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Unfortunately, TennTitan's "report from the inside" at RB tells a story that seems to follow in the past vein of upheavals at RB. This is just more of an ongoing saga of troubles with their developers. It's a shame for the residents that they have to keep having this sort of problems year after year.
I just thought of another big difference between RB and TV, golf membership. At TV, all property owners are automatically members. There is no golf initiation fee at TV. I was told by a realtor at an open house in RB that golf membership initiation was over $20k for RB residents. I can't verify this, but perhaps TennTitan can. If you golf, TV has several ways to save on greens fees. One is by paying into your account in advance you receive a 10% discount. Another way is to schedule play after 2 pm for the "twilight" discount. If you own your own cart, there is an additional discount. If you combine these discounts you can play quite cheaply.
TV's POA fees (we say POA, not HOA) are $117/month. Perhaps TennTitan or exrvi can tell us the POA/HOA fee in RB.
All Rarity Bay property owners are (HOA) community association members, and we paid an annual assessment of $793 for 2017, which is about $66 a month. This is usually increased the maximum 5% each year. We pay an additional quarterly fee of approximately $30 for the sewer utility.
Membership in the Declarant-owned Club and access to its amenities requires a social membership, which has been mandatory since 2002. This membership requires a $5,000 initiation fee, (used to be a returnable deposit), and current monthly payments of $157.00. Rates can be increased to any amount. All members pay the same monthly rate, including those lot owners who never visit Rarity Bay.
Dining minimums are $1200 yearly, or $900 if residents elect to skip one quarter. You can opt-out of the Dining minimum but it will cost $450 a year, so the incentive is to eat at the Clubhouse. Members receive a 15% discount.
Golf membership requires an initiation fee of $25,000, and a monthly rate of $260 for a family, $157 for a single. There is a golf cart fee of $155 for family, $130 for single. Members do receive discounts of 15% off dining and golf merchandise. The membership is transferable to new owners.
Wow! I didn't know about these social membership and dining fees, and $260 a month for golf is a lot more than we pay, although we don't golf weekly, and we get all the discounts we can. We're just cheap I guess.
As I mentioned, our POA dues are $117 a month and are mandatory for all property owners, even those owning a lot without a house. These costs go to street and sewer maintenance, golf course improvements, streetlights, snowplowing and brining, maintenance of common areas, maintenance of all the facilities, payroll for POA employees, etc. The only other mandatory bill is the water/sewer bill from the POA. That of course varies depending how much water you use, it's metered.
All other costs are optional. This makes it more of an "a la carte" plan, so people without boats don't have to pay for docks, or people who never use the fitness center, or golf course, don't pay for that. Our recreation membership is about $550/year for a family and about a little over half that for a single membership. That includes use of all the recreation facilities including the fitness center, the pools, the classes, and the use of all the tennis and pickleball courts. Dock fees are dependent on the size of dock, but are 1/3 of what the local public docks on the lake charge. We pay less than $600/year for our 10 x 20 ft slip at the yacht club. The clubhouse restaurants and golf courses are open to the public. Resident golfers pay a discounted green fee. There is no "dining" charge. The clubhouse restaurants are priced very reasonably...probably 15-20% less than you would pay for a similar meal at a chain restaurant in the area.
Rarity Bay is plagued by a variety of problems/challenges that contribute to an increasingly, negative impact on the community, with no end in sight.
To explain the situation fully would take a book. I will list just some of the factors.
* Resident base is small, which means a limited amount of donors to the cause. Approximately 500+ improved lots out of approx 1200 home sites. Those are very approximate numbers but in the ball park. Since Club membership was not made mandatory until 2002, some Residents are not required to be Club members, and their properties will never carry the requirement.
* Residents may be multi-lot owners. If a property owner has made the unfortunate decision to own more than one property, of which both carry the mandate to be a Club member, that property owner is now paying quarterly Club dues for EVERY property that he owns. There are some residents that are very motivated to sell their properties at great losses, just to stop the ongoing expenses. The declarant, and others, are picking these up on the cheap, which doesn't do much for property values.
* Resident population is aging, and many are ready, or preparing, to move to a less expensive living arrangement. They are less active, play less golf, and now live on fixed incomes. Even people with more than average wealth are concerned about spending too much. Putting their house on the market has given many a rude awakening.
* Houses are not selling. I don't know the stats, but friends have put their houses on the market, many times over the years without selling. The community is haunted by its history, and I believe the fees turn a lot of people off.
