Sun City Lincoln Hills vs. Trilogy Bickford: 55+ Cost Comparison

Sun City Lincoln Hills vs. Trilogy Bickford: 55+ Cost Comparison

Which costs less to own, Sun City Lincoln Hills or Trilogy at Bickford Ranch?
For most 55+ buyers in Lincoln, Sun City Lincoln Hills is the lower monthly cost once you add everything up — mainly because many resale homes there have little or no Mello-Roos left, and golf is built into the HOA. Trilogy Bickford gives you a brand-new home, a builder warranty, and owned solar, but a fresh 20-plus-year Mello-Roos bond, a higher fire-zone insurance premium, and pay-as-you-go golf can add roughly $400 to $600 a month over a comparable Sun City home. The right answer depends on whether you value a turnkey resale with lower carrying costs or a new build you'll own from day one.

By Rich & Kat Farless | August 4, 2026

If you're 55 or older and thinking about downsizing in Lincoln, you've probably narrowed it down to the same two names everyone else does: Sun City Lincoln Hills, the established Del Webb community off Del Webb Boulevard, and Trilogy at Bickford Ranch, the newer Shea Homes community up in the foothills.

Both are age-qualified. Both promise resort-style living. And both get pitched to you the same way — "low-maintenance, active-adult, come tour the lodge."

Here's what nobody puts on the brochure: the sticker price is the least important number in this decision. Two homes that both list around $700,000 can cost hundreds of dollars a month apart to actually own, once you factor in Mello-Roos, HOA dues, golf, insurance, and property taxes. We walk downsizers through this comparison constantly, so let's put the real numbers side by side.
The sticker price is the smaller half of the story
Start with what you'd expect to pay for the home itself.

Sun City Lincoln Hills is a resale market of roughly 6,800 homes built between the late 1990s and 2010. The median sale price sits around $645,000, with an average closer to $695,000 and a range from the high $300,000s up past $900,000 depending on floor plan, lot, and updates.
Trilogy Bickford is brand-new construction of about 635 homes. Base prices start near $490,000, but the average sale lands around $890,000 — because base price and the home you actually want are rarely the same number.

That last point matters. With new construction, the model home you fall in love with is loaded with upgrades. It's common to add $75,000 to $150,000 in options, lot premiums, and design-center selections on top of base. With a resale in Sun City, the previous owner already paid for the upgrades — you're buying them at market value, not builder markup.

So on the home alone, a comparable single-story of similar size often lands in a similar range at both communities. The gap opens up in the monthly costs.
Mello-Roos is the single biggest swing factor
This is the number that decides most of these comparisons, and it's the one buyers overlook most.

Mello-Roos is a special tax that funds infrastructure — roads, sewers, parks, and public services — in newer California developments. It's layered on top of your regular property tax. If you want the full breakdown of how it works and how to look it up, we cover it in our guide to Mello-Roos for new-home buyers.

Here's how it plays out between these two communities:

Trilogy Bickford sits inside a brand-new master plan, so it carries a fresh Mello-Roos bond — often $200 to $500 or more per month. Between base property tax and Mello-Roos, the effective tax rate runs close to 1.8% of the home's value per year. On a $700,000 home, that's the difference between an $8,000 tax bill and a $12,000-plus one.
Sun City Lincoln Hills was built out years ago. Many of its original bonds are maturing in the 2030s or already paid off, so a large share of resale homes there carry little or no Mello-Roos. You have to verify it property by property — but the ceiling is far lower.

That single line item can be a $2,400 to $6,000 per year difference between two otherwise similar homes. Always pull the actual property tax bill on any specific address and look for the "CFD" or special-assessment lines before you write an offer.
HOA dues, golf, and what you actually get for them
Both communities charge HOA dues, but they cover very different things.

Sun City Lincoln Hills dues run about $185 to $190 a month for a standard single-family home. That covers two 18-hole championship golf courses (the Hills and the Orchard), the 68,000-square-foot Orchard Creek Lodge, a second lodge at Kilaga Springs, indoor and outdoor pools, a fitness center, and 27 miles of trails. If you golf, that's the headline: course access is baked into your dues. The attached "Villas" carry higher dues — around $575 a month — because they include exterior and landscape maintenance.

Trilogy Bickford dues are estimated around $265 a month, covering The Ridge resort club, a pool, a fitness center, pickleball, bocce, a café, and trails. It's a polished, modern amenity package — but golf is not included. There are several courses nearby in Lincoln and Rocklin, but you'd pay to play or hold a separate membership.

So if golf is central to your retirement, Sun City's dues quietly deliver thousands of dollars a year in value that Trilogy's don't. If you don't golf, you may prefer paying for a leaner amenity set.
The costs that don't show up on the listing
A few more factors tilt the monthly math, and they're easy to miss on a tour.

