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Waterfront Communities, Community Golf
Course Rankings & Community News

New! 10 Great Water Holes to Challenge Golfers

Community News Update - New amenities, special deals, new homes & more!

Community Deals and Packages - Specials, Weekend Getaways and more

Waterview Home Rentals, Vacation Rentals - Communities offering rental opportunities

GolfCourseHome's 2009 "Best of the Best" Rankings

GolfCourseHome's 2009 Dream 18 Best Residential Golf Holes

Golf Digest's 2007 Best New Public & Private Golf Courses

What Do You Want in Your WaterView Home?
 15 Questions You Must Answer First

New Links Page!

"America's Best Places to Live Rated"

Tennessee Tops in Low Taxes

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Community News Update
A new column about new amenities, new homes and real estate opportunities

Use the highlighted links to learn more about the communities featured below and to email a request for more information. If your community has something new to announce, please send your news to the Editor.

Harbour Ridge Yacht & Country Club in Stuart on South Florida's Treasure Coast, reports that the social, golf, tennis and yachting scene for season 2007 is in full swing at the community's new 45,000-sq.-ft. St. Lucie Riverfront Clubhouse. The new clubhouse is complimented by two championship golf courses, 10 Har-Tru tennis courts, 108 boat slips and a new state-of-the-art fitness center....

Reynolds Plantation on Lake Oconee, Georgia, reports it had yet another record-breaking sales year in 2006 with sales figures totaling 474 transactions and more than $231 million in revenue. The total marked the highest grossing sales year in the history of the company....

Fairvue Plantation, Nashville, Tennessee’s only lakefront golf community, has updated photos and prices on its Featured Community page. The community covers 1,000 rich acres on the former Fairvue Plantation and Foxland Hall sporting estates and offers lakefront and golf homes and homesites. Homesites range from $82,000 to $750,00....

The Golf Club at North Hampton in Fernandina Beach, Fla., reports being ranked No. 7 in Golfweek magazine's "Best Courses You Can Play" special supplement....

The Daniel Island Club, Charleston, SC, has been designated a Certified Audubon Cooperative Sanctuary

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Deals and Packages
Discovery Tours, Weekend Vacation Packages, and More

Here are a few samples of the many specials offered by WaterViewHome communities. See them all on our new Deals page!!

Lakewood Ranch, FL introduces a Wine & Dine Membership open to area residents which will provide a new opportunity to socialize at Lakewood Ranch and savor the culinary offerings of Chef Paul Evans. The Wind & Dine Membership is available June 16 through Sept. 30, 2009 and is limited to the first 50 sign-ups. There is a $50 non-refundable sign-up fee, but conversion to a full membership in the club by October 1 will apply that $50 to the membership initiation fee. Click here for more information about Lakewood Ranch!

Reynolds Plantation, GA and its Ritz-Carlton Lodge are set to welcome families with “Summer Family Camp,” the resort’s newest value-added vacation package. The package is designed as a one-night stay for a family of four and includes spacious, overnight accommodations with two neighboring guestrooms, and breakfast for two adults and two children. “Campers” also enjoy Family Golf in the Afternoon and unlimited use of kayaks, canoes, fishing equipment and bicycles, allowing for days of action-packed and fun-filled adventure. Click here for more information about Reynolds Plantation!

See more specials like this on our new Deals page!

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Rental Opportunities
Vacation Rentals, Weekend Rentals and More

Here are a few samples of WaterViewHome communities offering rental opportunities. See them all on our new Rentals page!

Amelia Island Plantation, Amelia Island

The Landings, Skidaway Island, Savannah

Casa del Lago, Dominican Republic

See more rental oppportunities on our new Rentals page!

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"Golf Digest"'s 2007 Best New
Public and Private Golf Courses

The grandaddy of golf course evaluators, Golf Digest, provides its top picks in public and private courses. Here we list the magazine's choices of these waterview community courses on which you can both play and live. Click on the highlighted links below to learn about each community and to request more information about real estate offerings, fees, site plans, home designs, amenities and more.

GOLF DIGEST's BEST NEW PUBLIC $75 AND OVER

3. Bay Creek Golf & Marina Resort (Nicklaus)
Cape Charles, Va. • 7,417 yards, par 72, $95 • Jack Nicklaus

GOLF DIGEST's Best New Private CourseS

8. Daniel Island Club (Ralston Creek Course)
Daniel Island, S.C. • 7,446 yards, par 72. • Rees Jones. • Fee: $65,000 (property owner), $90,000

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What Do You Want in Your
WaterView Home? 

