Sun City Summerlin grants one-day exception for homeowner garage sales

Bargain hunters, rejoice. Your prayers have been answered.

As many as 500 homes are set to participate in Sun City Summerlin's Community Wide Yard Sale from 7 a.m. to 2 p.m. Saturday.

Expect everything from housewares to furniture to golf clubs in the retirement community that sports three 18-hole golf courses. The early bird gets the worm, and the best items likely will go quickly.

Sun City Summerlin resident Lorene Matull plans to participate. She and her two daughters are combining efforts to offer furniture, appliances and what she called "the usual garage sale stuff -- things you thought you had to have."

Another resident, Edith Horwitz, an antiques dealer, will be selling silver, bronze and brass items, with price tags commensurate with their value.

People from all over the Las Vegas Valley are expected to attend, knowing residents of the retirement community often have high-quality items.

Horwitz said she couldn't guess how many people would flood the neighborhood looking for bargains.

"That's the gamble you take in Las Vegas," she joked.

Up until now, restrictions kept Sun City Summerlin residents from having individual garage sales. The only exceptions are if a homeowner died or is moving.

Saturday's event is a one-day-only exception that was agreed to by the board, said Kate Carroll, director of community standards for the Sun City Summerlin Community Association Inc., who is coordinating everything. The individual yard sales mean each homeowner doesn't have to cart his items to a central location.

"This is a trial because we have so many residents that are older and not in the best physical condition ... It's difficult for them to participate in (the other) sale," she said.

The other Sun City Summerlin garage sale takes place each spring at a community center parking lot and requires residents to lug their items there, setting up shop in rented
parking spaces.

But this event requires shoppers to drive to each home to peruse what is offered. That prompted some Sun City Summerlin residents to register concerns over inviting "outsiders" into the quiet community. Carroll fielded the calls.

"I told them, 'We're not a gated community,' " she said. "People from the outside are here all the time -- exterminators, landscapers ... It's an everyday occurrence anyway."

To help shoppers find participating homes, free maps will be available outside the community centers: Pinnacle, 2215 Thomas W. Ryan Blvd.; Mountain Shadows, 9107 Del Webb Blvd.; Desert Vista, 10360 Sun City Blvd.; and Sun Shadows, 8700 Del Webb Blvd.

The maps will include a 20 percent-off coupon for The Vista Grille at Palm Valley Golf Course or The Tavern at the Falls at Highland Falls Golf Course, good that day only.

Contact Summerlin/Summerlin South View reporter Jan Hogan at jhogan@viewnews.com or 387-2949.