The art of PR. Here we go again, with a bright Sunland future, versus impending bankruptcy:
https://www.sequimgazette.com/news/sunland-begins-initiatives-to-bring-in-new-golfers/
Monday, October 1, 2018
Saturday, September 22, 2018
Welcome to SLOARG. This blog is intended to explore problems related to the SLOA HOA/Board & the adjoining golf course. The bottom line, in this case, is to understand the future risks for homeowner property values.
In this age of digital mis-information, the SLOA board president has hijacked our community "Let's Communicate" email system to promote golf club propaganda -- not unlike what this group did in 2013, as they attacked our community, mandating that homeowners pay them hundreds of thousands of dollars, so that their course could be maintained by everyone, versus just their club members. So here we go again, five years later, with the same attack -- yet, the desperation for them increases, as their financial woes deepen. Their problem didn't go away, it's getting worse!
Perhaps they do have a plan, beyond the obvious one, i.e., to make all the homeowners pay for their debts -- however, any realistic effort to promote an alternative has not been floated. Thus, the writing on the wall infers that their club will either go into bankruptcy, or fall into some other possibilities, e.g., selling it to an investor (highly unlikely), let the county sell it at auction or turn it into a land conservation easement. Obviously, other possibilities exist -- but that, is what this blog is about.
The SLOA board has said they want to study this general idea, but the composition of the SLOA board historically has been comprised of golfer friends, who support community-wide golfer goodwill; as a group, these neighbors have good intentions -- but they also often have vested financial interests in their golf course corporation. These people are our neighbors, yet they will fight us -- the 2013 SLOA Board wasted over $15,000 in legal fees to use SLOA to fight homeowners. These good neighbors don't care about your finances, but they do want your money. This small group of people have enormous influence over SLOA -- and in this case, this is a risk to all homeowners. If this small group of people succeed in merging our HOA to their failing business, our community will fail in the long-run. Perhaps that's just an opinion, but once again, this is what this blog intends to explore.
Among the most serious problems to face Sunland, besides a golf course failure, is the problem of systemic apathy, i.e., too many homeowners that don't care or feel they don't want to be involved in community issues. Make no mistake, every home in Sunland will be impacted financially if this problem is not solved in a smart way. Perhaps that's also just an opinion, but how much will a bankrupt golf course add to your home value? How much value will litigation add to your home value?
Among ideas to study, will be to research what has happened in similar situations elsewhere and to determine how home values are being impacted. As the prior SLOA president mentioned, some HOA's have bought neighboring golf courses, spending money to re-develop them -- morphing from their HOA cores into more complex businesses --- taking-on huge new financial burdens, opening up very complex legal questions. Nonetheless, perhaps their are upsides to this story, e.g., maybe the process of gentrification changes Sunland from what it has been, to a new era of golf course fanatics that have great wealth ... our home values scream higher, and many of us leave, because we can't afford to live here; maybe everyone wins in a best case scenario. That is what this blog is about and it's issues like this that need to be explored by a wide range of people who are willing to look at many perspectives. The co-opted SLOA board does not represent the community as it must -- and instead, the SLOA board (more than ever) will use the board and its powers as a means and mechanism to solve a financial crisis for a small handful of golfers that have no interest in our communities future -- that is what this blog is about!
In this age of digital mis-information, the SLOA board president has hijacked our community "Let's Communicate" email system to promote golf club propaganda -- not unlike what this group did in 2013, as they attacked our community, mandating that homeowners pay them hundreds of thousands of dollars, so that their course could be maintained by everyone, versus just their club members. So here we go again, five years later, with the same attack -- yet, the desperation for them increases, as their financial woes deepen. Their problem didn't go away, it's getting worse!
Perhaps they do have a plan, beyond the obvious one, i.e., to make all the homeowners pay for their debts -- however, any realistic effort to promote an alternative has not been floated. Thus, the writing on the wall infers that their club will either go into bankruptcy, or fall into some other possibilities, e.g., selling it to an investor (highly unlikely), let the county sell it at auction or turn it into a land conservation easement. Obviously, other possibilities exist -- but that, is what this blog is about.
The SLOA board has said they want to study this general idea, but the composition of the SLOA board historically has been comprised of golfer friends, who support community-wide golfer goodwill; as a group, these neighbors have good intentions -- but they also often have vested financial interests in their golf course corporation. These people are our neighbors, yet they will fight us -- the 2013 SLOA Board wasted over $15,000 in legal fees to use SLOA to fight homeowners. These good neighbors don't care about your finances, but they do want your money. This small group of people have enormous influence over SLOA -- and in this case, this is a risk to all homeowners. If this small group of people succeed in merging our HOA to their failing business, our community will fail in the long-run. Perhaps that's just an opinion, but once again, this is what this blog intends to explore.
Among the most serious problems to face Sunland, besides a golf course failure, is the problem of systemic apathy, i.e., too many homeowners that don't care or feel they don't want to be involved in community issues. Make no mistake, every home in Sunland will be impacted financially if this problem is not solved in a smart way. Perhaps that's also just an opinion, but how much will a bankrupt golf course add to your home value? How much value will litigation add to your home value?
Among ideas to study, will be to research what has happened in similar situations elsewhere and to determine how home values are being impacted. As the prior SLOA president mentioned, some HOA's have bought neighboring golf courses, spending money to re-develop them -- morphing from their HOA cores into more complex businesses --- taking-on huge new financial burdens, opening up very complex legal questions. Nonetheless, perhaps their are upsides to this story, e.g., maybe the process of gentrification changes Sunland from what it has been, to a new era of golf course fanatics that have great wealth ... our home values scream higher, and many of us leave, because we can't afford to live here; maybe everyone wins in a best case scenario. That is what this blog is about and it's issues like this that need to be explored by a wide range of people who are willing to look at many perspectives. The co-opted SLOA board does not represent the community as it must -- and instead, the SLOA board (more than ever) will use the board and its powers as a means and mechanism to solve a financial crisis for a small handful of golfers that have no interest in our communities future -- that is what this blog is about!
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