For anyone who has followed my writings over the years, you would know I have been and always will be the biggest cheerleader for the RCSC board of directors in 98 and 99 who had the intestinal fortitude to create the Preservation and Improvement Fee (PIF). It was a stroke of genius. It insured Sun City would stay current and relevant even as amenities aged and wore out. It started at $750 and increased over the years three of four times to its current $3000. During its passage and during the hikes, the naysayers (often realtors) would lament they would never be able to sell a home in Sun City again. Odd, because it was just the opposite outcome. Any realtor worth their salt showing potential buyers the remodeled and rebuilt amenities with the PIF, quickly come to see the value in the one time buy-in (unless you own multiple Sun City properties). I've written this more times than I can count, but it is staggering: The PIF in it's 20 year existence will generate nearly 100 million dollars of revenue. If we look at it from 2010 through 2030 it will be closer to $120 million dollars, simply because all those years are at the $3000 rate. Too often when we deal with amounts of money like this we tend to get lost in the volume and fail to comprehend how much it really is. Let's break it down; we have averaged well over 2000 home sales a year for several years now. Between 6 and 7 homes sell per day in the community and that's 7 days per week. I know it's hard to believe but do the math; when you generate between 6 and 7 million dollars in the PIF, that's the number of homes it takes to generate that much money. Some might argue this spike in sales is in fact nothing but a bubble, but after how many years does it become the norm? To take it to the next step, think about a $500 per year increase. On just 2000 homes, that is another million dollars a year added to the PIF. And there-in is my question as to why the bump to $3500? Seems to me the dollars already coming in have been more than adequate to cover both our needs and our wants. We know in the long run we have adequate dollars to do just about anything, if we are lacking anywhere it is in having a true "long range plan." as pointed out in other threads. We have more of a floating target than an actual long term agenda with a truly dedicated budget (i'm talking about the next 10 to 20 years). It's interesting to note, and while I hate the argument, isn't the raise similar to the question cities/states are dealing with now? How much should the minimum wage be? In San Francisco and Seattle they either have or are debating something in the $15 per hour range. While I understand why it looks attractive, logically does it make sense, does it work? And if it does, why not $5000 or $10,000 for the PIF point of sale rate? The PIF should not be played with as a bauble. If we need the money, by all means raise it. But if it is just for the pure folly of it, just because we can...well you know how I feel about that.
I keep watching the Board/Exchange agenda to see if the PIF topic appears. Nothing yet. There has to be an undisclosed project(s) that the Board wants to be funded if the increase is warranted. Another issue in raising the PIF to a possible $3500-4000 is that it can be less noticeable in a $150,000+ property than someone selling a small residence/condo at a price of $45,000+. I realize it's the buyer that benefits from the future use of the funds but it often falls to the seller to bargain downwards to accommodate on the price.
From the viewpoint of someone wanting to buy in the next few years... $3,000 doesn't bother me in the least, seems like a good investment. $3,500 would not make me hesitate, but would make me wonder why the increase. $4,000 would not make me not buy, but I probably would not feel as good about the investment unless there was a good justification as to why I had to pay so much. But that is just me, I like Sun City. For our friend who is on the fence, an increase would likely chase her away. So IMHO I think for those that understand the true value of Sun City an increase would not be too big of a deal. For those that see Sun City as one possible place to live in retirement an increase would give them reason to look somewhere else.
West raised there's a couple of years back. I think you guys are spot on. The raise won't drive most people away, but why take it if we don't need it?
