Elements runs three builders at three price tiers under one tax stack — the published $2.46 per $100 that includes the Viridian MMD, the majority of which no senior protection touches. That means the true-cost question here is really three questions, and the answer scales unkindly: the more house you buy, the more of your bill floats forever. The tier tables below make it concrete.
| Lennar tier (~$450K w/ options) | Weekley tier (~$620K) | Drees tier (~$750K) | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Tax, year one, post-exemption | ~$9,400–$10,300 | ~$13,400–$14,500 | ~$16,500–$17,800 |
| Of which frozen (school line) | ~$2,900 | ~$4,900 | ~$6,400 |
| Of which floating forever | ~$6,500–$7,400 | ~$8,500–$9,600 | ~$10,100–$11,400 |
| HOA (quoted figures vary — plan on) | ~$337/month across tiers ($4,044/yr); Weekley publishes $1,011/quarter — demand both layers itemized | ||
| Honest monthly (tax + HOA + ins.) | ~$1,450–$1,600 | ~$1,900–$2,100 | ~$2,300–$2,550 |
| 10-year carry, ordinary drift | ~$185K–$200K | ~$245K–$265K | ~$300K–$325K |
Read the frozen-versus-floating rows together and the structure is visible: the exemption stack and freeze do real work on the school line, but the school line is the minority of an Elements bill. The MMD, city, county, and JPS majority rides North Arlington appraisals every year of the ownership — which is why the decade figures here run roughly 70–80% above same-price homes at conventional addresses, and why the comparison that matters is Elements versus the Mansfield freeze island, priced over fifteen years, eyes open.
Fairness requires the credits: the 1,200-acre lake-and-trail system, the sailing center, the state-award Magnolia Lifestyle Center, twenty minutes to both downtowns — surroundings nothing else in DFW 55+ living approaches, funded partly by the very MMD the tables above complain about. The HOA’s ~$337 also buys genuine lock-and-leave landscape service. Elements is not overpriced; it is fully priced, and the buyers it suits are those for whom $5,000–$8,000 a year of surroundings is a chosen lifestyle line, not a surprise. The diligence set: both association layers itemized, the MMD’s current rate and bond schedule, and the builder-tier incentive picture, which moves quarterly. Full story: the Elements guide · Tarrant guide
Tier-specific decade tables, both HOA layers itemized, and current incentives across all three builders.