|
FORE!
By
Eric Glazer, Esq.
Published January 26, 2015
I just researched why golfers often times yell the word
“FORE” when they’re about to hit a golf ball.
It’s basically done as a warning to others to be on the
lookout. It’s also
very appropriate to yell to people who own or who are looking to
own in community associations that mandate golf course
membership.
Remember last week that now infamous picture of Tiger
Woods with his tooth knocked out?
Talk about a perfect analogy.
That’s exactly what is happening to the game of golf.
It is getting knocked out all over the country.
Golf courses are closing in record numbers.
There simply is no longer that much of an interest in the
game.
Unfortunately for many, homes were sold in associations
labeled as “golf course communities” where owners not only
had to purchase their home, but also had to purchase expensive
memberships in the golf course.
In effect, they were paying a mortgage, H.O.A. dues and
golf club membership fees each month on top of mandatory real
estate taxes and expensive homeowner insurance.
Even communities that were not originally designed and
designated as golf course communities at some point thought it
was a great idea to become one, and forced their owners to all
of a sudden become members of a golf club in neighboring
properties. This is
regardless of whether or not the individual homeowners played
golf or whether or not they were suffering from physical
disabilities which actually prevented them from playing golf.
Many courts struck down the association’s rights to
enter into these forced golf course agreements where the
original declaration of covenants and restrictions did not
create a mandatory golf course membership on its owners.
In 2010, The Florida Legislature enacted a statute that
basically upheld the rights of associations to become golf
course communities, but only if 75% of the owners voted in favor
of amending the governing documents in this regard.
Some owners, when in their 50s and 60s thought that
living on a golf course was a fine idea because they were avid
golfers. That was no
longer the case when they entered their 70s and 80s.
The bottom line is that what once may have seemed like a
dream; living on the golf coursed has now turned into a
nightmare for many. Homes
with mandatory golf course memberships have become much harder
to sell and simply unaffordable to maintain.
In some scenarios, in order to get the noose off their
neck, the actual golf course property is being sold to
developers to construct…………..what else……… new
homeowner associations.
Any of our readers ever live in a golf course community?
Love it, hate it or somewhere in between?
|
|
About
HOA & Condo Blog
 |
Eric
Glazer graduated from the University of Miami School of
Law in 1992 after receiving a B.A. from NYU. He has
practiced community
association
law for more than 2
|
decades
and is the owner of Glazer and Associates, P.A. a seven eight
attorney law firm with offices in Fort Lauderdale, Orlando and
Naples.
The
firm also has satellite offices in Tampa and Fort Myers.
Since 2009, Eric has been the host of Condo Craze and
HOAs, a weekly one hour radio show on 850 WFTL.
See:
www.condocrazeandhoas.com.
He
is the first attorney in the State of Florida that designed a
course that certifies condominium residents as eligible to serve
on a condominium Board of Directors and has now certified more
than 8,000 Floridians all across the state. He is certified as a
Circuit Court Mediator by The Florida Supreme Court and has
mediated dozens of disputes between associations and unit
owners. Eric also devotes significant time to advancing
legislation in the best interest of Florida community
association members.
|
