Retirement and Great Golf, Great Golfer or Not

Mark Twain once said (if you can believe the internet…), “Golf is a good walk spoiled.”

It’s a sentiment that even the most skilled and avid golfer can identify with on occasion, especially if playing a particularly challenging course. Funny how just before the first tee, the daunting challenge of a really well designed course is something to aspire to – yet somewhere in the back nine it can occasionally become an impediment to our love of the game (even if we never admit it out loud).

Part of this, of course, depends on where you take up the game. An unsuspecting seven year old introduced to golf on a Donald Ross signature course in Upstate NY and has a lifetime of experience with the game will have a different attitude towards a tough round than the true novice golfer who waited until retirement offered them enough free time for golf. The rest of the equation is the usual variables such as general temperament, competitive nature, etc.

The inevitable result is that, on occasion, a weekend foursome is composed of players with wildly divergent skill levels. So if you’re new to the game, or just not that good (yet!), the idea of paying “tournament level green fees” to be essentially abused by your cohort for 18 holes might not be an attractive option. Of course, you don’t want to be “anti-social” so you might end up playing (and paying) anyway.

Fortunately, modern course design seems to be about making the game enjoyable for varied skill sets. Take Trilogy Golf Club at Vistancia for example. Course designer Gary Panks included over 70 pronounced and transitional bunkers that feed the course's fairways and native areas.

According to his web site, Panks entered private practice as a landscape architect in 1971, and in 1978 began designing golf courses exclusively as Gary Panks Associates. Several of his designs have been nationally acclaimed and he’s been honored by the American Society of Landscape Architects for his unique putting course at Desert Highlands Golf Club in Scottsdale, AZ, which was inspired by the Himalayas putting course at St. Andrews, Scotland.

It’s pretty clear Panks knew exactly what he was doing when he designed Vistancia. It’s a course that rewards careful planning and precise execution, but there are five tee boxes to choose from. This allows players of every skill level to actually enjoy being tested by the course.

Even on the “worst” day of golf it’s helpful that Panks drew upon distinctive land features and a backdrop of stunning Arizona scenery to craft an awe-inspiring setting. No matter where the ball goes, you’re on a spectacularly beautiful course that’s one of just 23 US courses to earn a five-star rating from Golf Digest.

If you happen to be considering retirement and looking for a place to take up golf, Vistancia gets even better. Trilogy at Vistancia is a master planned 55+ active adult community that caters to “buyers with refined tastes”. Think upscale active living in a luxurious resort-style setting.

Trilogy homes at Vistancia offer stunning views of the type you see from the golf course; there are towering palm trees and lush landscaping. The place seems more like a resort than a neighborhood, but it is a neighborhood; complete with schools, shopping and recreation for when you’re not playing golf.

The houses are built using the latest in “green” technologies, which can save homeowners about $1500 per year through energy efficiency. Their carbon footprint is about estimated to be about 40% less than traditionally built homes, and they are beautiful. It’s an intimate, friendly, accessible living environment, attached to your 5-star golf course.

Trilogy at Vistancia might just be Golf Heaven. But don’t be afraid of the cost – you might be pleasantly surprised. It’s at least worth checking out, and we’re confident that you’ll be glad you did.

Golf Tournament at Trilogy at Vistancia To Benefit Cystic Fibrosis Foundation of Arizona

Tee up at the Trilogy Golf Club at Vistancia in Peoria for the 2010 Arizona’s Finest Golf Challenge presented by XTRA Sports 910’s Backspin, The Golf Show, and hosted by Bill Huffman and David Johnson, 2010 Arizona's Finest Honoree. This event will be held on June 5, 2010, and 100% of the net proceeds will benefit the Cystic Fibrosis Foundation of Arizona. Hit the greens with 2-person teams playing a scramble format. PING, The Arizona Diamondbacks, XONA Resort Suites of Scottsdale, Outback Steakhouse, Van's Golf Shops, Artistik Design Studio LLC are contributing to help make this a memorable event. Visit www.ninesriovista.com for details and registration.

Retiring Green

As much as we talk about the costs of retiring, it’s interesting to note that cost doesn’t simply refer to the money involved in purchasing a dream retirement.

Now that the oldest Baby Boomers are old enough to be thinking about retirement, many of them have the notion that their retirement lifestyle should be green, or environmentally sustainable. This shouldn’t be terribly surprising since they practically invented the Green Movement - don’t email, we’re not ignoring Muir and the other notables of Environmental History, we’re just making the point that Boomers are green, have been since before the first Earth Day, and have the socio-political clout to make it a priority, okay?

