|
It was the best of times, it was the worst of times. ~ Charles Dickens (A Tale of Two Cities)
One of the phrases I probably dislike most to justify certain behaviors is “That’s the way it’s always been done.” If there is an immoral or inappropriate action that keeps taking place, simply putting the imprimatur stamp on it of “Hey…but everyone does it that way!” does not make it any more moral, justified or acceptable. It’s just a whitewashed pretext.
That is how many golf members feel about the current “accepted” practice of diminishing an investor’s bundled golf rights by a series of bureaucratic decisions and fees that, in essence, slowly strip away the value of the golf rights they originally purchased. All golf members purchased the same bundled golf rights. When a golf member decides that they do not want to utilize that golf right anymore (whether for personal preference, due to illness, family reasons, relocation, financial pressures, etc.), the documents allow for them to transfer those rights. If you don’t currently find yourself in this category, it is very short-sighted to think that you will NEVER find yourself in this category. As realtors, we know first-hand how life pitches many curveballs. The 4 Horsemen of the Real Estate Apocalypse, also known as the 4 “D”s that drive life decisions, are: Death, Divorce, Disease and Distance. No one knows when they may visit your doorstep. Protecting these golf rights for everyone is good for neighborhood stability, home values and future desirability.
In my multiple readings of the founding golf documents, I can clearly see where the golf board has the right to charge a reasonable (key word here: reasonable) transfer fee for the administrative hassle of setting up someone new in the system. What I cannot find in there, and what we should be asking ourselves is:
- How does it become more expensive to transfer the golf rights for a 3 month or annual resident vs. a 1-month resident?
- Why, once paying for this dyscognitive and poorly named “transfer fee,” don’t the same bundled rights of the golf-member actually transfer? If they are not the same golf rights of the members, and they can be changed at any time by the whim of the Golf Board, what exactly is the “transfer fee” transferring?
- Shouldn’t the expenses of running the golf course be evenly distributed based on usage? It should be self-evident that the more you play, the more you pay. Yet, the current system for investors and part-time residents seems to be “the less you play, the more you pay” and they seem to get punished more and more with each passing resolution.
- If the documents call for all leases to obtain the prior written approval from the Golf Club for any such delegation of the Golf privileges, how can these privileges then arbitrarily be stripped away at the last minute?
There is one sentence in the documents that I believe this flimsy reasoning is based upon and, in my humble opinion, we need to call for a clarification of the documents instead of an amendment (as that is significantly easier and more appropriate here). Clarifications interpret and explain existing vague provisions, with the backdrop of taking the entire covenants and restrictions into account, whereas amendments typically require a higher bar such as a 2/3rds membership vote.
On page 3 of 15 of The National Golf and Country Club at Ave Maria Golf Club, Inc bylaws, it states:
(E) The Board of Directors may limit the number of Guests or the frequency or duration of any Golf member’s delegation of use rights, and may impose fees for the delegation of such rights of use of the facilities by renters or Guests, which fees may be different from fees charged to Golf Members for their use.
Now, if you read the entire paragraph IN CONTEXT, it seems much clearer that the original writer of this document mostly meant to address the amount of GUESTS that would be allowed and the fees that would be charged for GUESTS of member-transferees vs. GUESTS of members. That is the theme which is threaded throughout this sentence and found within the preceding 2.6(A)1&2 paragraph. Some how, some way, this one short sentence, buried in a sea of other covenants, is being used as justification to strip away any and all rights of investors, landlords and renters at the capricious whim of whatever Golf Board happens to be in power at the time.
In my humble opinion, in no apparent way does this paragraph, or the entire documents taken in toto, seem to justify diminishing the bundled golf rights themselves or creating a new “lesser” class of diminished bundled golf rights. If this were true, I believe Lennar had a huge duty to disclose this information to all investor purchasers and point out the historical reality of this little understood detail as it played out quite badly for investors in their other bundled golf communities. Failure to do so, while eagerly soliciting investor sales, is simply a more cryptic form of "bait and switch" marketing. If they did NOT intend this meaning, they should have at least had an obligation to amend the documents themselves based on its previous poor interpretation and its abusive usage targeted towards investors found in their other bundled communities. This "systematic" stripping away of investors bundled golf rights and their lessening ability to transfer those rights freely and fairly is not very far from the classic definition of a Ponzi scheme--the "many" support the few at the top until the rug is completely pulled out from under them. Furthermore, if taken in this poor context, there would then be ZERO LIMITS as to how much further these bundled golf rights can be stripped away! However, that is probably an excellent courtroom challenge and conversation for another day. No matter how you read this sentence, I think most reasonable people would agree it is “muddy” at best. Clearly, this is terribly unclear (pardon the pun). Consider these words from C.S. Lewis:
“I live in the Managerial Age, in a world of "Admin." The greatest evil is not now done in those sordid "dens of crime" that Dickens loved to paint. It is not done even in concentration camps and labour camps. In those we see its final result. But it is conceived and ordered (moved, seconded, carried, and minuted) in clean, carpeted, warmed and well-lighted offices…Hence, naturally enough, my symbol for Hell is something like…the office of a thoroughly nasty business concern."
