St. Johns County 55+ Communities HOA vs CDD Fees

By Brian Sacks, SRES®, Christie's International Real Estate First Coast · October 7, 2026

Key Takeaways

• HOA dues and CDD assessments are two legally separate charges, one billed by a private association, the other collected through your county property-tax bill, and a single home in a St. Johns County 55+ community can carry both.
• Florida HOAs are governed by Chapter 720, Florida Statutes, which requires associations to provide budgets and assessment information to prospective buyers.
• CDD assessments are authorized under Chapter 190, Florida Statutes and can include both a debt-service component (bond repayment) and an operations-and-maintenance component, each of which can change year to year.
• The same community brand name can span multiple phases or districts with different CDD obligations. Always verify by parcel address, not just subdivision name.
• Before making an offer, request the HOA budget, the current tax bill showing non-ad valorem assessments, and the CDD's latest adopted budget to get a true all-in monthly number.

If you are evaluating 55+ communities in St. Johns County, one of the first things I tell every buyer is this: the label on the community sign does not tell you what you will pay every month. The HOA fee on the listing sheet is rarely the whole story, and the CDD assessment often does not show up until you look at the property-tax bill. Getting those two numbers right, together, is how you avoid a very unpleasant surprise after closing.

I have spent years working with buyers across St. Johns County 55+ communities, from Del Webb and Reverie to Regency and Rivertown. The single most common mistake I see is buyers comparing communities by HOA fee alone. That is like comparing two cars by sticker price without looking at insurance, fuel, and maintenance. Let me walk you through how these charges actually work.

How do HOA fees and CDD assessments each work in Florida?

What does an HOA fee cover in a 55+ community?

An HOA fee is a recurring assessment charged by the homeowners' association to fund the shared costs of running the community. In a typical active-adult development here, that can include the clubhouse, fitness center, pool, pickleball and tennis courts, landscaping of common areas, gated-entry operations, and community management.

Florida HOAs operate under Chapter 720, Florida Statutes, which governs how associations set budgets, collect assessments, and report finances. The statute gives prospective buyers the right to request governing documents and financial records before closing, and you should absolutely use that right.

A few things to watch for:

• Base vs. all-in assessment. In master-planned communities, there is often a master-association fee plus a village or neighborhood sub-association fee. The number on the listing sheet is frequently just one of them.
• Amenity or lifestyle add-ons. Golf memberships, marina slips, lawn care, and cable or internet packages are sometimes bundled into the HOA fee and sometimes billed separately. Always ask which is which.
• Special assessments. If the reserve fund is underfunded, the association can levy a one-time or short-term special assessment on top of regular dues. Ask for the most recent reserve study.

What is a CDD fee and why does it show up on my tax bill?

A Community Development District is a unit of local government authorized under Chapter 190, Florida Statutes. Developers use CDDs to issue bonds that finance the roads, utilities, drainage, and amenity infrastructure of a new community. Homeowners repay those bonds through annual non-ad valorem assessments collected alongside their property taxes.

The CDD assessment typically has two components:

• Debt service. This is the bond repayment portion. It is generally fixed for the life of the bond (often 20 to 30 years) but can vary if the district refinances. Some owners have the option to prepay the remaining debt in a lump sum, which eliminates the debt-service portion going forward.
• Operations and maintenance (O&M). This covers the CDD's ongoing costs to maintain the infrastructure it owns. The O&M portion is re-set annually by the CDD board and can increase over time.

Because the CDD assessment is on the property-tax bill rather than a separate monthly invoice, buyers sometimes miss it entirely until their first tax notice arrives. I always pull the county tax record for any home my clients are considering. You can look up parcel-level tax detail through the St. Johns County Property Appraiser and confirm the full picture through the St. Johns County official website.

Can a home have both an HOA fee and a CDD assessment?

