Subdivision Community Remodels Need to Occur

If you really want to have a good fight, forget not wearing a mask on an airplane and instead venture onto your HOA board and make a case for community improvement.

Everyone knows or knows deep down that if you don’t remodel your home, it suffers massive depreciation. We have been in our home for nearly 20 years. It has had tremendous appreciation. But add in the cost reality of a new roof, impact glass, 3 AC changes, tankless water heater, painting, pool remodel, entire house makeover, taxes, mortgage interest… and it isn’t such a glamorous number.

On the other hand, what appreciation we have made would be erased if we did nothing, let alone the fact that you must do some mechanicals anyways.

This gets me to your average subdivision. Country Clubs (click to see our cost comparison chart) have learned that if you don’t constantly improve and pour monies into the club, then you end up with a $5,000 home with some bottom dweller chap paying $80,000 to buy you out of your country club membership and pay the dues. Boca, Boynton, and Delray got hit with lots of these. In the Northern Palm Beaches, the clubs saw that and every one of them put in large capital investments for improvement. Admirals Cove, BallenIsles, Ibis, Eastpointe, PGA National, Old Marsh, to name a few all updated their clubhouses and gyms, expanded and then expanded again. Old world to modern. Kid centers. Outdoor eating. Remodeled pools. Pickleball. More expanded gyms. It’s the one skit Jackie Mason missed.

That brings me to your non country club neighborhood. Yup, its time for your community to reimagine and consider a massive makeover and the upside could be tremendous!

Take a subdivision built in 1995. A small pool, clubhouse, quaint gym, few tennis courts, tot lot, and cable. That was fine for 1995 but it’s not what a builder would construct today. Many older neighborhoods have done next to nothing with their land or original facilities, or still have the same dated sign. Some costs like having basic cable are outdated and have become meaningless as there are too many options each homeowner now can choose. If I want to watch the Chicago Bears and it’s only available on Direct TV, what use does Comcast have for me?

Possibilities with communities that have space are endless. Take a community like The Shores or Egret Landing, The Bluffs, or Steeplechase. In some like Egret Landing, lots of land and creative uses of unused land that could be sold, could finance a complete remodel or reimagination. Imagine a great room floor modern clubhouse with food amenities, infinity pool off the lake, play area for kids, and pickleball courts. Others who don’t have the land could purchase a teardown and repurpose land that way. One of the reasons people live in a non club community is because of low fees. But some of these community facilities have become a time warp. A builder today would create a great room open clubhouse, infinity pool, tiki-bar, light food fare, pickleball, etc… Basically, a remodel in these communities to keep up with the times would net an extra 20% for each homeowner in my opinion. And that is good for everyone! People buy neighborhoods first and homes second, not the other way around. The Buyer only purchasing on cost of HOA fee usually is looking to pay less and that’s not who you necessarily want on the purchase of your home. Buyers today are looking for more social uses and different things to do in their community.

These neighborhoods really need to have serious discussions about their infrastructure and keeping up with Buyers wants in a modern neighborhood.

Jeff Lichtenstein is owner and broker of Echo Fine Properties, a luxury real estate brokerage selling real estate in Jupiter and homes in Palm Beach Gardens, Florida. He has 20 years of real estate experience, has closed over a 1,000 transactions, and manages over 50 agents in a non-traditional model of real estate that mimics a traditional business model. Some publications he has been quoted in.

Feel free to ask him a question directly at [email protected].