers with low rates and then begin increasing them. There's always a "new" peril they can use to adjust rates.

We have had the Patio Villa for the past 7 months. Looking at the Villages web-site figures for monthly expenses at $1039 for a $250,000 property and comparing our actual costs on a Patio Villa, I am seeing a monthly expense of just under $750 when everything is factored in.
But with the insurance, bond and property tax being paid annually, we see a month to month operating expense expense of about $500-550. Our insurance is averaging less than $60 per month and our property tax averages to about $90 per month. Bond is about $100 a month
I have not included some extra, smaller expenses but they should not change the figures by much. Total lawn care works out to be about $75 a month (paid annually). Also things like power washing and incidental repairs and replacement. would add up the total to be a bit higher. Also you should factor in additional insurances on A/C and heat pump unlesss you choose not to add additional insurance s on these.

[mixsonci]

I have a question on the bond, I was told my bond was about 24,000 give or take a hundred, BUT, if I pay about $1500 for 30 years, that 45,000? How can that be?

[graciegirl]

Originally Posted by mixsonci

I have a question on the bond, I was told my bond was about 24,000 give or take a hundred, BUT, if I pay about $1500 for 30 years, that 45,000? How can that be?

It's the same for a home mortgage. It costs more if you don't pay for it up front.

[senior citizen]

Originally Posted by e-flyer

Yes, but be aware that they typically group the bond and the maintenance fee together when you pay it over 30yrs. If you pay off the bond, you still owe the annual maintenance fee along with the monthly amenity fee.

I'm puzzled. How many retired people really take out 30 year mortgages?
In Vermont they only used to give 20 year mortgages. We paid ours off in our early 40's.
We plan to pay cash for our home in THE VILLAGES.

Thus, this "bond" would be paid at that time, correct??? Meaning time of sale/closing. Not in installments.
Thanks in advance.

P.S. If one is approaching 70 years old (68/69) they would be 100 years old by the time the mortgage is paid off.

[rubicon]

The amounts The Villages provides are guides only. Just as each of us can have a different effective tax rate so too will there be differences in those guides. The same for instance applies for gas mileage say for people driving their Ford it depends on several factors.

The reason for itemizing the cost of the bond , land and housing unit can be viewed as giving the buyer a detailed account or it can be viewed to make the cost of a house seem more reasonable. I was informed that homes in Lake county have no bonds? Mt preference would have ben for one price only because I believe it prevents the tendency toward redundancy.

Those of us who have lived here for some time have noticed increases in fees, a reduction in taxes, increase in bond costs

I live in a designer keep my AC at 78 and average about $220

[graciegirl]

Originally Posted by senior citizen

I'm puzzled. How many retired people really take out 30 year mortgages?
In Vermont they only used to give 20 year mortgages. We paid ours off in our early 40's.
We plan to pay cash for our home in THE VILLAGES.

Thus, this "bond" would be paid at that time, correct??? Meaning time of sale/closing. Not in installments.
Thanks in advance.

P.S. If one is approaching 70 years old (68/69) they would be 100 years old by the time the mortgage is paid off.

I will be repeating something I heard or read on this forum and I have no way of saying whether it is true or not. I have heard and really believe from people I know well, that well over half pay cash for their homes here.

[Ohiogirl]

Everyone's financial situation is different. Our 91 yr old neighbor got a 30 year mortgage last year - obviously, she doesn't care if she pays it off. A paid off mortgage is not everyone's goal.

Remember that if most of your reserves are in regular IRA's, you would have to pay taxes on the funds you pulled out to pay cash for a home. That rate is a lot higher than a 4-5% mortgage.

[rubicon]

Originally Posted by Ohiogirl

Everyone's financial situation is different. Our 91 yr old neighbor got a 30 year mortgage last year - obviously, she doesn't care if she pays it off. A paid off mortgage is not everyone's goal.

Remember that if most of your reserves are in regular IRA's, you would have to pay taxes on the funds you pulled out to pay cash for a home. That rate is a lot higher than a 4-5% mortgage.

There is a lot of that going around that is why taxpayers paid for all the bailouts

[DougB]

Originally Posted by mixsonci

I have a question on the bond, I was told my bond was about 24,000 give or take a hundred, BUT, if I pay about $1500 for 30 years, that 45,000? How can that be?

Believe they call that interest

[Ohiogirl]

Originally Posted by rubicon

There is a lot of that going around that is why taxpayers paid for all the bailouts

If someone dies before paying off their house, the house would normally be sold and the lien (mortgage) satisfied before the title can be changed.

If someone wants to get a loan (and can qualify for it) instead of pulling out cash from investments, why would anyone care? Not talking here about someone not paying their bills.

[justjim]

When we first moved to TV, about 8 years ago, our biggest surprise was the amount of closing costs. Closing costs were significantly higher than any other home we ever purchased in the States of Illinois or Tennessee. That said, Taxes were a bit less than Illinois and a bit more than in Tenn. for about the same home.

Monthly expenses tend to be higher because of the bond and maintenance fees. Normally, you pay for that upfront ---not here---because of our form of government---CDD. Food, insurance, utilities and entertainment or at or near the national average in my opinion.

The other difference is the perception (some say fact) you have less to say about how the CDD or how the local form of government is operated. Many like the CDD form of government, many really don't understand it, and most probably don't care.

Bottom line, to most of us, TV is a great active Adult Community! There is no place
Like it. You can live here relatively cheaply (100,000-1,000,000 home and in between) or very lavishly or like most of us middle class residents. And we have TOTV to post our likes and dislikes!

[senior citizen]

Originally Posted by Ohiogirl

Everyone's financial situation is different. Our 91 yr old neighbor got a 30 year mortgage last year - obviously, she doesn't care if she pays it off. A paid off mortgage is not everyone's goal.

Remember that if most of your reserves are in regular IRA's, you would have to pay taxes on the funds you pulled out to pay cash for a home. That rate is a lot higher than a 4-5% mortgage.

Guess our bankers up here , in a small town, have always been conservative....

....... at least they were when we were young and needed a mortgage.

All we ever did was use the money from selling our home to buy the next home.
We've purchased a lot of homes in our almost 50 years of marriage.

That's what we would do when this home sells. Not take our savings.

We, personally, would not want a mortgage anymore at our age, when we paid off our last mortgage in our 40's plus paying all our kids college bills. Just us. Obviously, everyone else can take advantage of The Villages generous pattern of mortgages to us elders.

I doubt if a 91 year old would get a mortgage up here.....truthfully.
I just can't see it happening. Common sense wise.

But more power to that elder. If that's what they needed. Good for them.

[Ohiogirl]

Lenders can no longer discriminate by age or gender, race, etc. You must qualify for income to be able to make your payments. Hopefully, some of the "creative financing" that led to the meltdown is gone, or at least maybe the income requirements are more stringent.

Maybe small community banks or credit unions who do not sell their loans on the secondary mortgage market can be pickier, don't know.