The Convenient Amnesia Rule

The Convenient Amnesia Rule

 When constructing an amenity for active adult communities, the rule of thumb is 15 – 20 sf of space per home.  Learn this rule and commit it to memory.  You will be quizzed on it later. 

When buying a home, amenity collateral is typically crystal clear on the amenities that are to be included in the community.  There are colored renderings of elevations and floor plans as well as a list of club services.  Remember, this amenity is usually planned on the rule of 15 – 20 sf of space per home (a reminder before the quiz). 

This rule is meant to provide an appropriate level of activities at a development expense that will allow for competitively priced homes.  Remember this.  More cost equals more expensive homes.

I bring your attention to these items to deal with what I call the Convenient Amnesia Rule due to Density.  This rule states that homebuyers forget what they bought as the community begins to grow.  As the community grows, so too does activity at the club.  This often causes residents to say the club is too small and needs to be expanded.  The growth of the community has caused them to forget that they received exactly what they were promised.  However, crowded clubs are not bad things.  Would you rather have a club that is quiet and empty?  Hopefully, the club execution and management will be done so well that there is energy and excitement throughout the club all day long.  What those people who complain about the crowds often forget is that if the club was larger, it would have cost more money to build and this additional cost would have needed to be passed along into the price of their home, possibly making their home too expensive for them to afford.  Also, a larger club would have a larger operating budget, possibly increasing HOA fees to a level that buyers cannot afford. 

Ok.  Quiz time! 

Question 1:  An appropriately sized club will help allow homes to be sold at a reasonable price if the club size is : A) 10 sf per home B) 15 – 20 sf home, or C) why are you asking, I don’t know what sf is anyway.

Question 2:  If the club is oversized, your annual HOA fees may:  A) be paid by the builder, B) be too high for you to afford, or C) I don’t care since I will never live in an active adult community regardless of how nice it is.

I hope you did not need to look at the paper next to you.  If you answered anything other than B to both questions, we need to talk.

Until next time…

 

Keep kicking the dirt!