The last article in this series I am covering “Cost of Ownership in The Villages, Florida”. Besides weather, activities, social life another factor is Florida doesn’t have a state income tax which is a driving factor for many. Florida also cuts us a break on property taxes if you Homestead which means your principle residents you get a $50,000 reduction in appraised value. A $400,000 home Homesteaded is about $2,200 annual property tax. There are a few other taxes like Fire Tax which is $124 a year, but no school tax in The Villages.
I don’t want to get into the weeds about Community Development District or CDD we call them. Short and simple, bonds are sold for infrastructure and when you buy a new home the bond currently you are responsible for can be over $40,000. You can pay it off or finance it for 20 or 30 years at an interest rate. The bond is transferred if property is sold, many homes in The Villages the bond is paid if not an amount is added to your property taxes. You have a bond maintenance fee which can be a few hundred dollars a year to pay for upkeep, the gates and other things.
County tax is close and tell people not worth deciding a home based on property tax. Sumter is .94, Lake .95 and Marion .99, some people think their power bill is lower depending of service which again cuts through the counties and should not be a deciding factor. The Villages is served by two different power companies, SECO which is a co-op has a kWh of $.1223 and Duke Energy has a rate of $.1644 per kWh. In certain areas one side of the street can be Duke the other side SECO, neither electric companies service an entire county in The Villages.
Dick Betts, REALTOR®
The Betts Team
Touchstone Real Estate
The Villages, Florida
717-860-3107 cell
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