Buyer guide · Monthly cost

CDD fees explained,
and how to verify them.

A Community Development District assessment can add $100 to $300 or more a month to a Central Florida new build. It is not part of your HOA, it is not optional, and the number quoted at a sales center is not the number you should rely on.

Reviewed & updated September 2026Anthony Cruz, PA · BK3284470

The answer first

—A CDD repays the bonds that funded the community's roads, drainage, utilities and amenities. It is collected annually on the county tax bill, not by the HOA.

—In Central Florida the assessment commonly runs $100 to $300 or more per month, and Horizon West community sources cite ranges of roughly $2,000 to $5,000 a year.

—Two communities at the same purchase price can carry very different payments. Parkview at Hamlin and Silverleaf Oaks report no CDD; Waterleigh and Hills of Minneola carry one.

—Verify on the county property record for the exact parcel — never on the sales sheet, and never on the model home's assessment.

What you are actually paying for

When a developer builds a new community, someone has to pay for the roads, stormwater systems, water and sewer lines, entry features and amenity centers before a single home closes. A Community Development District is a special-purpose unit of local government that issues bonds to fund that work, then repays them through an assessment on the homes inside the district.

That assessment usually has two parts: a debt portion that retires the bonds over a fixed term, and an operations and maintenance portion that funds ongoing upkeep. The debt portion has an end date. The operations portion does not.

How to verify the real number

Pull the parcel on the county property appraiser and tax collector records — Orange, Lake or Osceola depending on the community — and read the non-ad valorem assessment lines on the current tax bill for that specific homesite. Assessments vary by lot size and by phase within the same community, so a neighbor's figure is a clue, not an answer.

Ask two additional questions the sales center will not volunteer: how many years remain on the debt portion, and whether the district has issued or is contemplating additional bonds for future phases. A district in the early years of a thirty-year schedule is a different financial object from one nearing payoff.

The no-CDD arbitrage

Because CDD assessments are invisible in the listing price, buyers routinely compare communities that are not comparable. As of September 2026, Silverleaf Oaks and Parkview at Hamlin are marketed as Horizon West communities without CDD, while Waterleigh and Hills of Minneola carry assessments.

Run it as a payment, not a price. Several hundred dollars a month of assessment is the equivalent of tens of thousands of dollars of purchase price at prevailing rates — which means a slightly more expensive home in a no-CDD community can be the cheaper home to own. That comparison is the single most useful piece of math in this market.

The registration trap

Text me the community before you visit or register — most builders only honor free buyer representation if your agent is registered on your first visit.

Whatever the assessment turns out to be, you want someone verifying it who is not paid by the seller. That requires being registered as your representation before your first visit.

Questions buyers ask

Is a CDD the same as an HOA fee?

No. HOA dues are set by a private association budget and billed by the association. A CDD assessment is levied by a special-purpose local government and collected on your county property tax bill. Many Central Florida communities have both, and they fund different things.

Does the CDD ever go away?

The debt portion ends when the bonds are retired, which is typically a multi-decade schedule. The operations and maintenance portion continues as long as the district maintains the infrastructure. Ask specifically which portion of the quoted figure is debt and which is operations.

Can I pay off my CDD early?

Many districts allow a lump-sum payoff of the debt portion for an individual parcel. Whether it makes financial sense depends on your holding period, the payoff amount and what you would otherwise do with the money — and whether a future buyer will pay you for it, which is not guaranteed. This is a question for your CPA, not a marketing brochure.

Where do I find the number myself?

The county property appraiser's parcel record and the tax collector's current bill for that parcel. In Orange, Lake and Osceola counties these are public and searchable by address. If the home is not yet built, the district's own assessment schedule and the platted lot type give you the expected figure.