― C.S. Lewis, The Screwtape Letters (Preface)
Here are some stats that we all need to recognize. Less than 20% of the golf membership utilizes the golf course on a regular basis. The actual numbers range from 13-18%. The other 82%-87%, for whatever reasons that they may have, are paying the same dues to maintain the National golf course. Now, these barely active golf-members don’t want or expect any thank-you notes or flowers from the “active” members (although one would think that there SHOULD be a certain amount of thankfulness regarding this favorable state of affairs). What they most certainly DO want is to not be treated with contempt, to not have their concerns pushed aside, and to not have their rights slowly whittled away.
I personally believe that these injustices take place in a vacuum where false narratives of “us” vs. “them” become the tenor of the day. It’s so much easier to take advantage of people (and bash them on FaceBook) when you don’t have to look them in the eye. That is what I intend to do here today—make you look. I want to introduce you to those “greedy investors” and “distasteful renters.” These are the scapegoats caricaturized as responsible for all of the perceived ills of The National Golf & Country Club in “polite society.” Below, you will find amalgamations of REAL PEOPLE and REAL CIRCUMSTANCES (but the names and minor details have been changed to protect their privacy).
Meet Gabe. He’s a single young man, a recent graduate from AMU, who was excited to buy his first condo at The Terraces. The golf dues were a bit higher for him than he would have liked, but he thought if he could live there 8 months out of the year and spend 4 months of the winter back home with his parents, he could rent out “the high season” which would go a long way towards helping him afford the dream of purchasing his first real estate investment. After the unexpected and abrupt golf fee changes, his seasonal tenants cancelled and bought their own golf condo instead. Gabe was stuck with 4 unanticipated months of mortgage, utilities, and HOA dues on an empty condo. He is still struggling to regain his footing.
Meet Joanna. She’s recently divorced. This new life phase for her was unexpected in her 50’s, but she’s slowly learning how to cope. The Veranda condo was just perfect for her. She wanted to live in it part-time and rent it out part-time when she went to visit her children who reside all over the country. Unfortunately, the last-minute golf changes to her incoming vacationers forced her to leave a check on the refrigerator for $5000 to compensate for the increased golf fees after they threatened to cancel. That took away any profit that she was hoping would help her manage on her newly single-income situation.
Meet Saanvi. The National 3-bedroom Coach Home looked like a perfect investment for him and his family to use part time and lease part time. It was an idyllic getaway to enjoy with his grown children while the lease potential would help cover the carrying costs. This was working out just fine until the $20K booking cancelled on him just prior to the start of season due to the sudden golf board changes. Now, he is wondering if he must sell at a loss to “stop the bleeding” as he and his wife approach retirement age.
Meet John and Susan. They are Canadian avid golfers and experienced investors. Ave Maria seemed like the ideal purchase for them to use for their own golf purposes and lease out as an annual rental. They enjoyed being landlords to their long-term current tenants who are a sweet young family who did not need the golf amenity. As it goes, life slammed them with a serious family emergency back home leaving them no option but to cash in the condo immediately. Now, due to the onslaught of condos being dumped on the market after the jarring 47% dues increase and the financial limitations placed on investor transfers, they lost a significant chunk of money that is sorely needed in a time of personal crisis.
Meet Daniel & Mandy: On the advice of some of their friends from their North Carolina neighborhood, they decided to check out Ave Maria in a seasonal rental. Like many people they instantly fell in love with the town and its charms, purchasing their own condo unit for Year #2. Upon their subsequent visits, they decided that Ave Maria was going to be their "go to" retirement place and upgraded to an Estate home close to $1 million dollars. Unfortunately, they also took a significant loss on their investor purchase.
REAL PEOPLE. REAL LIFE EXAMPLES.
These are not “greedy investors” or "difficult tenants." These are examples of your real neighbors. They are not driving prices down, they help keep inventory levels stable and prices firm. They are pouring money into our restaurants and the entire community. We need them. We need everyone. We all need each other.
