Toby Tobin, our favorite Florida real estate blogger, picked up our story about the suspension of spending on many of the uncompleted amenities at The Cliffs Communities.  In the article, we contrasted the attitudes of Cliffs property owners toward their developer, Jim Anthony, with those of owners in golf communities formerly developed by Bobby Ginn.  One of Toby's readers took issue with our characterization of the differences.  Below is the reader's email and Toby's emphatic (we think brilliant) rejoinder.

 

From: XXXX

Sent: Thursday, December 30, 2010

To: 'Toby Tobin'

 

        Your comment regarding Ginn in the Cliffs article is way off, Toby:  “Cliffs’ Jim Anthony is no Bobby Ginn; Cliffs properties may have lost some significant value in the last three years, but their owners still speak of Anthony in reverential terms (the opposite of how Ginn owners feel about their bankrupt developer).  They want Anthony’s vision to triumph as much as they want their investments to hold.”

        The reference to Ginn owners feeling differently about “bankrupt developer” is simply not true.  Those with negative comments are the minority and NOT the majority at all…Although the minority can be vocal at times and appear much larger.  Your article needs corrected/clarified (sic). You have NO basis for that comment other than those who got caught with their pants down and are bitter.  Further Ginn owners do of course want to see Bobby’s vision carried out, why would they (sic)….just like at Cliffs.

 

Toby Tobin’s response:

 

Dear XXXX,

 

Though the article to which you refer appeared on GoToby.com, I was not the author. Having said that, I support his portrayal of Bobby and Jim Anthony.  No correction is necessary.

 

I have said many times that Hammock Beach is the most viable of all Bobby’s developments.  Owners there have much to be pleased about, except the NOPC (Notice of Potential Change), that is. (When Bobby sold Hammock Beach and Ocean Hammock properties, did his vision include a beachside hotel?)

 

On the other hand, property owners from the Gardens, Yacht Harbor Village, Conservatory, Bella Collina, Reunion, BriarRose, Burke Mt., Quail West, Tesoro, Cobblestone Park, Ginn sur Mer, and the residents of Minturn CO do not speak about Bobby in favorable terms. I know because I have talked to hundreds of them. They weren’t caught with their pants down. Their pockets were artfully fleeced.

 

On the other hand, property owners at The Cliffs Communities are generally pleased with the job Jim Anthony is doing; enough to loan him a lot of money. I can’t imagine Bobby being able to raise $60,000,000 from his property owners.  Moreover, The Cliffs Communities are not subject to a flood of lawsuits by their property owners.  Nor are they burdened with debt.

 

Did Bobby’s vision include taking credit for building the FL Turnpike interchange at Tesoro, then sticking the property owners with the bill?

Did Bobby’s vision include keeping the millions of dollars of membership deposits rather than depositing them in the promised escrow accounts until the amenity facilities were completed?

Did Bobby’s vision include mortgaging four of his projects to a $675 million loan, then keeping $330 million from the loan proceeds for himself and Lubert-Adler?

Did Bobby’s vision include shifting the ownership of land to be used for the Tesoro Beach Club and the third golf course outside the Tesoro entity shortly before closing on the Credit Suisse loan?

Did Bobby’s vision include not paying millions of dollars of Reunion CDD assessments, leaving the CDD in a very serious financial condition?

Did Bobby’s vision include a beach house at Quail West, a beach house and third golf course at Tesoro, a sports complex and equestrian center and docks at Bella Collina, two golf courses at Ginn sur Mer, a clubhouse at Cobblestone Park, a golf course and shooting facility at BriarRose, a golf course at Laurelmor?

Did Bobby’s vision include a misleading video portrayal of the source of funds for the Ginn sur Mer escrow account?

Was it ethical for Bobby and Lubert-Adler to flip lots owned beneficially by them for huge profits when the profits rightfully belong to the Lubert-Adler investors?

 

Are you suggesting that these problems were brought on by “those who got caught with their pants down and are bitter?”

 

“The visionary lies to himself, the liar only to others.” -- Friedrich Nietzsche

 

I hope you and your family have a very Happy New Year.

 

Regards,

 

Don "Toby" Tobin

www.GoToby.com

        Thousands of baby boomers and others who had previously envisioned a warmer, less expensive life continued to put off going south in 2010 as the economy and prices they could fetch for their primary homes went south, metaphorically speaking.  The lack of buyers, especially in the mid-six-figures and beyond, put an extraordinary amount of stress on golf communities that had not developed most or all of the adjacent real estate or, even worse, had not built and paid for their promised amenities.  At year’s end, even the mighty Cliffs Communities announced (internally only, of course) that they were putting the brakes on the first American Tiger Woods golf course, at least for now.

        Still, flowers can grow on a dung heap economy, and we salute those that persevered with distinction.  Only golf communities we visited are included in our first annual series of awards because, as advertising budgets go down, we are skeptical about the hype coming directly from many golf communities.  And, anyway, we stopped believing everything we read after the Chicago Tribune declared on its front page, “DEWEY DEFEATS TRUMAN.”

 

Best Golf Community Owned by Austrians and Located Next to a Sage Farm

Winner:  Scotch Hall Preserve, Merry Hill, NC

Runner-Up:  None

 

        Old Arab proverb:  “Why should a man die whilst he has sage in his garden?”  The herb has long been thought to be a cure for many common ailments and an effective preservative of meat.  Indeed, sage aids in digestion of fat rich foods and, for that reason, has long been included in recipes for sausage, turkey and patés.

        The Austrian developers of Scotch Hall Preserve in rural North Carolina, just 20 minutes from the small but historic

town of Edenton, are hoping that curative winds from the 2,400-acre sage farm across the street will blow in their direction.  Opened just a few years before the economy sank, Scotch Hall Preserve was originally named Innsbrook, a consciously Americanized spelling of its owners’ hometown of Innsbruck.  The name was changed in honor of a historical landmark at the edge of the community’s property and, no doubt, for greater relevance to an American market (the switch came shortly after the owners hired the firm IMI to handle sales and marketing activities for Scotch Hall).

        The 1,000-acre Scotch Hall Preserve is nicely sited along the peaceful Albemarle Sound, and its Arnold Palmer golf course, designed by Palmer architect Erik Larsen, is fun to play and considered by the North Carolina Golf Rating Panel as #45 in a state chock-a-block with excellent layouts (see NCGolfPanel.com).  IMI and the Austrians have priced properties appropriately, and the $300,000, ¾ acre lots with 10-mile views along the sound and ability to install a boat dock are among the lowest-priced waterfront properties in my experience.  Golf course properties are available in the $100s, and cottage style homes of around 2,600 square feet start in the $500s.

        A total of 42 of 93 lots in Phase 1 at Scotch Hall Preserve remain for sale, and the membership roll at the golf club is wide open (initiation fee of $15,000 is included in the price of a property and monthly dues are less than $200).  Golf communities like Scotch Hall are eager to sell property (and produce cash flow), which tilts the negotiation process toward serious buyers.

        You can read my original review of Scotch Hall Preserve by clicking here.  Contact me if you would like more information and to make a visit to stop and smell the sage at Scotch Hall Preserve.

At under 300 yards from the blue tees, the 12th hole at Scotch Hall Preserve is one of those short par 4s that beg you to go for the green, and then punish you for missing.