Things at The Federal Club, a financially beleaguered Arnold Palmer designed golf course just outside Richmond, VA, are going from bad to worse.  The former private club in a planned golf community, whose course cost $9 million to build, was considered one of the most promising projects in the area just five years ago. 

        But after trying just about everything, including opening up for public play and declaring bankruptcy for the purpose of reorganization, The Federal Club is once again on the ropes, according to the Richmond Times-Dispatch.  Its major creditor, Essex Bank, is asking the court to remove the club from protection in order that the bank may take it over.  The bank charges that the club’s owners have used cash from the club’s meager operations to pay other creditors. 

        The owners say the bank had a plan from the moment bankruptcy was filed to take over the club. They say they have added 20 new members recently by offering joint club membership with another local course.  The court will rule later this month.

        I am taking requests for the month of March.  Having landed last night in Pawleys Island, SC, just south of Myrtle Beach, I am ready to take care of business -- and a little relaxation -- for the next few weeks.  My scheduled travels will take me to Jekyll Island, GA, for a collegiate golf tournament the weekend after next, and then to the Marine Corps base at Camp Lejeune in Jacksonville, NC the last weekend of the month for another college golf tournament (my son is scheduled to compete).  I'll be checking out a few golf communities along the way.

        Our March issue of Home On The Course details how one golf-community homeowner and his wife manage to spend three months a year in a “second home” without paying taxes or any of the other upkeep associated with vacation home ownership.  Instead, with lots of research (fun for them) and a little bit of bargaining, they wind up renting $2 million dollar homes for less per night than they would pay at a Holiday Inn Express.  Learn the details in our March edition, coming in a few days.  We also list a few homes currently for rent in some of our favorite golf communities.

        Signing up to receive our free monthly newsletter is easy.  Just fill in your name and email address at the top left of this page; then confirm your subscription when you receive an automated message (we do that to protect against spam).

        That’s all there is to it.  In a few days, you will know what other subscribers do; how to live in two homes during the year while owning just one.

        I was conducting a little research for a client today on Landfall, an expansive and well-established golf community near Wilmington, NC.  The community features 45 holes of golf, including 18 holes by Pete Dye and 27 by Jack Nicklaus.  Homes there are expensive, relative to most other golf communities I have visited and surveyed.

        Notes about Landfall at the popular real estate site Trulia.com stopped me in my tracks.  Here is what Trulia said about Landfall sales:

        “The median sales price for homes in Landfall…for Nov 09 to Jan 10 was $287,500 based on 28 sales. Compared to the same period one year ago, the median sales price decreased 63.5%, or $500,000, and the number of sales increased 75%.  Average price per square foot for Landfall was $171, a decrease of 35% compared to the same period last year.”

        Residents of Landfall would be shocked to learn that their homes had lost so much value so quickly.  The fact is, they haven’t.  Homes generally sell in the mid- to high-six figures in the community.  And Trulia’s own following words contradict their earlier data about Landfall.

        “The average listing price for homes for sale in Landfall was $1,060,317 for the week ending Feb 24, which represents an increase of 6.3%, or $62,926, compared to the prior week.”  Against a median sales price of less than $300,000, you can bet Landfall owners would not be listing their homes for over $1 million. 

        Confusing indeed.