Pros and Cons of living in Sun City Georgetown (Cedar Park: real estate, 2014)

[PittsburghAustin]

I lived in Sun City for 4 months while my house was being finished in Georgetown. Electric is supplied by the city as in the rest of Georgetown. Don't see this as a big factor because when I lived in Austin, it was the same way. Austin packed every kind of fee you could think of on the bill.
HEB has a monopoly on just about every area. When I lived in Leander, only one store HEB. Does the closest HEB get crowded, you bet, but I had the same thing in Leander.

[JPS1]

Originally Posted by PittsburghAustin

I lived in Sun City for 4 months while my house was being finished in Georgetown. Electric is supplied by the city as in the rest of Georgetown. Don't see this as a big factor because when I lived in Austin, it was the same way. Austin packed every kind of fee you could think of on the bill.
HEB has a monopoly on just about every area. When I lived in Leander, only one store HEB. Does the closest HEB get crowded, you bet, but I had the same thing in Leander.

People who live in Sun City Texas know that they don't have choice when it comes to electric energy. I suspect most of them know that HEB is the only full service grocery store in Georgetown or any of the nearby communities.

The message is for people who are considering moving to Sun City or Georgetown. Make sure you know what you are getting into. Check out the HOA! Make sure that you can live with its burdensome restrictions. Be sure that you will be satisfied with just one full service grocery store.

This is my first experience with an HOA community that is controlled by the developer. Or where there is only one full service grocery store. Or where the city owned electric utility refused to open the community to the competitive Texas electric energy market. Never again!

[JPS1]

Sun City Texas homeowners pay property taxes. They are levied by the city, county, and school district. Nothing unusual about this.

School taxes are the largest single component of my property tax bill, which is similar for all Sun City residents. They make up 75 per cent of the take.

In Texas a local taxing authority (city, school district, county, etc.) can raise property taxes annually. But the amount of the increase is constrained by law.

Property owners can deduct their property taxes on Schedule A of their federal income tax return if they itemize. If they use the standard deduction, it has an implied component for property taxes embedded in it.

The HOA Board of Directors can raise the HOA dues whenever it likes. To whatever level it believes is necessary! There are no constraints on how high the HOA dues in Sun City could go Moreover, although they behave much like property taxes, i.e. only property owners pay HOA dues in Sun City, they are not deductible for income tax purposes.

So a resident of Sun City gets a fourth party that can levy a charge that behaves like a tax on their property. And they have little say in the matter.

[ScoPro]

Who puts people on the HOA Board?

[austin-steve]

Originally Posted by JPS1

...
...
The HOA Board of Directors can raise the HOA dues whenever it likes. To whatever level it believes is necessary! There are no constraints on how high the HOA dues in Sun City could go Moreover, although they behave much like property taxes, i.e. only property owners pay HOA dues in Sun City, they are not deductible for income tax purposes.

So a resident of Sun City gets a fourth party that can levy a charge that behaves like a tax on their property. And they have little say in the matter.

The HOA fees in Sun City are $1,090/yr. The question is if that's a good value for what you get. Most people would agree that it's an excellent value. The community amenities and activities are numerous and the 5,000 neighborhood is impeccably clean and beautiful. All of the HOA assets are 100% owned, so the dues pays for maintenance, improvements and upkeep.

I never quite understood the full value of Sun City as a lifestyle until I spent some time there recently. I was just up there again Saturday. The appeal is obvious, even for non-golfers, though it's fair to say the lifestyle is not for everyone. But for those who want a good menu of lifestyle activities and social interaction baked into their home ownership, it's a no brainer.
Steve

[JPS1]

Originally Posted by ScoPro

Who puts people on the HOA Board?

The board consists of four members elected by qualifying residents and three members appointed by the developer.

The resident board members have 1/2 vote; the developer's members have a full vote. If there is a conflict between the interests of the residents and the interests of the developer, the developer always wins.

Relatively few resident members run for election to the board. On several occasions the elections have not been contested, i.e. only one candidate has stood for election to an open board position. On at least one occasion, a resident was drafted to run for an open board position.

Most of the residents are not interested in serving on the board or one of its committees for a variety of reasons. At the head of the list is apathy. Another factor is the recognition on the part of people familiar with effective corporate governance that serving on the board where their best thinking can be arbitrarily overruled by the developer is not a happy situation.

Most if not all of the resident board members have been golfers. The developer promotes Sun City Texas as a golf community. The interests of the golfers, who make up approximately 30 per cent of the residents, prevail over the interests of the non-golfers whenever they are in conflict.

[ScoPro]

That's precisely why my brother chose to build in Woodland Park 14 years ago.

[riaelise]

are there any other established, nice 55 and up communities out there, preferably north? my mother is looking to relocate and she highly prefers age restriction.

[Trainwreck20]

Originally Posted by riaelise

are there any other established, nice 55 and up communities out there, preferably north? my mother is looking to relocate and she highly prefers age restriction.

My mom lives in a smaller one in Fredericksburg that does NOT have golf and she really likes it; however, you get a bunch of retired (or near retired) people together and there is going to be some politicking going on....

[10scoachrick]

Originally Posted by riaelise

are there any other established, nice 55 and up communities out there, preferably north? my mother is looking to relocate and she highly prefers age restriction.

Not established...yet...something is east of the RR Outlet Mall off 1431. Supposed to have a fantastic social director. Actually, our neighbor is an on-site agent for them; but I don't know the particulars.