Golf Course & Waterfront Living: Live, Play, Relax
by
Robert Flournoy
With
today’s planned lifestyle communities, golf and boating enthusiasts
have an opportunity to purchase the home of their dreams just a chip
shot away from the green or stone’s throw from the marina. In addition
to an ideal home setting, golf and waterfront community residents enjoy
an active and diversified lifestyle experience complete with
first-class golf courses, marinas, beaches, spas, clubhouses,
recreation areas, fine dining and countless other amenities.
Out of
the 10,000 master planned communities across the United States, over
2,500 are built around golf courses and pristine waterfront property.
Making sense of all the options can be mind boggling. If you are
thinking about relocating to one of these golf and waterfront
communities, it is imperative to be able to distinguish one community
from the next and more importantly, know what to look for before you
buy.
Community
Types In the past, golf and waterfront master planned communities
catered to distinct segments of the housing market, namely middle to
upper income empty nesters and retirees. Things have changed. Today,
golf course and waterfront developments are designed to accommodate
budgets of all levels and generally fall into one of two categories:
multi-generational and age restricted.
The
construction of multi-generational communities represents a recent
trend in planned community home building. The underlying idea is to
attract a diverse population of families including retirees and young
professionals of varying income levels and backgrounds in order to
establish a robust and vibrant community. After decades of building age
restricted communities, builders and developers have recognized that
the traditional elements of planned community living such as security,
on-site amenities and low maintenance housing appeal to home buyers of
all ages.
Most new
communities are multi-generational developments. Vistancia situated in
the beautiful Sonoran desert outside of Peoria, Arizona is a recently
opened golf community attracting individuals and families of all ages.
Since home sales began in March 2004, almost 500 families have moved
into this scenic development with 1,700 total acres of open space and a
900-acre mountain preserve.
Conversely,
age restricted planned communities are developed for the +55 home owner
with amenities and facilities for today’s discerning empty nester and
retiree. Typically, the age restriction requires one household resident
to be at least 55 in order to qualify for home ownership. Over the last
decade, an evolution has occurred with the age restricted community
model of yesteryear making way for contemporary activity based
developments complete with lavish amenities and world-class recreation
areas, not to mention the conventional facilities required by the +55
demographic.
The
undisputed leader in age restricted master planned community
development is Del Webb. Since the 1960s, Del Webb has constructed
numerous age restricted golf and waterfront communities across the
United States. Del Webb’s Sun City developments are arguably the most
recognizable line of age restricted communities stretching from coast
to coast with Sun City Hilton Head in North Carolina and Sun City
Lincoln Hill in California.
Location
The most important criterion in selecting a traditional home is
location and the same is true when deciding on a golf and waterfront
community. The old adage "location, location, location" aside, one has
to consider whether the new property will serve as a primary residence,
second home getaway or retirement abode. The final location decision is
generally based on three primary factors: home use, surrounding area
and local weather.
For most
of us working folk, our primary residence is located within an hour or
so of a major metropolitan center. Don’t fret, there are hundreds of
golf and waterfront communities centrally located within driving
distance from most major metropolitan areas. If by chance you live near
Dallas, you have several options to choose from including Stonebridge
Ranch in north Dallas and Black Horse Ranch which is only 25 minutes
from downtown. Washington D.C. commuters are also in luck with
conveniently located golf and waterfront communities in Virginia,
Maryland and Delaware. Belmont Country Club, a Toll Brothers property,
is a mere 40 minutes from Washington D.C. in Ashburn, Virginia. These
examples represent only a fraction of the actual number of suburban
golf and waterfront developments.
The
location decision is a bit more complicated and not as clear cut when
one considers purchasing a second home retreat or retirement residence.
In this situation, other factors come in to play such as the activity
and cultural richness of the immediate area and of course, local
weather. If you are looking for a second home, would you like to be
nestled in the woods away from the hustle and bustle of the city,
located in a more suburban area or some in between?
Climate
is also an integral factor to take into consideration when purchasing a
home particularly if you are feeling abused by recent harsh winters.
This may clearly point to a direction that takes you out of your home
state or even to another part of the country. Conversely, the summer’s
never ending heat may drive you to consider the cooler climates up
north. Fortunately, there are 2,500 golf and waterfront communities
spread out across the United States from Minnesota to Texas and
California to Massachusetts.
What is
clear in the case of retirement homes is that good local health care
and transportation facilities are a must. For most retirees, living
over 60 miles away from the closest hospital or airport is just not an
option. In the end, it comes down to striking a balance between modern
necessities and the beauty of the great outdoors.
Amenities
Once you have settled on a geographic location, the next area to focus
on is amenities. These can vary greatly from one golf and waterfront
development to the next. Typically, these expanded ‘goodies’ fall into
two categories: conveniences and lifestyle enhancements. Conveniences
include such things as security services, home maintenance, gardening
services, concierge service, on-site retail and office space, cable
television and high-speed internet.
Lifestyle
enhancements relate to recreation activities and rest and relaxation
befitting an enhanced life of leisure. One can find a mix of facilities
at planned communities which support numerous activities like tennis,
hunting, boating, skiing, and hiking. To balance the rigors of
recreation, planned communities provide residents with rest and
relaxation amenities such as spas, clubhouses, wilderness preserves,
pools, beaches and fine dining.
With
real estate opportunities for every budget, isn’t it about time you
looked into moving to a golf and waterfront community that offers
unbelievable vistas, year round activities, low maintenance living and
first-class amenities?
For
additional information on golf and waterfront vacation and retirement
homes visit http://www.golfhomeconnect.com
Robert
Flournoy is an internet marketing consultant to the master planned
community industry. In addition, he is the founder of
http://www.GolfHomeConnect.com
Robert
Flournoy may be contacted at http://www.golfhomeconnect.com or rflournoy@golfhomeconnect.com
