Is a CDARS a Tree?

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You can probably guess the answer is "no."  😅

But it's been touted around here lately as some sort of magical revenue source that someone found. 

 I'm sorry to disappoint, but Villages has been doing this for years.  

CDARS is an acronym for "Certificate Of Deposit Account Registry Service."  It is a program offered by a company called IntraFi which allows entities to purchase certificates of deposit when the amount would exceed one bank's FDIC insurance limit of $250,000.

Villages North used to utilize the same service under another acronym ICS ("Insured Cash Sweep").  The main difference between CDARS and ICS lies in the availability of funds.  CD's in the U.S. require a time commitment, where ICS deposits do not.  They pay roughly the same amount, and they both appeared on Villages North's balance sheet when I was the Treasurer of the board (we haven't had a Treasurer for over 2 years now).

 

So the concept of "bank deposit alternatives" has been around a long time.  I even championed ways to gain even more return on our reserve through the purchase of U.S. Treasury Bills.  I have attached a memo I wrote to the Board about this long ago.  Don't worry, it's public information.  

Talk about the financial skills that Sara and I can bring to the table.

In some months, we earned a substantial premium on our reserve funds, sometimes over 5%!  

 Yes, some of this financial information feels obscure.

So who do you want minding the store?  

With an unknown timing or amount of a legal settlement, the board embarked on a $2.6 million roofing project that will take the HOA's reserve below $1 million.  I know that sounds like a lot, but divide that amount by 456 front doors.

And yet the current HOA president pushed to spend over $100,000 to turn a tennis court into some vague "gathering space?"  Don't we already have pools, BBQ grills, and gazebos which have accommodated public gatherings for years?  

Never mind their push to spend another $150,000 on new pool furniture.  Don't get me wrong, I'd love to do it.  But we have never saved for it, and it will take away from major projects coming in the next 5 years.  Not to mention that many projects that have remained incomplete for years.

Neither Sara nor I are rubes, as portrayed by the current HOA president.  We are not scared by large numbers, and we know how money functions.  After all, the money of the HOA comes from you, the individual owners.