The misunderstanding Yong Choi corrects most often in North Scottsdale golf communities: HOA dues and club membership are two different things.
By Yong Choi — Global Real Estate Advisor, Russ Lyon Sotheby's International Realty
Two bills, two organizations
Ask Yong Choi which misunderstanding he corrects most often with golf-community buyers and the answer comes back immediately. “Just because you pay HOA dues doesn’t mean that the membership to the club is included,” he says. “Many buyers think that.”
In most North Scottsdale golf communities the homeowners association and the golf club are separate organizations. The association maintains common areas, gates and streets and is funded by every owner’s dues. The club runs the courses, clubhouse and dining, and is funded by its members — who join through the club’s own process and pay the club directly.
So the three questions Yong hears most about The Boulders, Terravita and Troon are really one question asked three ways: what amenities come with the home, what do the HOA dues cover, and what does it cost to join the club?
Just because you pay HOA dues doesn’t mean that the membership to the club is included.
How it works, community by community
The arrangement is set by each community and each club, and the differences matter. A sample of the communities Yong is asked about most, as each one’s own club describes it:
| Community | How club membership works |
|---|---|
| Desert Highlands | Membership is tied to ownership. Buying a home there makes you a member of the private club. |
| Desert Mountain | Membership is separate from ownership; the club states that buying a home does not guarantee membership, and notes a membership waitlist. |
| The Boulders | Club membership is purchased separately through the club, in several categories. It is not automatically included with a home. |
| Terravita | A member-owned private club. Golf membership is separate from homeownership, limited in number, and open to residents and non-residents. |
| Troon Village | Troon Country Club is a private club with its own application-based membership; it does not come with a Troon Village home. |
The communities I work in
The communities I work in
The waitlist nobody mentions
The second surprise is timing. Buyers often assume that once they own the home, joining the club is a matter of paperwork. At the most sought-after private clubs it can be a matter of years: Desert Mountain, for one, describes a growing membership waitlist on its own site.
In Yong’s experience, waits at the most in-demand clubs can run anywhere from three to five years. If playing a particular course is the reason for the move, the club’s membership office is the first call to make — before the offer, not after closing.
Ask before you write an offer
- Is club membership included, required, optional or by invitation?
- Is there a waitlist, and how is a place on it allocated?
- Can a membership transfer with the home, and on what terms?
- What does the HOA cover that the club does not — and the reverse?
- Are there one-time fees at purchase on either side, the association’s or the club’s?
Decide what the club is to you
Decide early whether the club is the point of the purchase or a bonus. If it is the point, verify membership terms with the club directly and in writing before you commit to the home. If it is a bonus, you can choose among a much wider set of homes — and join later, or not at all, where the club allows it.
Dues, initiation and transfer terms change, so they are not quoted here. Yong keeps the current membership packet for The Boulders at his open houses for exactly this reason.
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