New Construction Costs
What is a CDD fee and will I have to pay one?
A CDD is a Community Development District, and it funds the infrastructure of a master-planned community, things like roads, water and sewer lines, drainage, and amenities. It shows up on your annual property tax bill rather than as a separate HOA bill, and most new construction communities in this corridor have one, so if you are buying new here you should assume you will pay one until we confirm otherwise.
What is the difference between a CDD and an HOA?
They are two different entities doing two different jobs, and you can absolutely owe both on the same house.
A CDD is a special-purpose local government unit. The developer used it to finance the infrastructure that made the community buildable, and the residents repay that over time through assessments collected with your property taxes. An HOA is a private association. It governs the community rules, maintains common areas it owns, and bills you directly, usually monthly or quarterly.
So the CDD is generally why the roads and the drainage exist. The HOA is generally why the grass gets cut and why you need approval for the paint color. Different bills, different governing bodies, both real.
Does a CDD ever go away?
Partly. A CDD assessment usually has two components, and only one of them ends.
- The capital or debt assessment repays the bonds that funded the original infrastructure. This portion has a term, and when the bonds are paid off it goes away.
- The operations and maintenance assessment funds the ongoing upkeep of what the district owns and operates. This portion does not end, because the maintenance does not end. It can also be adjusted over time as the district's budget changes.
That split is the single most useful thing to understand about a CDD, because two homes with a similar total assessment can be in very different places on the debt schedule.
Can I pay off the CDD debt early, and should I?
In many districts the debt portion can be paid off early, sometimes at closing and sometimes later. Whether that is a good idea depends mostly on how long you plan to stay.
If this is a long-term home, paying off the debt portion removes a recurring line from your tax bill for years to come. If you expect to move within a few years, paying it off is a large amount of cash spent on a benefit the next owner receives, and the market does not always give you that money back in the sale price. There is also the qualifying question: cash spent on a payoff at closing is cash not available for your down payment or reserves.
The operations and maintenance portion stays either way, so a payoff reduces your assessment, it does not erase it.
Does a CDD affect whether I qualify for the loan?
Yes, and this is the part that surprises buyers late in the process. Because the CDD assessment is collected on your property tax bill, it becomes part of your escrowed monthly housing payment, and lenders count it when they measure your ratios.
Practically, that means a home in a CDD community carries a higher monthly obligation than a home at the same price without one. If we are working near the edge of your approval, the CDD is not a footnote. It is one of the numbers that determines which communities we can realistically shop, which is why I want it identified before we write, not after.
How do I find the actual CDD amount for a specific address?
This is the practical piece almost nobody explains, and it is completely doable before you write an offer.
- Ask for the current year's assessment in writing, broken into the debt portion and the operations and maintenance portion. On new construction, the builder's sales office can produce this. On a resale, the listing agent should.
- Verify it against the county tax collector's record for that parcel rather than trusting a brochure. The tax bill is the document that actually governs what you pay.
- Ask the district directly. CDDs are public bodies, they publish budgets and assessment schedules, and they will tell you the term remaining on the debt portion.
- Ask specifically whether the debt has already been paid off on that lot, and whether the assessment is scheduled to change in the coming year.
- Have your lender include the confirmed figure in your payment estimate before you go under contract.
I do not publish CDD dollar ranges, because the amount is specific to the district, the phase, and often the individual lot. A range you find online is not your number. I will pull the real one for the address you are considering.
What if I am buying a resale, not a new build?
You inherit whatever remains. A CDD assessment attaches to the property, not to the person who signed for it, so if the previous owner did not pay off the debt portion, the remaining term comes to you with the keys.
That is not a reason to avoid a resale in a CDD community. It is a reason to confirm exactly where that lot sits on the schedule, because a district with only a few years left on the bonds is a very different long-term cost than one that just started.
Which communities around here have a CDD?
Most of the master-planned new construction in this corridor. Around Minneola and Clermont that includes Hills of Minneola, Waterbrooke, and Hartwood Landing. Out in Horizon West and the west Orange corridor it includes Waterleigh, Hamlin, Lakeside, and Watermark, and over in the east Orange and Osceola direction, Sunbridge.
That is not an exhaustive list and district structures differ between communities and even between phases, so treat it as a reason to ask rather than as a lookup table. If you tell me which community you are looking at, I will tell you what the assessment situation is there.
CDD questions I hear at model homes
Tell me the community and I will get you the real assessment
Book a 15-minute call or send me the address you are considering. I will pull the current CDD assessment, split it into the debt and maintenance portions, tell you how many years remain, and make sure your lender is using the right number before you write an offer.