Yes, and in most of the larger master-planned St. Johns County 55+ communities, it does. The HOA and the CDD are legally separate entities. The HOA is a private nonprofit corporation that governs the community's rules and shared amenities. The CDD is a government entity that owns and maintains infrastructure. They operate independently, bill independently, and neither one controls the other's charges.

That is why I always say: add them up. The monthly HOA fee plus one-twelfth of the annual CDD assessment is your true recurring carrying cost, before property taxes, homeowners insurance, and any flood or wind policy.

What should I verify before making an offer on a St. Johns County 55+ home?

This is where buyers working without an agent, or walking straight into a builder's sales center, can get into trouble. The builder's representative works for the builder, not for you. That is not a criticism; it is just the structure. Having your own agent means someone is looking at the full fee picture on your behalf before you sign anything.

Here is my standard checklist for any purchase in the St. Johns County 55+ communities I work in:

1. Request the current HOA assessment amount and payment frequency. Confirm whether it is monthly, quarterly, or annual, and whether there are sub-association fees in addition to the master-association fee.
2. Get the association's declaration, bylaws, rules, and most recent adopted budget. Florida law gives you this right. The Florida DBPR regulates association financial disclosures, and you should read the budget before you close.
3. Pull the property's current tax bill. Look specifically at the non-ad valorem assessment section. That is where the CDD charge lives. The amount shown is for the current fiscal year; confirm whether it is expected to change.
4. Request the CDD's latest adopted budget and bond information. Ask whether the debt is bonded or partially prepaid, and whether prepayment is an option. The answer can meaningfully change your long-term cost comparison between communities.
5. Ask about pending or approved special assessments. Both the HOA and the CDD can levy additional charges. A special assessment that was approved before your closing date typically transfers to you as the new owner.
6. Verify by parcel address, not community name. The same community brand can span multiple phases or CDD districts. A home in Phase 1 may carry a very different CDD obligation than a home in Phase 3 with the same community name on the mailbox.

Once you are under contract, your closing agent (a title company or a real estate attorney; either is standard in Florida, and the choice is yours as the buyer) will verify association and CDD obligations through the contract and title process. That is an important safeguard, but it happens late in the transaction. I prefer to have the full picture before my clients fall in love with a home, not after.

The CFPB's mortgage tools are also worth a look if you want to understand how recurring community fees factor into your overall housing budget and what lenders consider when qualifying you.

A note on Del Webb and similar multi-phase communities

I get asked about this constantly, so it is worth saying plainly: two communities that share a brand name can have very different all-in monthly costs. I have a full breakdown of Del Webb Ponte Vedra vs. Del Webb Nocatee on my site, and the numbers tell a different story than the labels do. Similar amenities, similar feel, but the HOA structure, the CDD obligation, and the resulting monthly carrying cost are not the same. That is true across the 55+ market here, not just Del Webb.

The buyers who do the homework on total carrying costs upfront are the ones who feel good about their choice a few years later. That is what I see on the ground.

The Florida Housing Finance Corporation also offers resources for buyers evaluating total homeownership costs in Florida, which can be useful context as you work through the numbers.

At higher price points, a few hundred dollars a month in fees that you did not account for adds up to real money over the life of your ownership. Your specific all-in monthly number depends on the community, the phase, the parcel, and what the current CDD budget looks like. That is exactly the kind of detail I work through with every buyer before we make an offer.

The bottom line

The HOA fee on the listing sheet is a starting point, not the finish line. Adding up every recurring charge (HOA dues, CDD assessments, any sub-association fees, and amenity add-ons) gives you the real monthly number. That is the number that belongs in your budget. I walk every one of my clients through this exercise before we make an offer, because surprises after closing are not the kind of story either of us wants to tell.

Common questions

Keep reading

• CDD vs. HOA: what you actually pay
• Del Webb Ponte Vedra vs Del Webb Nocatee: Which One?
• 55+ Communities in St. Johns County: Find Your Fit
• All 20 NE Florida 55+ communities, compared