* Declarant forcibly taking over Resident Board of Directors of the Community Association, this week. The Declarant had 3 members on a 7 member Board, and already had a lot of influence, but now will take a 4th position. For me, this is the end of Rarity Bay, symbolically, and I don't say that to be melodramatic. The residents had been competently running the community for awhile, making the Declarant's takeover of the Board nothing more than a power play.
* Declarant has taken actions which will not stand up in court. Residents, however, are tired of the fight. There is one group still contemplating a lawsuit, but people just want to enjoy their time in RB, even though it is expensive. Residents are told, frequently, that decisions are made, "for the good of the community." In some respects, that could be correct, but decisions that negatively impact those already living here are very hard to simply accept.
I don't believe RB will ever become the community many had hoped it would be. As you can see, many of the contributing factors interrelate and compete with each other, creating a cycle that would be hard to correct.
I feel for the homeowners trying to sell their properties in RB. Although TV appears to be a more marketable community, our beautiful lakefront home sat on the market for 18 months before we "gave it away" at over a $200,000 loss. There is a sweet spot in the 300k-400k range that seem to sell in TV, but would proceed cautiously if purchasing a higher priced home, whether it be in RB or TV.
It was not a good investment for us.
Titan, I had no idea things had gotten to that point over in RB. We don't get the inside scoop because we don't know any RB people. When doing my research years ago I could sort of smell the way that the wind was blowing with the developers in RB even back then. Sure enough it wasn't long until the SHTF with the original developers. I was hoping these new guys would be able to help the community move on to become what it has the potential to be. It sounds like the declarant (strange new term to me) is just pricing RB out of the market for some reason. With so many similar communities in the area that doesn't sound very sensible. They should be offering incentives to buy, not the opposite.
Home sales in TV were also VERY slow for about a decade, but they have picked up. Our marketing department has been working hard to bring in new buyers. Unfortunately there are still a lot of buyers building new rather than buying existing homes for sale. The $250-$400K pre-owned homes sell pretty quickly, if they are priced appropriately, but the big, expensive ones are slow to sell in TV too. Before we moved here in 2013, I watched one home for sale on Zillow for 5 years! Wouldn't you know it sold weeks before we moved here, so I never got to see the inside in person. We are now getting more boomer retirees moving in and the original buyers, now in their 80's, are moving to be closer to their kids/grands. When we moved in there was about one "estate" sale a month. Now there are dozens every month. I would agree that purchasing the big high end homes is a risk, probably true anywhere these days.
TheShadow & SkyNSea, I have given you the perspective of what long-time residents are facing, but I want to add some additional info to complete the picture because there is a ray of hope for newcomers, as far as pricing. Of course, since property values have never fully recovered from the recession, lot prices are, relatively, amazingly cheap. Waterfront lots can be as much as half expensive compared to pre-recession prices, and interior lots are even better bargains, especially if the current owner is desperate to get out. The new owners started a program (Bay Builders) that includes building mid-sized, customizable "spec," homes, (my words), so getting into a new house is a little more affordable, $450 - $550 range. I assume these homes will not be built on "estate," lots, but I am not interested so I don't really have the details. You can visit the, "Bay Builder Open House Event," on Saturday to see four of these homes, 2 - 4pm, or go to the real estate section on raritybayliving.com to view the models, photos, and details.
New purchasers of improved lots are still obligated to pay all dues and fees, previously described. I think new lot purchasers get a two-year reprieve from paying Club related dues, but not sure if that is exactly correct.
RB is a beautiful community, and if money is not important, people will likely have a very good experience. Unfortunately, now and in the foreseeable future, there is a lot of pain and frustration for those who want, or need, to leave the community.
Not much I can add to what TennTitan has said, except that the developer/declarant recently completed a series of small group meetings in the community. He, and his marketing person, were both very open and candid which was refreshing, even admitting that they got off to a bad start and promising to do better. They implied that until the issue of a potential suit from the residents was resolved they were reluctant to spend any money restoring amenities that deteriorated during the receivership period or adding new ones.
Well, a few other things to add.
It now appears that the resident group that was planning on suing the declarant has disbanded. Apparently once they asked people to write a 4 figure check their support vanished. Salem Pointe still expects to be sued by another developer who owns 200 lots here but lost out on the bidding to buy the receivership assets which include the developer/declarant rights. They now have to pay taxes, POA fees and social club dues/fees on their 200+lots. Really messes up their economics.
