Hobby Havens

April 2007 Special Sections

Being able to wake up, roll out of bed, and walk onto the fairway within five minutes is a golfer’s dream. For some enthusiasts, such as Kim Archer, the dream is real. Three years ago, Archer gave up her large single-family home in southern Minnesota to live in the Somerby Golf Community in Byron. With one child out of college, another one in, a new job, and a passion for travel, Archer felt it was time to live somewhere low-maintenance and convenient—and with the added bonus of having one of her favorite hobbies in the backyard. “I can see holes seven, eight, and nine,” Archer says. “I’ll get home, or on weekends, and I’ll look out, and it’ll give me the itch to get out and golf. When it hits me, I go.”

Having this kind of freedom is what association living is all about. “‘Association-maintained’ means there is an association formed in a community [of home owners],” says Jason Sellars, director of marketing and sales for Mendota Homes. An elected board hires a management company to take care of the of the property, which can range from snow plowing to watering the lawn.

Each homeowner in the neighborhood pays a fee that varies depending on the amount of homes in the association and the value of the home, says Terry Wensmann, vice president of Wensmann Homes. For example, if there are fewer homes, the fee to mow the lawn might be higher because there are not as many people to pay for it, and if the value of a home is higher, the property insurance, which is covered by some associations, will also be greater.

Although there is a fee to be in an association, often it more than makes up for the time and hassle a person would otherwise put into his or her house. For many homeowners, especially those who travel, such as Archer, association-maintained living is a perfect option. “The idea of being more mobile, of packing a bag and going away anytime is really nice,” she says. “You are not worried about anything.”

Dave Frosch, vice president of Kootenia Homes, echoes this sentiment. “People are looking for an escape from home maintenance. The driveways are always shoveled; in the summers, the grass is cut, watered, and fertilized. People can just enjoy life.”

Besides being outer-maintenance free, association-maintained homes often come with the added benefit of location. “I’ve always lived in a single- family home that had a view, and I wasn’t willing to give that up,” says Archer. Now she not only has the golf course outside her home, she also has a large pond.

Many builders have found that a view, as well as water, is something people want. “[It is] nice being able to look out your door and see green trees, natural vegetation, and a river bluff instead of seeing another building twenty feet away from you,” says Sellars, whose property at One Riverfront View in Lilydale, looks over the Mississippi river. Scott Bader, president of Steven Scott Development, agrees. “People love the water, whether it’s the ocean, a lake, a pond, or a creek. It’s very soothing and tranquil."

Perhaps the best part of living in certain association-maintained communities is the quick access to favored leisure activities.

“If you live in the Somerby Golf Community, you are automatically a social member [of the golf club],” says Wensmann. Part of the fees to be in the association cover the cost of the club social membership, which includes use of the fitness room, swimming pool, and restaurant. At the Villas On Lost Lake on Lake Minnetonka, home owners are given their own twenty-six or thirty foot boat slip, says Mike Steadman, a sales representative for Brenshell Homes. Boat and lake enthusiasts can live on the water and not have the hassle of maintaining the shoreline and piers.

It’s easy to understand the broad appeal of association living when looking at the many different types of people who live this way. “[There are] seniors who don’t want to maintain a yard, busy professionals who are traveling a lot . . . and first time buyers,” Sellars says. For Archer, an empty-nester who just started back to work, association-maintained living was the perfect solution to a large, empty house and a hectic schedule. “I wanted everything at home to be taken care of,” she says. “I wanted to downsize, [and] it was very appealing to get out of a single-family home and not worry about a lawn or anything on the outside. I think it’s someplace I’ll be for a long time.”