So, where do we go from here? A good start is the much higher percentage rate of voters who voted in last week’s Golf Board election vs. the initial and dismal 30% who voted the first time. Somewhere a quiet revolution has begun, and a sleeping giant has been awakened. This silent majority have finally realized that they have been silent for far too long. The recent decline in sales prices for the condos speak for themselves as to the extent of the damage done by these poorly thought-out and rashly enacted Golf board decisions. The jumbled clutter of “Open House” signs on any given Sunday ought to be a wake-up call for those who are truly paying attention.
First, badly ratified inequities must be removed along with “untruths.” The so-called “transfer fees” that do not actually “transfer” the intrinsic bundled golf rights purchased by everyone are just faux convenient terms utilized to cover over the stench of slowly removing (dare I say “robbing?”) the golf rights from the investor and the landlord owned units. I’ve been told by clients, who also own at Bonita National, that non-investor members are still enjoying the SAME PRICE since 2015 while the “investor-members” continue to carry the lion’s share of the increased inflation cost burden! Therefore, it is obvious that the current “approved” method is that the few are being subsidized on the backs of the many. While Robin Hood was admired because he stole from the rich to give to the poor (which is wrong as stealing is always wrong), these uneven golf costs are even worse… it is stealing from the “have nots” to give to the “haves.” It must be stopped.
Those who understand the uniqueness and beauty of Ave Maria, really don’t want to be compared to Bonita National, Lakewood or Babcock Ranch anymore. Ave Maria is not the shoreline, nor the greater Tampa Bay area or even Fort Myers. Ave Maria faces different challenges based on its somewhat rural-ish location. Currently, we do not enjoy easy access to shopping, fine dining, and beaches. I hope this will improve in the future with better developed roads and commercial growth, but right now, we must not compare ourselves to other communities that offer those intrinsic benefits. Competition from other major golf communities is also on the horizon. We must stay competitive.
Our company trademarked slogan is: Ave Maria ~ Once you get here, you “get it.” That’s not just a cutesy tag line, it’s our belief. What do you “get” when you “get here?” You get a community that is tightly knitted together. We buy local, we encourage mutual support of Ave Maria businesses or, as I jokingly like to state: “We marry our cousins.” We love children, all types of families, pets, the elderly, all income brackets, and all ethnicities. We appreciate the conservative moral tone of a community based on shared values. We value the natural beauty of our Everglades region which is one of the worlds Top 10 Eco-Tourism locations and a mecca for bird-watchers. Golf carts are our second household vehicle as well as our preferred mode of transportation. When one falls, we all jump in to lift them up. Poignant “Go Fund Me” stories abound. There is no “us” vs. “them” here, or the “haves” vs. the “have nots.” Those terms are not found in the colloquial jargon of Ave Maria citizens. If you want to see Ave Maria at its best, go on the “Ave Give” FaceBook page. Read it just for fun while you drink your morning coffee. Some days the generous spirit of this town just makes me want to cry. This lovely mosaic of small-town life, especially in uncertain geopolitical times, is our little slice of paradise.
Then, what is the next step? It is said that the Chinese symbol for crisis is also the symbol for opportunity. Is this the best of times or the worst of times for The National? That’s up to the people. The people have clearly spoken in the last Golf Board election. They want all voices to be heard, and they want all people to have a seat at the table. With the POA transfer looming, there are sure to be more challenges up ahead as the social members find and add their voice as well. Oh yes, there will be conversations about better food quality, better cooperation/unification among the HOAs, and the “usual suspects” of more financial concerns. However, the bigger challenge is how to restore the unique nature of what Ave originally has to offer.
It’s difficult to place a label on us Ave folks. When we are threatened, we can “circle the wagons,” but once you are here, we tend to open our arms and invite you into the family. What we, the good people of Ave Maria, most definitely do NOT want is bitterness, division and strife. We despise taking an unfair advantage just because we can. We want to enjoy the peaceful life found in this quaint little town which stubbornly continues to defy convention. We walk to the beat of a slightly different drum, and we refuse to allow ourselves to be defined by others. We simply won’t tolerate the “little people” getting stepped on. When it comes to governing justice, our backbone is solid steel. However, neither will we retaliate or be spiteful. We want to hear from everyone and create “win-win” resolutions not “win-lose.” But please, bring an equitable solution to the table and not a one-sided viewpoint destined to create more future problems.
Otherwise, instead of the “best of times” we will simply become another…
Dickensian dystopian division.
and that's my two cents...maybe three
Pursue the well-being of the city I have deported you to. Pray to the LORD on its behalf, for when it thrives, you will thrive.
~Jeremiah 29:7 (CSB)
| 
