The Types of Golf Community Buyers:
Knowing Your “Style” Could Help Your Search

In assisting scores of couples searching for golf community homes over the last dozen years, I have found their approaches to their searches to be diverse (to indulge in a big understatement).  The purchase of any home is a major investment and, like the purchase of clothing, your home search should fit your personality for the most appropriate outcome.  Knowing what type you and your significant other are can be helpful in dealing with the idiosyncrasies of searching for a golf community home and, eventually, coming to a decision.

For each type of searcher below, I indicate how it might be helpful to step out of character a bit when considering where to live and play.

How Much is that Doggie in the Window

Let’s face it:  Some of us wait for sales to buy a dress or suit, and others shop for exactly what they want, and bugger the cost (as my British relatives would say).  In my experience, those who put finding a bargain first and their perfect location second will be doomed to an unhappy selection.  For these types, the Internet is the seductive enemy, making it too simple to identify the cheapest golf course homes in the Sunbelt.  With a calculator by your side, all you need to find the “highest value” home is to search on Zillow (zillow.com) or Trulia (trulia.com) for homes in golf communities and then divide the selling price of the homes by their square footage.

I have done this myself to compare values one community to the next in behalf of couples that have narrowed their searches to two or three communities.  Valid comparisons require that the housing stock is of a similar quality and style and, more importantly, that the lifestyles inside the gate are comparable.  Having visited more than 150 golf communities, I have an idea of which communities compare favorably across a number of criteria.  But those who have not had the experience of a visit inside the gates for a day or two cannot know what the golf course is like, whether the neighborhoods and their homes look and feel the same way they present themselves online, and if potential neighbors seem happy with their choice.

Advice:  Never start your research looking at homes.  Choose your geography first — mountains, coast or somewhere in between — and then consider the communities located in those target areas.   Check prices online only to confirm that there is a selection of homes within your range.  Visit the communities that match your criteria and, only then, start to get specific about homes.

Research Junkies

This is another thing the Internet has wrought:  So much information available — including reviews — that, in theory, a couple knows in advance everything they need to know about a golf community they might later visit.  Although I endorse research — I do it all the time in behalf of clients — couples who visit a golf community with a strongly preconceived notion will likely be doomed to repeated dissatisfaction.  This is largely because golf communities, like any other “retailer” of merchandise, position themselves as the best option in a crowded field, a reason why the words “best” and “most” are in abundant supply on golf community web sites.

Advice:  Use the Internet to determine specifics about a golf community, such as type of membership in the golf club, the number of golf courses, fees (if noted on the web site), types of homes (condos, single-family, a mix), price range of homes, distance to shopping and other services you want and need, climate (there are big differences across the Southeast) and other data points.  Avoid, like the plague, any qualitative stipulations made by the communities; if and when you visit, make your own judgments on those.


Couples that can’t decide on mountains or coastal could “compromise” with a home on a lake.  (Pictured:  Reserve at Lake Keowee, Sunset, SC)

Browsers

The one “tell” for me about a couple that is not serious about finding a golf home is when I ask, “Coast, mountains or lake?” and the response is, “Oh, we’re open to all of them.”  (I can’t seem to say no to any clients, so this is where I utter a silent oath of, “Oy, this is going to be a long one.”)  In 12 years, I do not recall a couple of Browsers ever buying a home, at least not with my help.

I find it hard to believe that some couples do not know if they prefer the combination of cool winters and warm summers, or the combination of warm winters and hot summers. I recognize that this condition could be the result of a couple having a significant disagreement about where each would like to live. If that is the case, do not expect détente to come out of visits to two entirely different geographic areas. You will only make yourselves miserable (or more miserable).

Advice:  The easiest (laziest) piece of advice is to choose some place in between mountains and coast, for example by a nice lake in the interior of the Carolinas, Virginia or Georgia.  But that has the potential of dooming both partners to a life of misery if one wants mountains and the other the beach.  Better is my standard advice, which is for the spouse more interested in playing golf to let his/her partner make the call on where to live.  There is great golf throughout the Southeast, and the serious golfer can be content anywhere.  A happy spouse will avoid marital discord and help you concentrate on your golf game.

Some Other Types

There are some couples that have a clear idea of the kind of home they want.  But once they identify the community to live in and start looking at homes, they can’t find one that fits.  Advice:  Consider purchasing a lot in the target community and building a home to your exact specs.  In many cases, especially where lots are still reasonably priced, you can build your dream home for about what it would cost to purchase a new home that is on the market.  Yes, it is a challenge to supervise the construction of your home, especially long distance, but some of my clients have rented a home to be able to keep a close eye on that dream home.

There are also couples for whom the journey is everything, and a final decision is secondary (and illusory).  My Shakespearean Advice:  Above all else, “To thine own self be true.”  You really don’t want to move. 

And then there is the rare couple that is never satisfied.  They always seem to find something, however small, to argue against an obvious choice.  This couple, I am convinced, is here to make the rest of us miserable, especially real estate agents.   Advice:  Please don’t contact me.

Larry Gavrich
Founder & Editor
Home On The Course, LLC