GOLF CURSES OWNERS FIGHTING MANDATORY MEMBERSHIP |
An
Opinion By Jan Bergemann Published January 29, 2008 For many years the fight in In most communities membership to the golf club was voluntary when owners bought their home in these communities. Some might have liked the house, some others the surroundings or the community, but never intended to play golf -- or be part of the club running the golf course and/or other recreational entities. So, what to do if money is scarce, the golf club facilities desperately in need of an overhaul and the unpaid maintenance bills are piling up? Attorney Larry Glickman from the law
firm of Sachs & Sax P. A. in There is a lot of untapped money in these communities -- money belonging to these "disgruntled" owners who don't want to pay their fair share into the golf kitty. But, according to Larry Glickman, that can be easily fixed. Since the majority of the owners in these communities are members of the golf club, they can be easily convinced to vote in favor of an amendment to the Declaration of Covenants, Conditions and Restrictions. The amendment makes all these owners who are unwilling to pay into the fund for the entertainment of the golf players mandatory members of the golf club. What would you do if you had the choice between voting YEA for an amendment or facing huge special assessments and increases of monthly dues? Maybe a little name change of the club might help confusing the issue even more -- and here it goes! Who cares that these folks signed a contract guaranteeing them that the recreation clubs, which are part of the community, have voluntary membership and they are not required to join? The fight over these GOLF CURSES is on all over the state. But it seems that judges are not too fond of these inventive ways to create more funds for the golf clubs in need. More and more we see a trend that judges reverse the "amended deed restrictions" and make it very clear in their rulings that they are not looking favorably on these kinds of "fund raising" for the golf club. The latest favorable court ruling for
owners resisting mandatory membership in a golf club they don't want to be
part of is the case of GRANUZZO
VS.
By now the whole deal has gotten real expensive -- the ruling demands that the golf club repays all cost to the non-member owners -- and the legal fees are definitely added expense. The result of this attempt to raise funds for the golf club: A community of neighbors who don't feel neighborly any more and a big hole in the already deflated kitty of the golf club. All in all: Nobody is really happy! |