Glossary of New-Home Terms | Orlando New Communities

Kinds of community

Master-planned community: A large community built to one overall plan by a single developer, usually over many years. It holds several neighborhoods, often by different builders, and shared amenities such as parks, trails, pools and sometimes schools and shops.
Neighborhood: On this site, a smaller community built as a single subdivision, often by one or two builders, with fewer amenities of its own than a master-planned community.
Active adult (55+): A community where homes are reserved for older buyers. Under federal fair housing rules, at least 80 percent of occupied homes must have at least one resident aged 55 or older.³ Each community’s rules set the rest, such as whether younger relatives can live there.
Gated community: A community whose entrances have a gate, opened by a guard, a code or a resident’s pass. The HOA usually runs the gate and pays for it through dues.

Kinds of home

Single-family home: A detached house on its own lot that shares no walls with neighbors.
Townhome: One of a row of attached homes, usually two stories, each sold with the land beneath it. Some HOAs cover roofs and exteriors; check what the dues include.
Villa: In Central Florida new construction, usually a single-story home attached to one or more neighbors. Builders use the word loosely, so check the floor plan.
Paired villa: Two single-story homes joined by one shared wall, each on its own lot. Living in one feels close to a small single-family home.
Condo: You own your unit outright plus a share of the building and grounds, called the common elements, which a condominium association runs.²

Fees and taxes

HOA (homeowners’ association): The association that runs a community’s common areas and enforces its rules. In Florida, membership comes with owning the home, and unpaid dues can become a lien on it.¹ Dues are monthly or quarterly and often cover amenities, and sometimes internet or lawn care.
CDD (community development district): A unit of local government that pays for a new community’s roads, utilities and often amenities, repaid through a yearly assessment on the property tax bill. Florida law says a CDD isn’t an HOA,¹ and many communities have both. What a CDD pays for and what to ask.
Special district (SSD): A district that works like a CDD but was set up differently, for example by its own act of the Florida Legislature. Sunbridge is in the Sunbridge Stewardship District. More on how these districts work.
Millage: The property tax rate. One mill is one-thousandth of a dollar,⁴ so each mill costs $1 for every $1,000 of the home’s taxable value. Builders often quote the total millage for a community.
Flood zone: An area on FEMA’s flood maps. Zones starting with A or V are high-risk, and if you have a federally backed mortgage on a home there you must buy flood insurance. Zone X is moderate or minimal risk, though about 1 in 3 flood insurance claims come from low- and moderate-risk zones.⁸ How to check a home’s flood zone.
Escrow: An account your mortgage lender keeps to pay your property taxes and insurance. Part of each monthly payment goes in, and the lender pays the bills when they’re due, including a CDD assessment on the tax bill.

Prices and buying

Base price: A builder’s starting price for a floor plan, before the lot premium, options and upgrades. The prices on this site are base prices.
Lot premium: An extra charge for a particular homesite, such as one facing water or a preserve, on a corner, or larger than standard.
Incentives: Builder offers such as help with closing costs, a lower mortgage rate or a price cut. They change often and are frequently tied to using the builder’s own lender.
Developer: The company that buys the land, plans the community, puts in roads and amenities and sells lots to builders. In a few communities the developer also builds the homes.
Builder: The company that builds and sells the homes. A master-planned community often has several.
Homesite: A builder’s word for a lot.
Model home: A finished, furnished home a builder keeps to show a floor plan. On this site, a “Model home” tag means the builder has a model of that plan to tour in the community.
Move-in ready (quick move-in): A home the builder has already started or finished, so you can close sooner. You get fewer choices of finishes and options.
Builder registration: On your first visit to a sales center, the builder records whether an agent represents you. Many builders pay the buyer’s agent only if the agent registered you before that first visit, so contact your agent before you tour.
MLS (multiple listing service): The local database real estate agents use to list homes for sale and record sales. Much of the resale price and fee data on this site comes from MLS listings.
Resale: A home sold by its owner rather than by the builder. Once a community sells out, every home there is a resale.

Schools and child care

Zoned school: The public school assigned to a home by its address. Districts redraw boundaries as communities grow, so confirm the assignment for a specific address with the school district.
School grade: Florida gives each public school a grade from A to F every year, based mainly on student test results.⁵
VPK: Florida’s free Voluntary Prekindergarten program. Every child who lives in Florida and turns 4 by September 1 can attend that school year or the next.⁶
Gold Seal: Florida’s quality designation for child care providers that hold accreditation from a state-approved accrediting association.⁷

Sources

These are plain-language explanations, not legal or tax advice.