Golfer wants to make sure course will remain
Q: I am a golfer, and I am ready to buy my retirement home in a golf community. I've heard of several golf courses being sold in Las Vegas communities. Can you tell me what to look for to make sure my golf community still has a course during my retirement years? This has been my lifelong dream, and I don't want to buy into a community and a few years later find out the golf course is being sold.
A: How do you know if the golf course at your country club will survive? There are many challenges for today's golf courses, the cost of water being a primary one. In some cases, you have aging members, aging facilities and younger members who are preoccupied with family life and work to be too invested in golf.
Golf courses are businesses, and some are finding it hard to make a profit these days and are considering alternatives, such as selling the courses to developers or to be used for other purposes, such as beltways or trails. Lately, this has caused some upheaval in our valley.
Ultimately, unless any business is economically viable it must shut its doors. Las Vegas courses that are sponsored by casinos are alive and well — Wynn, Shadow Creek, etc. Obviously they remain open for a number of reasons. Casinos must cater to their customers, and they make enough money to keep the courses open. That doesn't help the individual that is looking to buy a home on a golf course; casinos rely on visitors, not residents.
How do you know if a golf course is viable? Check out the books. See if they are profitable. Look at the marketing. Do they have an effective plan for bringing in new members? Also, are there deed restrictions prohibiting them from not engaging in the golf course business? Talk to the golf course supervisor and see if he can shed some light on the viability of the couse. Ask about what kind of problems or challenges they might face.
In the last analysis, it seems that there are no guarantees in life, and green grass may be one of them.
— James Nice, iProperties International