Sadly, this keen interest has led some homebuilders and developers to attempt to attract Boomers without really delivering a sustainable product. They cloud the issue by

using language suggesting environmental sensitivity without pointing to anything tangible in their product to support the claim. Environmentalists call the practice "Greenwashing"

Fortunately, a “green” standard has been developed for private homes. It’s called the LEED certification standards. LEED stands for Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design, and was developed by the U.S. Green Building Council, a non-profit, non-government entity that seeks to change the way buildings and communities are designed, built, and operated.

www.usgbc.org

The standard for private homes is in its pilot phase, but the commercial green standard has been implemented nationwide. While you’re looking at glossy brochures of 55+ Active Adult Retirement Communities, look at the communal buildings in the development you and see if those meet the LEED standards, which are in a nutshell, any community or home that

• Meets or beats the EPA’s Energy Star standards www.energystar.gov

• Achieves high standards of indoor air quality

• Uses building materials that are locally produced and or/recycled

• Incorporates water conservation and storm water management

• Achieves a minimal footprint on the land

• Keeps carbon emissions low through use of renewable energy or super-efficient building envelopes

Another good way to ensure that you’re retiring green is to look into regions or cities that are in the forefront of green practices. Redmond, Washington is a good example. Smarter Cities, a project of the Natural Resources Defense Council calls Redmond “a city to watch” because its bike friendly, has good mass transit, and the city promotes green building and native species yard care.

While you’re looking around Redmond, check out Trilogy at Redmond Ridge. Trilogy is an active adult 55+ community that’s built by Shea Homes. Trilogy homes are Shea Green Certified, which is not only environmentally sound, but will save homeowners about $1800 per year in utility costs.

If you’ve never heard of Shea Homes, rest assured that they’ve been on the forefront of Green Building Practices since long before it became trendy. In 2008, they were the first national builder to make solar power systems an included option on new homes, and

all Shea Green Certified homes are built with a combination of the most important and cost-effective standards for green residential building set by LEED.

In addition to solar power systems, features often incorporated by Shea Homes include solar attic fans, wood from sustainable forests, framing techniques that use up to 10 percent less wood (saving 5.5 trees per home), leak minimizing construction techniques (sealed ducts and penetrations), Energy Star-rated efficient appliances, 14 SEER air conditioning units, dual pane low-e windows, and motion and occupancy sensor lighting.

One poll commissioned by Harris Interactive/Trilogy by Shea Homes found that baby boomers “rank solar technology as the single most important feature of a green home, followed by energy-efficient appliances and dual pane windows.”

In September 2008, J.D. Power and Associates ranked Trilogy by Shea Homes highest in customer satisfaction among the largest active adult community new home builders in 33 U.S. markets. Trilogy's green homes exceed the International Energy Code for energy efficiency by approximately 30 percent, and they undergo 20 different tests and inspections by an independent third party to achieve their green certification.

So if you’re serious about your commitment to that Green Retirement, take a good look at Trilogy Redmond Ridge.

Finding Your Retirement Value

Active Adult Communities in California

Since a lot of the discussion about retirement centers around costs these days, lets just confront the issue head on; how do you define “Value”?

All too often the comparison between two options comes down to “price” when it should come down to value. If you happen to be one of the few people in the world for whom money is no object, you might decide simply to buy the most expensive home you could find – just because you can. If you don’t really love the location, then there’s arguably no real value to the purchase. Price wasn’t a factor, but who the heck wants to live in an area they don’t like?

Of course, for most of us, money is an object. It’s a major aspect of our decision-making. For a lot of us, taking the opposite tack is our default choice. We might choose a “more affordable” retirement home because it’s actually more affordable.

Funny thing is, you end up in the same position as the first example – totally unhappy with where you live and having wasted a lot of money. Considering that we’re discussing retirement home purchasing here, such unhappiness could seriously affect the rest of your life - or maybe that’s too dramatic.

Or IS it? First things first; if you’re going to enjoy retirement and really make it your life’s next big adventure, you have to decide where you want to be. Ideally, you’d have an idea of where to be and what to do when you’re there – but in the interest of keeping it simple, let’s start with place.