15 Questions That Will Help You Find Out

by David Lott, Editor, WaterViewHome.net

The first step in finding your perfect WaterView Home is to determine what you want at the outset and then look for it. 

Use the questionnaire below to help get you thinking about what’s important in your community. 

Circle your answers and use them as a template when you start looking at specific communities.

1. The main reason you want to live in a WaterView community is:

1. To sail/boat/fish as much golf as I can
2. To make friends
3. Not to sail/boat/fish, but to enjoy the WaterViews
4. Because my spouse wants to live on on or near the water
5. To be near my children and grandchildren

2. What kind of community do you want to belong:

   A. Private, equity club
   B. Private, no equity
   C. Semi-private
   D. Public  

3. How much can you afford? 

   A. Up to $250,000
   B. Up to $500,000 
   C. Up to $750,000 
   D. Up to $1 million+

4. Where do you want to live, in general terms?

1. Ocean 
2. Lake
3. River
4. Intracoastal Waterway
5. Rural
6. Near a metro area

5. Where do you want to live within the community? Overlooking:

1. Beach
2. Harbor
3. Marina
4. Marsh
5. Lake
6. Lagoon
7. River
8. Fairway or golf green
9. Not on the water, but with a water view
10. Just within the community, water view not critical

6. You’ve chosen one of the areas above, but you also want to want to live within 30-45 minutes of one of the areas below. For example, you want to live in/near a metro area, but want to be able to drive to the beach within 30 minutes.

1. International airport
2. Beach
3. Mountains
4. Desert
5. Lake
6. River
7. Rural
8. Metro-area  

7. In which region of the U.S. would you like to live?

1. New England
2. Mid-Atlantic
3. Southeast
4. Mid-West
5. South Central
6. Pacific Northwest
7. West
8. Southwest

8. Do you want to be near:

1. Cultural centers
2. University town
3. Health Care Facilities
4. Shopping Centers
5. Airport
6. Other golf courses
7. My grandchildren/children/family

9. Amenities that are important check all that apply

1. Marina/Boat Slips
2. Deep Water Anchorage
3. Yacht Club
4. Racing Program for Adults/Youths
5. Tennis
6. Wilderness areas/Preservation areas
7. Fishing
8. Fly-fishing (on property or near by)
9. Skiing (ski-in, ski-out, nearby)
10. Golf practice facility
11. Golf lessons/golf school
12. Indoor swimming pool
13. Outdoor Swimming pool
14. Aquatic aerobics
15. Personal trainers
16. Spa/Massage/herbal wraps, etc.
17. Whirlpool
18. Aerobic classes
19. Free weights
20. Weight machines
21. Walking trails
22. Hiking trails
23. Fine dining
24. Well-stocked Wine cellar
25. Card clubs (bridge, etc.)
26. Instruction classes (cooking, bridge, flower arranging, etc.)
27. Active club social calendar
28. Club tournaments & events
29. Inter-club golf/tennis play

11. The kind of home you want is

1. Single-family
2. Custom Home
3. Patio Home
4. Cluster Home
5. Condominium (low-rise)
6. Condominium (high-rise)

12. How many bedrooms

1. 4+
2. 3
3. 2
4. 1

13. How many bathrooms

1. 1
2. 2
3. 3
4. 4+

14. Circle other important home features:

1. Dock/Slip
2. Hardwood floors
3. Fireplace
4. Vaulted ceilings
5. Basement
6. Garage
7. Golf Car garage
8. Pool
9. Gourmet kitchen

15. How much can you afford to devote to water activities each year?

1. Up to $2,500
2. Up to $10,000
3. Up to $20,000
4. Up to $30,000
5. Up to $40,000
6. $50,000+
7. $100,000+
   

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AMERICA'S BEST ALL-AROUND
PLACES TO RETIRE

Click here to order this book

The all-new, fifth edition of Retirement Places Rated by David Savageau is a massive 324 page resource that is described as "the single best source for planning the retirement you deserve." More than 180 top retirement areas are ranked for the key elements that must be considered before you select your place to live:

• Living costs
• Climate
• Services
• Crime
• Work Opportunities
• Recreation

The method the author uses to rank the areas is simple. The scores of each place for the six factors noted above are averaged together for a final score. Pensacola, for example, has a high score of 75.99 in "cost of living," 52.84 in "climate," 6.23 in "crime," 66.54 in "working," 66.83 in "services," and 78.86 in "leisure living." The mean score of these is 57.88, slightly better than the average for all retirement places.

