Country Club Communities in Fairfax County, NOVA?

[homebeyer2013]

Golf course are terrible neighbors. On the surface, one would think it is great, but reality is different. I lived in one for several years. Saw a welt on my neighbors forehead from taking a ricochet off the pavement well over 70 yards out of bounds. Heard a ball crash through the outer pain of a gas filled, dual pane window....sounded like an explosion. The culprit was a course employee, who would not take responsibility for his bad shot. Living in a CC neighborhood would be worse, because the title could become cloudy, when the course has financial difficulties. Here is a photo of the course I used to live on, after the bankruptcy. That's a view of the 18th elevated green, from what had been the clubhouse for 29 years. The course is now an AutoZone, an IHOP, and soon to be 1000 multi-family housing units. Here is what i WOULD DO. Buy into the neighborhood around the Springfield Country Club. Join if you like; it's very nice, but let their financial issues be between the members and not have the chance of clouding the deed to your house. There are very nice buffers there between the course and the homes, which have nice sized lots. Some of the best made homes in NoVa from the 60s. You could probably do very well in there, and be backed up to the CC for less than 750K. Also, check out Lake Barcroft...which would probably be more closer to your budget and no GC, but a nice private lake in a great location. Sleepy Hollow Swim and racket is nearby. There is no limit to the amount of money you could be liable for if your neighborhood owns and operates a golf course. Golf courses are a lot like restaurants. Great chefs fail all the time at running restaurants, great golfers fail at running golf courses all the time too. I do believe Lowes was in chapter 11, before DT bought it, but plenty of his ventures have failed too.

[LynchburgLover]

Originally Posted by homebeyer2013

Golf course are terrible neighbors. On the surface, one would think it is great, but reality is different. I lived in one for several years. Saw a welt on my neighbors forehead from taking a ricochet off the pavement well over 70 yards out of bounds. Heard a ball crash through the outer pain of a gas filled, dual pane window....sounded like an explosion. The culprit was a course employee, who would not take responsibility for his bad shot. Living in a CC neighborhood would be worse, because the title could become cloudy, when the course has financial difficulties. Here is a photo of the course I used to live on, after the bankruptcy. That's a view of the 18th elevated green, from what had been the clubhouse for 29 years. The course is now an AutoZone, an IHOP, and soon to be 1000 multi-family housing units. Here is what i WOULD DO. Buy into the neighborhood around the Springfield Country Club. Join if you like; it's very nice, but let their financial issues be between the members and not have the chance of clouding the deed to your house. There are very nice buffers there between the course and the homes, which have nice sized lots. Some of the best made homes in NoVa from the 60s. You could probably do very well in there, and be backed up to the CC for less than 750K. Also, check out Lake Barcroft...which would probably be more closer to your budget and no GC, but a nice private lake in a great location. Sleepy Hollow Swim and racket is nearby. There is no limit to the amount of money you could be liable for if your neighborhood owns and operates a golf course. Golf courses are a lot like restaurants. Great chefs fail all the time at running restaurants, great golfers fail at running golf courses all the time too. I do believe Lowes was in chapter 11, before DT bought it, but plenty of his ventures have failed too.

Excellent points! We have since dropped our club membership but during the financial crisis, there were several special assessments. Golf pros, tennis pros, and shefs also come and go like crazy.

There was also a big issue with Beacon Hill in Leesburg with the multi-million dollar homes right off Route 7. There were all kinds of law suits and I'm not sure if the Clubhouse was ever built. I know the course fell into tremendous disrepair and became unplayable.

A club in Lynchburg that had been there since the 1920s tried turning the golf course into a 9 hole "executive course". Didn't work. Eventually the course was sold and houses are being built. The clubhouse, tennis and swim are still operating as a private club.

It's a tough time for country clubs because life has changed so much.

[homebeyer2013]

And the golf pros are basically gypsies, too, travelling around, where the weather is best and the tournaments are being played. I would even think twice about living in a so-called gate guarded community. Five full timers+benefits......I just bought into a place that doesn't have a swimming pool, and 'm happy about that, even though it was 97F today. 30% of the hoa budget going to support three lap swimmers? Not on my dime. I can use the one at the university 400 yards away for 65 cents. Even for those, who can afford it, there are serious issues in living in communities like that. I sure have seen paddleboats and fountains sell many homes, though. Take the blinders off and think long term.

[South Jersey Styx]

Originally Posted by LynchburgLover

There was also a big issue with Beacon Hill in Leesburg with the multi-million dollar homes right off Route 7. . . . I know the course fell into tremendous disrepair and became unplayable.

If this is the course visible from Route 7 (on the left if driving west from Leesburg), then it took a hammering from some recent rainstorms (last yr or 2012???). Much of it was under water.

[LynchburgLover]

Beacon Hill would be on the left as you are heading from Winchester east to Leesburg. It is right after Route 9 and before the first Leesburg interchange. I don't recall being able to see the course from the road. You may be thinking of Stoneleigh which is in Round Hill and a couple holes can be seen from Route 7. That is on the right if heading east from Winchester.

Stoneleigh houses are in the $800ish range. Beacon Hill are enormous multi-million dollar things. I don't know if their problems were ever resolved. As I recall, the community didn't own the course and the developer retained it or something like that. I know there were massive problems and lawsuits. There was supposed to be a full country club and an equestrian center. Not sure if any of it came to fruition besides the houses.

[homebeyer2013]

And another thing or two...golf courses have a long history of being male dominated or even exclusively male. Make for easy lawsuits. Phoenix CC got the pants sued off it by some female members, who stated they were just treated "differently." Another item is the use of illegal immigrants.....this has been going on for decades in Arizona and California, maybe even more open than in the agriculture business. Who knew, what, when? Doesn't matter, it's still a huge liability, and I would think the problem would exists in the kitchens and dining areas, too. And don't forget about the environmentalist kooks that hate golf courses with a passion. NoVa has already had it's share of water issues, even though we've all seen it rain for what seemed like a month straight.