The Del Sur Fee That Pays for the Fall Festival Gets Settled at Closing

On November 20 through 22, families will line up at the Ranch House for Santa Photos. Friday's sessions run from 3:30 to 6:30 p.m. and the weekend sessions from 9 a.m. to noon, all organized by the Del Sur Community Services Council. Two months earlier, the same council ran the Fall Festival at The Village Green Park on Paseo Del Sur, with rides, games, a petting zoo and pumpkin decorating over the weekend of September 26 and 27.

None of this comes out of monthly HOA dues. In the council's own words, it is "funded by an enhancement fee on the sale of homes in Del Sur." Every time a Del Sur home closes escrow, part of the next season's festival gets paid for. That shapes two things anyone comparing 92127 communities should understand: how this cost reaches a buyer or seller, and why the neighborhood's social calendar depends on how often homes sell.

The Fee Is Recorded Against the Land

A Del Sur listing shows HOA dues and, where it applies, a special tax line. The enhancement fee shows up somewhere else: in the title report.

A 2015 City of San Diego Planning Commission report on a Del Sur project included a title exhibit listing the recorded documents behind the fee. It names the "Del Sur Community Enhancement Fee Agreement," recorded April 17, 2013, as Instrument No. 2013-0238545. It also lists a companion document, "Payment of Transfer Fee Required Pursuant to Section 1098.5 of the California Civil Code," executed by the Del Sur Community Services Council and SPIC Del Sur, LLC and recorded the same day as Instrument No. 2013-0238546. A related transfer-fee document followed on April 17, 2014, as Instrument No. 2014-0153445.

The title exhibit is direct about how much weight these documents carry:

"The provisions for such a fee require it to be paid upon transfer or conveyance of the land. Such imposition may include a conveyance resulting from a foreclosure of an interest in the land and any subsequent transfer... No transfer of title shall be insured until provisions have been made for payment of any applicable transfer or conveyance fee."

The title company won't issue a policy until the fee is handled. In practice it gets settled through escrow at closing, which is why owners who haven't sold a Del Sur home before may first see it on the closing statement.

A Separate Board With a Separate Wallet

The fee is easy to overlook because Del Sur effectively has two community organizations, and the HOA is the one people know. The Del Sur Community Association's July 2, 2026 newsletter has a side-by-side table that spells out the split.

The HOA newsletter calls the council "independent" from the association. In practice, a buyer reading HOA documents during escrow is reading about the parks and the mailboxes. The festivals, concerts and holiday events are paid for under a separate recorded agreement, which shows up in the title report and seller disclosures, not in the HOA budget.

What the Council's Tax Returns Show

The council is a nonprofit public benefit corporation, so its IRS Form 990 filings are public. The two most recent returns on ProPublica's Nonprofit Explorer show how much the fee brings in and where it goes.

In both years, home-sale fees were the council's largest source of income by a wide margin. In the fiscal year ending May 2025, enhancement fees were about three-quarters of total revenue, and ticket sales made up most of the rest.

The expense side of that same return shows where the money went:

• Fall Harvest Event: $332,050
• Winter Holiday Event: $105,355
• Memorial Day Event: $48,089
• Carnival: $30,760

The fall event alone cost about 71 percent of what the enhancement fee raised that year and accounted for well over half of the council's total spending of $567,574. In concrete terms, the Fall Festival that fills The Village Green Park each September is largely paid for by the homes that sold in Del Sur during the previous twelve months.

Why the Festival Budget Follows the Resale Market

A fee that's collected only when a home sells gives the council a revenue stream tied to transactions, not to the number of households. Dues come from every home every month. The enhancement fee comes only from the homes that change hands.

The two returns show what that means in practice. In the fiscal year ending May 2024, the council took in $380,443 in enhancement fees and spent $492,704 in total, so expenses ran ahead of revenue. The next year, fee income rose to $467,528, about 23 percent higher, and the council ended the year with revenue above expenses and net assets of $291,697. Ticket sales roughly doubled over the same period, which suggests the council also leaned more on paid admissions.

For someone deciding between Del Sur and nearby communities, the takeaway is specific. The size of the neighborhood's event calendar depends partly on how many homes sell in a given year. Fewer closings leave the council with less fee income to plan the next season's events. Owners who never sell still benefit from the events every year, paid for by their neighbors' closings, and they contribute once, when they sell.

That also explains why Del Sur's private, community-run events can feel larger than a typical HOA social budget would allow. They don't come out of a dues line that the HOA board has to weigh against landscaping and pool repairs. They have their own recorded funding source.

What California Requires Sellers to Disclose

California treats a fee like this as a "transfer fee," and three Civil Code sections determine what a buyer sees.

Civil Code Section 1098 defines a transfer fee as a payment requirement set out in a covenant or other recorded document that is triggered by a sale or transfer. It excludes assessments and charges that an HOA imposes under the Davis-Stirling Act. That's why the enhancement fee and the association's own resale charges are legally separate things.

Civil Code Section 1098.5 requires the party that creates a transfer fee to record a separate disclosure covering the fee's amount or calculation method, when or whether it expires, what the money is used for, and who receives payment. That is the 2013 document named in the title exhibit.

Civil Code Section 1102.6e puts the obligation on the seller. When a property subject to a transfer fee is sold, and the recorded Section 1098.5 document has not already been provided, the seller must give the buyer an additional disclosure along with the transfer disclosure statement. That disclosure has to state that payment is required, the amount or how it's calculated, who is paid, what the fee is used for, and any expiration.

This is general information, not legal, tax or financial advice. How the fee applies to a particular sale should be confirmed with your escrow officer, title company or attorney.

Where to Find the Number Before You Sign

The exact amount comes from documents tied to the specific property. Here is the order to find it in:

1. Seller's transfer fee disclosure. For a Del Sur resale, either the recorded Section 1098.5 document or a separate disclosure delivered with the transfer disclosure statement should state the amount or formula, the payee and the purpose.
2. Preliminary title report. Look for the Del Sur Community Enhancement Fee Agreement and the Section 1098.5 payment document among the recorded exceptions.
3. The recorded 1098.5 disclosure. If the title report lists it, the title company can pull the full text.
4. Estimated closing statement. Escrow will show the fee as a line item and which side of the transaction it's assigned to.
5. Del Sur Community Association resale package. This covers dues and association charges, which are separate from the council's fee and should be read separately.

Sellers who check the first two items before listing can put the fee into their net proceeds estimate from the beginning, instead of finding it when the closing statement comes back from escrow.

Frequently Asked Questions

Is the enhancement fee part of my HOA dues? No. The Del Sur Community Association is funded by monthly dues, and the Community Services Council is funded by the enhancement fee on home sales. The two have separate boards and separate websites.

Does the fee apply after a foreclosure? The title exhibit says the fee may apply to a conveyance resulting from foreclosure and to any later transfer.

Where can I see what the council spends? Its Form 990 filings are public on ProPublica's Nonprofit Explorer, and upcoming events are listed on the council's events page.

When we prepare a Del Sur listing, we pull the enhancement fee documents early so the number is already in your net sheet and in the buyer's disclosure package before the first showing. If you're thinking about selling and want to know what you'll actually take home, Tim & Angie Todd can walk through your title report with you and start with a free home valuation.