The higher the mean score the better the place is judged to be all-around. (Pensacola, for example, places 50^th overall.) This issue’s Top 30 resembles that of the previous edition, although 13 of the areas that were in the upper echelon of the Top 30 have been overtaken by up-and-comers that were previously ranked behind them.

Please note that the Top 30 are by no means flawless. Twelve rank near the bottom in one or more of the six categories. Just three (Fort Collins-Loveland, Charleston Sea Islands, and Prescott-Prescott Valley) rank in the upper half of all of them.

The main point is here is that you have to face reality and make choices:

there just isn’t an ideal haven in America. Aside from a blot or two, many come close through a combination of strengths. Whether their strengths are vital or unimportant, or whether their blots are knockout factors or trivial is for you to decide for yourself.

America’s Top 30 Retirement Places

Retirement Place	Mean Sources
1.Fort Collins-Loveland, Co	74.88
2.Charleston Sea Islands, SC	74.68
3.Henderson-Boulder City, NV	73.80
4.Wickenburg, AZ	72.83
5.St.George-Zion, UT	72.52
6.Boca Raton, FL	71.36
7.Scottsdale, AZ	70.66
8.Tuscon, AZ	69.72
9.Prescott-Prescott Valley, AZ	69.46
10. Fort Myers-Cape Coral, FL	68.96
11. Medford-Ashland, OR	67.93
12. Durango, CO	67.67
13. Santa Fe, NM	67.41
14. Taos, NM	67.36
15. Sarasota. FL	67.24
16. Colorado Springs, CO	66.18
17. Daytona Beach, FL	66.08
18. Kalispell-Flathead Valley, MT	65.86
19. Gainsville, FL	65.70
20. Mesa, AZ	65.39
21. Faytteville, AR	64.93
22. Laguna Beach-Dana Point, CA	64.65
23. Cottonwood-Verde Valley, AZ	64.27
24. Bend, OR	63.59
25. North country San Diego, CA	63.38
26. Melbourne-Palm Bay, FL	62.80
27. Bellingham, WA	62.61
28. Fairhope-Gulf Shores, AL	62.37
29. Leesburg-Mount Dora, FL	62.32
30. Florence, OR	62.14

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Tennessee: Tops in Low Taxes
When it comes time to consider the cost of living at a community and how much you’ll have to spend each month on mortgage, real estate taxes, living expenses, golf fees, etc., there is one consideration that may not get figured into the equation—state taxes. 

While Federal tax is uniform, a move to another state forces you to consider myriad tax implications: inheritance taxes, real and personal property taxes, intangibles taxes, sales tax and, of course, income tax.

The No. 1 state in letting you keep the most amount of your state income is Tennessee, which would keep only $900 in taxes on an annual income of $125,000 (see chart). At the other end of the spectrum, New York City/New York state has the largest hand outstretched and would take $8,278 annually out of the same earnings. That yearly tax bite translates into more than $165,000 over 20 years.

If you earned the same amount in Tennessee over the same amount of time, you would have had in excess of $147,000 that you could have spent on travel, golf and your new home. Viewed in such a light, your choice of state could have a major impact on not only your cost of living, but on the amount of capital you will have to leave to your heirs.

Take a Look at These Tennessee Communities:

> Fairvue Plantation, Gallatin, Tennessee

Where the Money Might Come From

Income Type or Source	Totals
Wages	$10,000
Interest Income	10,000
Dividend Income	15,000
Capital Gain	10,000
Pension/IRAs	55,000
Social Security	25,000
Total Gross Income	$125,000

Where the Money Goes
State Tax on $125,000 Gross Income

State of Residence	Annual State Tax	State's Take After 20 Yrs
Tennessee	$900	$18,000
Mississippi	1,170	23,400
Illinois	1,251	25,020
Pennsylvania	1,260	25,000
New Jersey	2,032	40,640
Louisiana	2,525	50,500
Hawaii	2,592	51,840
Arizona	2,978	59,560
Kentucky	3,232	64,640
Georgia	3,679	73,580
Ohio	4,079	81,580
Virginia	4,213	84,260
Connecticut	4,481	89,620
Alabama	4,573	91,460
New York	5,166	103,320
California	5,414	108,280
South Carolina	5,566	111,320
Oklahoma	5,818	116,360
North Carolina	6,018	120,360
West Virginia	6,496	129,920
New Mexico	6,895	137,900
Maryland	7,106	142,120
New York City, NY	8,278	165,560

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