HOA alone is not the comparison. The full picture is HOA + CDD + property tax + insurance + utilities. Here's every major Sarasota 55+ community ranked by true all-in monthly carrying cost — the comparison no competitor publishes.
Buyers who compare only HOA fees across Sarasota's 55+ communities make systematically wrong decisions. A community with a $350/month HOA and a $2,500/year CDD plus Sarasota County taxes plus Florida insurance costs more than a community with a $450/month HOA and no CDD in Manatee County. The only valid comparison is the complete all-in monthly carrying cost. Here it is.
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Talk to a Specialist →All calculations assume a $475,000 purchase price for comparability — the approximate mid-market price across Sarasota's 55+ communities. Actual costs scale linearly with home value for tax and insurance; HOA and CDD are fixed regardless of purchase price. Calculations use:
Property tax: effective rate by county after $50,000 Homestead Exemption. Homeowners insurance: CBS construction, Zone X flood, mid-range coverage. CDD: mid-range estimate by community. HOA: mid-range published rate. Electricity: average 1,900 sq ft home. Verify all figures for any specific property — this is a planning comparison, not a quote.
| Community | County | HOA/mo | CDD/mo | Tax/mo | Insurance/mo | Electric/mo | TOTAL/mo |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Del Webb at Bayview Lowest | Manatee | $338 | $146 | $321 | $350 | $145 | $1,300 |
| Cypress Falls at The Woodlands | Charlotte | $363 | $67 | $302 | $375 | $150 | $1,257 |
| Lakeridge Falls | Sarasota | $325 | $0 | $354 | $429 | $150 | $1,258 |
| Del Webb at LWR | Manatee | $375 | $167 | $321 | $375 | $155 | $1,393 |
| Venetian Falls | Sarasota | $463 | $42 | $354 | $417 | $155 | $1,431 |
| Hammock Preserve | Sarasota | $413 | $25 | $354 | $400 | $155 | $1,347 |
| Cascades at Sarasota | Sarasota | $475 | $0 | $354 | $417 | $155 | $1,401 |
| Cresswind at LWR | Manatee | $425 | $196 | $321 | $367 | $160 | $1,469 |
| Esplanade at LWR Golf Incl. | Manatee | $1,250 | $208 | $321 | $417 | $175 | $2,371 |
All figures on $475K home. Esplanade includes on-site golf membership — see golfer comparison below. Verify all figures for any specific property. Flood zone, roof age, and construction type affect insurance significantly.
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Esplanade's $2,371/month total appears dramatically higher than all other communities — because it includes an 18-hole golf membership. For non-golfers, this is a $940+/month premium over the next most expensive community. For daily golfers, the calculation is different.
A golfer at Del Webb LWR playing 3x/week at Lakewood Ranch Golf & Country Club: ~$800/month in dues + $150/month cart fees = $950/month in golf costs on top of Del Webb's $1,393/month base = $2,343/month total. Versus Esplanade at $2,371/month with golf included. For 3x/week golfers, the communities are within $28/month of each other. The premium pays for itself through golf access.
The single most important insight from this comparison: Charlotte County's Cypress Falls and Lakeridge Falls tie for the lowest all-in cost of any gated Sarasota-area 55+ community — not because their HOA is dramatically lower, but because no CDD and lower (or no) county tax combine with modest HOA to produce the market's best total-cost efficiency. Buyers whose primary decision criterion is monthly cost efficiency should start their search at these two communities before evaluating communities with higher per-feature costs.
This comparison uses a single home value ($475K) and assumes comparable construction quality, Zone X flood zones, and average utilities across communities. Real-world differences that affect your specific number: flood zone designation (can add $2,000-6,000/year in flood insurance for AE-zone properties), roof age on resale homes (older roofs increase insurance significantly), specific CDD phase amounts, and utility rate differences between counties.
The table is designed to give you the right order-of-magnitude picture across communities and reveal the hidden cost of CDD-heavy communities versus no-CDD communities. Use it as a planning tool, verify every line item for any specific property you're seriously considering, and get insurance quotes before you're under contract.
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