Community Development District Fee Calculator
A CDD is neither an HOA nor part of the asking price. It arrives on the tax bill.
What This Calculator Does
A CDD assessment is separated into its two components — the debt portion repaying the bonds that funded the community's roads, drainage, and utilities, and the operations and maintenance portion that keeps them running — with the combined annual and monthly cost shown, along with what changes once the bond is retired.
Who Is This For
Suited to buyers looking at newer master-planned communities across South Florida, owners comparing two similar homes where only one carries a district assessment, and anyone whose lender's payment estimate returned higher than the listing implied.
How It Works
Enter the annual debt assessment and the operations and maintenance assessment from the property's tax record, together with any HOA dues. The calculator returns the total monthly housing cost and identifies the portion that ends when the bond matures.
Frequently Asked Questions
What is a Community Development District?
It is a special-purpose local government created to finance and maintain the infrastructure of a new community — roads, water and sewer lines, drainage, and common amenities. It issues bonds to build them and assesses the property owners inside the district to repay those bonds.
Where does it differ from an HOA?
An HOA is a private association funded by dues billed directly to you, and it enforces community rules. A CDD is a unit of local government, its assessment is collected on your county property tax bill, and it is not optional. Many communities carry both, and the two charges are entirely separate.
Will the charge ever stop?
The debt portion will, once the bonds that funded the infrastructure are repaid. The operations and maintenance portion continues for as long as there is infrastructure to maintain. Ask for the district's remaining bond term before assuming the charge is permanent — or that it is about to disappear.
Can the bond be paid off early?
Many districts allow an owner to pay off their share of the bond in a lump sum, removing the debt portion from future bills. Whether that is worthwhile depends on how long you plan to own and on how the payoff compares with the remaining assessments. The district office holds the figures.
How common are CDDs around Miami?
They appear far more often in newer master-planned developments across South Florida than in the core Miami condo market, where an association handles the same functions privately. If you are shopping new construction or the western suburbs, expect to meet them.
How do I check whether a property has one?
The county tax bill shows it as a separate non-ad valorem line, and Florida sellers are required to disclose district assessments to buyers. Read the actual tax bill rather than the listing — a CDD can add a meaningful amount to your monthly housing cost, and it is easy to overlook until closing.