Wildfire insurance. Bickford Ranch sits in the foothills within a designated High Fire Severity Zone. That typically means a higher homeowners premium than a comparable home on the valley floor at Sun City — sometimes meaningfully higher. Get a real insurance quote on any foothill home before you're in contract, not after.

Your upfront cash. New construction usually requires a larger deposit — often 10% to 20% of the purchase price held during the build — versus roughly 3% in earnest money on a resale. That's a real cash-flow difference during the months your Trilogy home is being built.

New versus resale trade-offs. A new Trilogy home comes with a builder warranty (often a 10-year structural warranty), current energy-efficiency standards, and frequently owned solar — so lower utility bills and fewer near-term repairs. A Sun City resale is move-in-ready today and already landscaped, but you may face an aging roof, HVAC, or water heater within a few years. We break this same new-versus-resale math down in detail in our post on what your monthly payment actually looks like on new construction versus resale.
Putting it together: two $700K homes, side by side
Say you're comparing a $700,000 single-story in each community. Here's roughly how the monthly carrying costs stack up before the mortgage — using typical figures you'd still want to verify per property:

Sun City Lincoln Hills (resale, little or no Mello-Roos):

HOA: ~$188
Property tax at ~1.1%: ~$640
Mello-Roos: often $0
Insurance (valley floor): ~$150
Golf: included
Rough monthly carrying cost: ~$980

Trilogy Bickford (new construction):

HOA: ~$265
Property tax at ~1.1% base: ~$640
Mello-Roos: ~$300
Insurance (fire zone): ~$250
Golf: not included
Rough monthly carrying cost: ~$1,455

That's roughly a $475-a-month gap — about $5,700 a year — driven almost entirely by Mello-Roos, insurance, and golf access, not by the home price. Over ten years, that's real money.

None of this makes Trilogy the wrong choice. A newer home, a warranty, solar, and a fresh community have genuine value, and some buyers happily pay for them. The point is to decide with the full number in front of you, not the base price on a sign.

One more piece if you already own a home in California and you're 55 or older: Proposition 19 may let you carry your current, lower property-tax base to your new Lincoln home instead of getting reassessed at the purchase price. That can save thousands a year and sometimes reshapes which community pencils out. We explain who qualifies and how it works in our guide to the Prop 19 base transfer for homeowners 55 and older.
Frequently Asked Questions
Does Sun City Lincoln Hills have Mello-Roos?

Some homes do and many don't. The community was built out years ago, so a large share of the original Mello-Roos bonds are maturing in the 2030s or already paid off. You have to check the specific property's tax bill for a "CFD" or special-assessment line, because it varies address by address.

How much are HOA dues at Trilogy Bickford versus Sun City Lincoln Hills?

Trilogy Bickford dues are estimated around $265 a month and cover The Ridge resort club, pool, fitness, and pickleball, but not golf. Sun City Lincoln Hills dues run about $185 to $190 a month for a single-family home and include access to two 18-hole golf courses and two lodges. Attached Villas in Sun City run higher, around $575 a month.

Is a new home at Trilogy Bickford a better value than a resale in Sun City?

It depends on what you weigh most. Trilogy gives you a warranty, current energy efficiency, and often owned solar, while a Sun City resale typically has lower monthly carrying costs — less Mello-Roos, lower fire-zone insurance, and golf included in dues. The best value is the one that matches your budget and lifestyle, which is exactly the comparison we run for clients.

Do I have to be 55 to buy in either community?

Both are age-qualified active-adult communities, meaning at least one resident must generally meet the minimum age requirement, with limits on younger household members. The exact rules are set by each community's governing documents, so confirm the specifics for the community and floor plan you're considering.

What's the best way to compare the true monthly cost of a specific home?

Pull the actual property tax bill and HOA disclosure for the exact address, get a real insurance quote, and add those to your estimated mortgage. For a fuller picture of what it takes to buy in this market, see our breakdown of what it costs to buy a home in Lincoln, CA.
Ready to run your numbers?
The choice between Sun City Lincoln Hills and Trilogy Bickford isn't really about which community is "better" — it's about which one fits your budget, your lifestyle, and your long-term costs once every line item is on the table. That gap can be hundreds of dollars a month, and it's invisible on the listing.

With over 30 years of combined experience helping Lincoln downsizers make exactly this decision, Rich & Kat can pull the real tax bills, HOA disclosures, and insurance estimates on any home you're considering and show you the true monthly cost side by side. If you're ready to talk through your situation — whether you're buying, selling, or timing both — Rich & Kat are here to help. Schedule a free consultation at richandkatsoldthat.com/talktous.

About Rich & Kat Farless Rich and Kat Farless are a husband-and-wife real estate team with over 30 years of combined experience serving buyers and sellers across the Sacramento region. As the #1 husband-and-wife team in Roseville, CA, they specialize in single family, new construction, and luxury properties across Placer, Sacramento, and El Dorado counties. Connect with them at richandkatsoldthat.com.