Buying/selling golf course property

By Kevin Zellmer, Special to Inside Golf
Many people dream of living in a luxury golf community, especially people who love the game. However, there are many things to consider when buying a home in a golf resort community (private or public).

Many resort and private club communities offer more than just golf with a variety of social activities and amenities. You can live near a championship course within a gated community and have community activities and amenities that are for everyone in your family, like a fitness club, tennis club, golf lessons, swimming, fine or casual dining and holiday festivities.

Living in a golf community definitely has it benefits. Great manicured grounds and scenery, community involvement, sense of security living in a gated community and all the amenities within walking distance or a short golf cart drive away.

Those in the 55+ age demographic have lifestyle communities like Del Web, the Villages and Trilogy to name a few. Perhaps you are looking for that first home or second home, living in a golf community offers many real estate options.

Young families can take advantage of social activities that you would have to go outside of your regular community for. Many clubs offer these services in their social memberships with limited golf but access to swimming, tennis, fitness and many social dining activities that would be a great savings in your pocketbook each month. This sounds great but we also have to look a little deeper on some of the downsides of living near a golf course.

Many communities have large homeowners associations (HOA) with dues and assessments. Many have restrictions and renters without a cap that could be of concerns. Many have deed restrictions regulated by the HOA in order to maintain your property and comply with maintenance standards. Want to add that great playset in the back yard, better ask your community Board of Directors first.

Living next to the course can have its drawbacks too if you choose wrong. Selecting the right home site is important. You may have that occasional (okay regularly) ball flying into your yard from the fairway and the loud smacking of the balls on the tee box at 6:00am. Not so bad but some of us love to sleep in on those weekend mornings. Nether of these has to be part of your life if you select property with a reasonable location and setback. When researching golf course property you will want to take these items into consideration.

There is no question that having a house in a golf community provides a great quality of life for many people, me included.

The pros surely out weigh the cons – the sense of security, luxury, and lifestyle is pretty special. By carefully selecting the best golf community for you and your family, one that matches your lifestyle and needs, you will enjoy all the perks that living next to the golf course has to offer.

Now let’s look at the market and buyer beware. Many years ago during the downturn, golf course living really got a hard hit. From the nightmare stories of someone purchasing a lot for $200,000 and then 2 years later they are giving them away or 10 cents on the dollar.

About 40% of the courses built in the 1990s were tied to real estate communities. This shift has been cut in half and the majority of new golf courses now don’t have residential homes on them. The crash showed that the market was overbuilt and could not support all of the golf course communities and so developers backed away from building new courses. Many homeowners within golf communities were deeded the golf courses that were undervalued and in the red. So what to do but to raise assessments to cover the costs or try to sell the courses to those not willing to buy. Soon after the economy started to pick up again and many great communities were built in scale to support the lifestyle of home ownership.

So, is this a good time to buy?

Experts say 2015 will be a particular strong year for real estate nationally. U.S. Department of Commerce reported sales of new homes grew by 0.7 in late 2014 and sales of existing homes rose 1.5% making this a great time to buy in golf communities. Sales in luxury golf markets are growing as well. Long-term property values tend to be stronger in golf course communities. Re-sale in golf course homes seem to attract more buyers and on those open house weekends, many people flock to see luxury living.

With amazing private clubs and golf course communities in Washington, Oregon and Idaho, there is something special to be had in true Northwest living. Many retirement couples are choosing to look outside of the big cities like Alderbrook Golf Course near Hood Canal in Union, Wash.

Kevin Zellmer: Broker, RealtyOneGroup at 22121 17th Ave. SE Suite 109, Bothell, WA 98201. Phone 425-213-7880.E-mail: kevin.ze.mer71@gmail.com.