So we will see. SPC has committed to spend some money in 2017. Although the optics of them taking a majority of seats on the board isn't encouraging it really changes nothing since the developer/declarant or receiver could always veto any decision made by the board when residents had the majority (or for a while all) of board seats. My main concern is who is going to do the work on the board, and do we have our reserves ($1.5MM) secured?
Call me cautiously optimistic. Recovering real estate markets in our feeder geographies, the sheer number of baby boomers looking to move away from Big 10 country, the overcrowding of traditional destinations in Florida and Arizona, and the beauty of East Tennessee, effectively marked, could help things work out for those with a longer time frame than the next 3 years. Meanwhile, just enjoy the smell of the roses.
PS Within the last couple of weeks a few people who have had their homes on the market for some time have received and accepted offers on fairly expensive homes. That is encouraging. Of course, they didn't get what they would have gotten in 2007 but at this point that is not what is important to them. They need to move on.
Exrvi, Thank you for your input. I am cautiously optimistic, as well. It looks like the economy is going to be favorable, which can't hurt. If the situation in Rarity Bay improves, it will be in spite of what Club owners are doing. They were fortunate to have a wealth of talent awaiting them when they purchased the physical assets and declarant rights. Experienced, RB residents were already adept at running the Association, and I agree with you that the declarant's takeover of the Board majority will effectively change nothing, except replace experience and knowledge, with inexperience and ignorance. The Board was already unduly influenced by SPC, so we won't see a measurable difference in their decisions.
SPC is engaged in some activities that I believe would not stand up in court. They are taking advantage of a group of residents who held the community together over the worst years. SPC is counting on residents no longer willing, or just too tired, to challenge the changes that are clearly in opposition to the practices and procedures of the past. When you mentioned your assessment of the declarant and his marketing person as, "open and candid," I agree, especially in a setting where they are presenting the most positive side of their intentions. Having dealt with both on a personal level, I have to say that their private dealings are not as impressive. Both have very likeable personas, as long as you don't question their actions. And once you get on their bad side, your membership is hardly recognized, except when they collect monthly dues. Both will always mention the, "bad start," and usually own up to, "poor communications." They seem to use this as a way to express a humbleness, or vulnerability that really doesn't exist.
To be honest, I would have liked to have seen a lawsuit go forward to finally settle the issues. Otherwise, we're going to go through the same thing every 1 to 2 years, depending on frustration levels and the realization that residents are, once again, getting the short end of the stick.
TNtitan and theShadow, new to the site here but a 19 yr resident of Rarity Bay. Yes it has gone through ups and downs. Yes it has fees that seem high but I don't believe they are high in relation to Tellico V. Rarity has a POA fee of 793 per yr or 66 per mo as compared to Tellico's $117 per mo. Our 30 sewer utility fee is our sewer BILL and Tellico also has a separate sewer bill which I believe is a bit higher. Our club social fee is $157.00 per month and the use of the pool, tennis courts, fitness center, club parties ect is at no additional charge. @ 550 per yr for the wellness center that is aprox $46.00 per mo, it is just paid annually where ours is billed monthly. TV poa is billed monthly where ours is billed annually. If you have a golf membership you do not pay to play golf but you do have additional monthly fees so IF you are an avid golfer who plays 3-4 times a week and TV averages 40.00 a round (Have no idea if that is correct) that would be $480.00 per mo at TV as compared to 260 at Rarity and you do not have to be a golf member, only a social member. Only about 2/3 of the Rarity Community is mandated to belong to the club even as a social member. I would recommend also to contact the other Realtor before the front gate to see what they have to say as they seem to be a huge competitor for the current declarant and Real Estate team. The biggest issue is the $5,000 transfer fee to join the club and that is one of the things the group of residents was trying to dispute. Also not all properties after 2002 were made mandatory, only the ones sold through the previous developer. The properties that were sold by other Real Estate companies did not allow that mandatory social membership to be placed on the deeds as they did not use a title company owned BY the developer. I love Rarity Bay. We will get through and be as strong as ever. I live in a modest lakefront home that could be sold at a profit at 600,ish but I do not wish to leave. The people of Rarity Bay are the warmest and care for each other more than anywhere I have ever lived. AND it is a blast! It really is. OK There's a post from one resident who has lived there as long as anyone!
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