For example, you might generally want to be in California. Maybe you have an affinity for wine country. You start looking around and find the central coast, and see a really nice community called Trilogy Central Coast near Nipomo. Trilogy is a beautifully designed 55+ active adult community and like most of us, you’re pretty excited by the idea. Then you find out listings there are between somewhere over $450K to somewhere over $800K. Depending on your life experience, you might either go into sticker shock or just shrug and say, “Well, that’s California.”

And yes, that is California. But before you write it off as an option and look elsewhere, it does bear taking the time to understand the value of what you get for the money. It’s true that $450K will buy you a lot of house in most states, but are we really prepared to compare retirement lifestyles by square footage?

Look at the California Central Coast this way; where else are you going to find a thriving coastal community, surrounded by a dramatic backdrop of vineyards, beaches and hot springs? Where else puts both San Francisco and Los Angeles within a few hours drive?

Imagine being located a mere hour away from exploring the Santa Ynez wine country, or Shopping & Dining in Santa Barbara. Imagine being able to randomly pick day trips to several of the Historic California Missions or the Los Padres National Forest, the Pismo Dunes Natural Preserve, or Montana De Oro State park. Consider that every October to February you can stroll among the thousands and thousands of Monarch butterflies in the Eucalyptus grove at Pismo Beach.

The reality is that the California Central Coast is a truly unique place that is highly desirable – and by California standards it really isn’t that expensive. In addition, when you look closely at Trilogy Central Coast you also find that you’re buying an exceptional value for the price beyond the location.

Trilogy Central Coast features contemporary design, green building practices, and a community plan that focuses on wellness and community. Amenities include The Monarch Club, which won the 2009 Gold Nugget Grand Award for architecture, and the lush, green Monarch Dunes Golf Course. You end up with a dream retirement in resort style living in one of the most amazing parts of California – and those green building practices end up translating into lower monthly costs, so your dollars can be put to better use, which adds to your overall retirement value. At the very least, have a conversation with your real estate agent, or contact the nice people at Trilogy directly – know exactly what your options are by value – not just price, and put together a retirement lifestyle you’ll actually enjoy living.

Buying a retirement home in Las Vegas?

One of the challenges of deciding on where to live out life’s next big adventure is making an informed choice about buying a home in an unfamiliar area. All too often, the conversation revolves around the fun stuff; where to play golf, where to store the boat, where to walk, dine, shop, etc.

It’s easy to get so caught up in the retirement dream that the retirement reality kind of slides out of perspective. You might have vacationed in Las Vegas a few times, or every year for that matter, but does that mean you really understand the housing market enough to actually decide to live there? Are you really prepared enough to buy a whole house there?

Yes, of course, that is what real estate agents are for. But how many agents did you talk to before you started looking? Did you do any independent research of your own? It’s tough to evaluate the info that someone presents to you without some background understanding of your own, right? Most of the time, people pick an agent because “we really like [name of agent] he/she’s really nice”. Do yourself a favor – don’t do that.

Remember, the goal is to actually enjoy that active adult retirement lifestyle you’re working so hard for. Cover all of the bases and treat it like a business decision. Take, for example, you’re seriously looking into buying a home at Ardiente.

Ardiente is a 55+ active adult community with features including easy access to I-15, and the center of the strip/airport area. It’s also close to popular attractions such as Hoover Dam, Lake Mojave, Mt. Charleston, Red Rock Canyon, and Death Valley. Amenities include 30 fitness stations, six beautiful themed parks, a dog park, and a community center that feels like a country club. Nearby golf courses include Shadow Creek, Craig Ranch and Sunrise Vista. All in all, it’s a pretty amazing community of the sort that you’d think would be pretty expensive.

Nope.

Looking over some of the web sites for Las Vegas realtors, we’ve found that the Las Vegas housing market has fallen an estimated 58% since 2006. For several months up to July 2009, there was an average drop in value of right around $10,000 a month. So while those lovely homes at Ardiente may have been expensive at one time (though it’s patently not fair to tag homes as “expensive” without looking at the value of their efficiency and cost of maintenance), that community is as affected by the housing market as ant other.

This is where smart people ask, “Well, what if the value continues to decline after I buy in? Shouldn’t I wait?”

Well, prices in Las Vegas have stabilized recently. In addition, one or two Las Vegas realtor web sites have cited a Brookings Institute study that says, “the states of Arizona, New Mexico, Colorado, Utah and Nevada will become, over the next decade, the next "heartland' of America. The economic and political power of this area is expected to grow greatly relative to other areas of the country. The Las Vegas area has seen short term downturns before, but historically, anyone who has bet against the vitality of this local economy has lost.