[tkret]

Is there something called an "Annual CDD Assessment"? I am familiar with the monthly amenities fee and the bond, but I seem to recall on one of the forums something about a CDD assessment.
Because I will be in TV in 3 weeks and meeting with two Realtors, I want to have all my housing expenses understood (no mortgage, but the usual monthly costs).

Thank you.
p.s. - just witnessed BOTH the Men's and Women's US Track Team drop the baton in their relay races in the Olympics.... ouch! (don't know why I've added this info to my post).

[REDCART]

TKRET, Been owners for three years and have never seen a CDD assessment. George

[tkret]

gryoung
Thank you; perhaps I'm confusing this with the annual bond. I appreciate your help...thanks, again.

[zcaveman]

Yes there is. It is part of your non-ad valorem property taxes. You will see it on the TRIM notice later this month (or next month). It is your assessment of the annual costs of the CDD charges in your area - mowing, flowers, maintenance, road repair, etc).

[tkret]

zcaveman ... could you give me an estimate of this charge and also what "TRIM" notice is?

[villages07]

TK,

Caveman is correct....and, for perspective, depending on whether you buy new or a resale... plan on it being about $500/year, more or less....collected once a year via your property tax bill.

TRIM notice...is Tax Reform ... something or other....basically your tax notice/bill.

[tkret]

Villages07 - your information will assist me in getting my financial "ducks" in a row. Very much appreciated.

[zcaveman]

Villoger07 is close on the cost. The TRIM notice is an advance notification of what your taxes will be next year with and without the proposed rate increases from the various areas (fire, water, schools, etc). I just looked at last year's TRIM and the CDD info is not on there. Consider $500 to be an average.

This was all explained in one of the Recreational News inserts that is in the Thursday Daily Sun. The second page is always a page to read. To me it is misplaced and is a very important and informative article in the Daily Sun. This week it covered deed restrictions.

[chuckinca]

Originally Posted by zcaveman

Yes there is. It is part of your non-ad valorem property taxes. You will see it on the TRIM notice later this month (or next month). It is your assessment of the annual costs of the CDD charges in your area - mowing, flowers, maintenance, road repair, etc).

Lake County doesn't have CDD fees are these kind of charges included in the monthly fees there and therefore the monthly fees in Lake County are higher?

[Muncle]

good info from ken casey's web site
http://www.kencaseyrealty.com/county...unty-bonds.htm


Marion and Sumter County Bonds

You are like many who are interested in a home in The Villages but have questions about something called a "bond" and other fees. Hopefully, this will make you better informed.

The Villages spans three counties in Central Florida - Lake, Marion and Sumter. Marion and Sumter counties have the Bond Assessment and the Annual Maintenance Assessment, while Lake County has neither.

When the developer decided to expand into Sumter County in the early 1990s, there was no infrastructure in place to support the building of thousands of new homes. In order to develop that infrastructure, the developer created Community Development Districts (CDD) that are special purpose, local governments created to provide those services that are normally provided by a town or community.

For example, the Village Community Development District (VCDD) provides and maintains the water and sewer lines, roads, transportation paths, storm water systems, curbs, gutters and street lights.

The costs of building and maintaining this infrastructure are paid for by assessments. These are once-a-year charges that appear on the residents' annual property tax bill.

There are two different types of assessments; Infrastructure Assessments for the construction of the physical infrastructure and Maintenance Assessments that pay for the cost of maintaining that which has been built.

The Infrastructure Assessment is represented by the "bond" assigned to each home built in either Marion or Sumter County. The amount of the bond is determined by prorating the debt per acre within the VCCD multiplied by the number of acres in your subdivision and then divided by the number of lots within the subdivision.

For example, if the infrastructure construction costs $5,000,000 and there are 1,000 acres within the District and your "unit" has 50 acres and there are 200 lots, the amount of bond per home would be $1,250.

The calculation would be $5,000,000 divided by 1000 acres = $5,000 per acre. Your unit has 50 acres @ $5,000 per acre or $250,000 for your unit. $250,000 divided by 200 lots = $1,250 bond per lot for your unit.

Since the District does not have $5,000,000 in cash, it sells bonds, or borrows the money, to fund the construction of the infrastructure. This debt is then allocated to each lot using the formula just discussed. The assessment will appear each year on the tax bill until the bond issue is paid in full. You may pay off that bond debt any July to avoid paying the bond's interest charges. Once the bond is paid in full, that assessment will no longer appear on the property tax bill.

The Maintenance Assessments are charged to each lot using the same formula as that used for the Infrastructure Assessment. Maintenance budgets are established by the County Board of Supervisors' during their annual budget processes. It may be adjusted up or down depending upon the level of services needed and the costs of the bids solicited to perform those services. This assessment is called an "Annual Maintenance Fee" and it never goes away.

[tkret]

Muncle... great info.

[downeaster]

Good solid info, Muncle.
It is my understanding the developer elected the CDD method as opposed to simply borrowing via normal financing sources because of the tax advantages. The CDD bonds are similar to municipal bonds and enjoy a tax advantage for the buyer which makes tham more attractive.
A poster above mentioned the second page of the Recreational News in The Daily Sun ("Our Place"). This page is not an editorial and does not cheer lead for the developer, unlike most of the rest of the paper. It is well written and very informative. I urge every Villager and potential Villager to read this page.
I assume they elected to put it in the Rec section because that is the most read section of the paper.

DC

[villages07]

Muncle,

Thanks for posting that...it is written in plain speak and pretty factual. A couple of things may be wrong or misleading:

Maintenance budgets are established by the County Board of Supervisors' during their annual budget processes

Maintenance budgets for the numbered/residential CDDs are established by the CDD supervisors (which, over time, are all residents)...the County, to my knowledge, has no role in this.

This statement may be a little confusing or misleading:

For example, the Village Community Development District (VCDD) provides and maintains the water and sewer lines, roads, transportation paths, storm water systems, curbs, gutters and street lights.

First, the VCDD, I thought, only covers commercial areas north of 466, not all roads and infrastructure. I believe our residential CDD maintenance fees do cover trans paths, curbs, street lights. What is still not totally clear (in Sumter County) is who maintains all the roads (e.g Canal St, subdivision (non Villa) roads)...we have been told it is the County, but, it seems as though the county hasn't fully taken ownership. As far as the storm water and sewer systems, I don't know, but assume he is correct in saying that the CDDs are responsible for maintenance and not the County.

Little by little, we all get more educated on this stuff.

[TVFBauthor]

Originally Posted by villages07

TRIM notice...is Tax Reform ... something or other....basically your tax notice/bill.

TRIM = TRuth In Millage

[REDCART]

I also appreciate the education. I've never looked at the bond statement which we receive every July with an offer to settle, as an assessment but of course it is. I think of an assessment in terms of a condo owner who every few years gets hit with a $15-25K assessment because they need to rebuild the pool or redecorate the common areas of the building. This means that even paying off the bond would not eliminate the CDD annual assessment.