CDD developments vs. non-CDD developments (Plantation, St. Augustine: HOA, homes, neighborhoods)

[turbogirl1970]

My family and I are moving to the area in a few months and I was hoping someone could answer a question for me. I understand what CDD's are, but has anyone noticed if those developments are kept in nicer condition than non-CDD developments? I have been looking at homes in Durbin Crossing and The Colony at Greenbriar. Greenbriar has no CDD fees and appears to be a nice development with a good high school. Any thoughts?

I'm not concerned about amenities as eventually we would have our own pool. I just want to make certain the development we move into will be maintained properly.

Thanks for your help.

[donisanasfan]

personally if location doesn't matter,as I find greenbriar to be very isolated, I would go with greenbriar. However you may have difficulty with resale down the road as that location is not going to work for a lot of people. I don't think you need to worry about neighborhood upkeep. CDD fees don't guarantee a well kept neighborhood, and non-cdd fee communities can be very nicely kept. Bartram Plantation-down greenbriar rd further west from greenbriar planation has no cdd fees and I think it one of the more nicely kept neighborhoods you will find.

[madcapmagishion]

Originally Posted by turbogirl1970

My family and I are moving to the area in a few months and I was hoping someone could answer a question for me. I understand what CDD's are, but has anyone noticed if those developments are kept in nicer condition than non-CDD developments? I have been looking at homes in Durbin Crossing and The Colony at Greenbriar. Greenbriar has no CDD fees and appears to be a nice development with a good high school. Any thoughts?

I'm not concerned about amenities as eventually we would have our own pool. I just want to make certain the development we move into will be maintained properly.

Thanks for your help.

Maintenance of a community is up to the HOA and whom ever you elect to the HOA board that enforces the rules and arranges for the maintenance to be done by. Or whichever Management company is retained by the HOA. So basically its up to the homeowners themselves through elections to the board.

[turbogirl1970]

Well thank you for your replies. We live "out of the way" now, so Greenbriar's location is not an issue. Even now it takes us 10 minutes to the grocery store and 30 to the mall. I figure with all the land down on 210, its probably just a matter of time before there are more developments going up.

[mawipafl]

I can only comment on how Eagle Harbor works, but perhaps all CDDs are similar. We have two boards that we elect, the CDD and the HOA. The CDD is the larger of the two with the most responsibilities and the much bigger budget. They maintain the amenities and the community landscapes and mind the bank account. The HOA is charged with enforcing the HOA rules/covenants about property owners keeping their yards from looking like overgrown fields, approving renovations, things of that sort. Annually we pay about $580 to the CDD for operations and maintenance, and $50 per year to the HOA.

So, as madcapmagishion says, it's up to the homeowners to make sure they elect the right people to the boards.

[sithlord72]

That seems like an inexpensive price for a CDD fee. I saw a development in st augustine where the CDD fees were $2,000/ year. Where is eagle harbor if you don't mind me asking ?

[judeK]

Originally Posted by sithlord72

Where is eagle harbor if you don't mind me asking ?

Eagle Harbor is in Clay County between Orange Park and Green Cove Springs, just off of US 17.

[mawipafl]

Originally Posted by sithlord72

That seems like an inexpensive price for a CDD fee. I saw a development in st augustine where the CDD fees were $2,000/ year. Where is eagle harbor if you don't mind me asking ?

I noticed in my post that I said we paid $580 to the CDD for maintenance. True, but we actually paid two fees to the CDD - the maintenance and the bond payback of about $2200 +/- (we've since moved, but I think it was in that vicinity). Fleming Island Plantation's CDD fee was less, I think about $1750 +/-. So that St. Augustine development's fee isn't unique.

Yes, as judeK described, Eagle Harbor is in Fleming Island which is just south of Orange Park. Originally it was considered Orange Park until about 2009 when the post office gave the area its own designation.