State of our Community-As of 5/3/2010
1. Most of you have gone home north for the summer and won't be back until October or later, some will may decide not to return at all. I think this is probably the most important time to let you know what is going on here now so you can make your plans. Obviously, the news in general is not very promising. I heard that a group had visited Grenelefe awhile back to possibly invest but was totally turned off by its poor condition. It is my personal belief that no major development akin to Feltrim's proposal is in our future and the odds for even a restoration are slim.
West Course Clubhouse Today
2. As you may or may not know, I ask the County to inspect Siegel's Grenelefe property to see if there was anything they could do to make him accomplish some repairs/improvements. I was warned by some of the more important residents that they did not approve of my actions, would have no part in supporting them and were concerned that it may precipitate reactions by Westgate that could affect the South and East courses. As I had already set up the inspection with Code Enforcement, Fire Safety and Building Inspector we continued with the agreement that any correspondence to Westgate would come directly from the county with no mention of complaints by Grenelefe residents. I sincerely apologize for going forward. I understand that golf was why most of you moved here, and maintaining what's left of that ammenity, no matter how shabby the facilities are, is more important than the overall quality and safety of this community. I am not quite ready to give up on trying to improve conditions on the West Side but will take no further action until I run any ideas through Country Homes and Arrowhead homeowners for their approval.
3. What's happening in Country Homes that concerns me so deeply? At least 14 (of 96) homes are for sale, three in foreclosure and abandoned; probably a half dozen more are under consideration; some rentals are sitting vacant and the HOA is mowing unkept yards just so the golf course appearance dooesn't spread to the streets. With some exceptions property values have declined to somewhere around the 150's (I know I'll get a lot of disagreement on this. It's just my opinion), still with no takers. Yard debris is being left around Country Homes in spots that Florida Refuse will not pick up and our golf course is covered with 3-to-5-foot weeds. And recently, we've received periodic calls from the sheriff about burglaries in Grenelefe.
Is there any cause for optimism? Possibly. I have heard that Westgate is soliciting bids to refurbish his condos. He's not in the leasing business so this means to me that timeshare or possibly fractional ownership, something short term is his plans. It follows that restoration of the resort facilities is necessary, at least to a point where Grenelefe is sellable, possibly even as a turnkey operation. Since the East and South have functional golf courses I think Westgate will want to sell those condos first, so the West could be some time well into the future. I could be wrong on all of my opinions; let's hear yours.
4. I'll be requesting proxy forms signed by as many of you as will respond, even if you plan on attending our next HOA meeting, probably in January. If you attend we'll return it to you at the meeting. If you don't then assure your voice will still be heard.
5. Update #1: 8/8/09- Last month we had a water main break that knocked out service to most of Nottingham (and elsewhere I imagine). It appears that the source was plumbing underneath the West Course clubhouse main stairs. The stairs were torn out, plumbing fixed and demolition left unrepaired. I've been by the clubhouse occassionally and two days ago noticed a large dumpster in front of the building and white trucks and vans parked around it. Today I was over there and spoke with some of the laborers. Very broken english but was told that they were going to REPAIR the clubhouse and all the other buildings at Grenelefe. All doesn't really mean all but it looks now it might include the West clubhouse and maybe the cart barn and the cart barn portion of the Main clubhouse (Rumor has it that the rest of that building may be razed and modulars put on the pad next to the pool). As you may already have heard Westgate has been taking bids on refurbing condos. Haven't seen any actual work yet except for a half dozen laborers at the West clubhouse. Of all things they were painting or primaring (seems like an odd place to start a repair) and removing/trimming palms around the pool. Don't get your hopes up too hi; Westgate has painted before and stopped but if anyone is going to do anything real in the forseeable future, it's probably going to have to be him. At this point I feel it would probably be a very good idea to start thinking about throwing our complete support behind David Siegel, Mark Waltrip and all of Westgate just in case this is an actual sign of a positive future for Grenelefe. Also, let others know about this site. We need a lot more people looking at it and contributing to it. Send me any email addresses you have for Country Homes, Arrowhead and West Course condo owners that you have. Regards, Bob Wilcox
6. Update #2: 8/12/09- I think I'm just going to put every little rumor I hear on this site because it's fun speculating, it gives us a little something to look forward to and, when you put them all together, they may tell us something. Anyway, the latest rumors: one party (GW)has heard that there are potentially two possible buyers on the horizon, one is a previous suitor, and neither is Feltrim nor Civix. Any ideas? Another (TT) is that the East clubhouse will be closed, the EXTERIOR repaired and the pro shop moved to the old sales office (on the other end of the parking lot). Cosmetic work on the buildings does support possible investors theory. It may mean nada, but then again, who knows. Pass your thoughts to me at [email protected]
7. Update #3: 8/15/09- It's looking as though Siegel is doing just enough touchup on the West clubhouse to get the county off his back. Cut some palm trees down, a couple off sheets of new siding and a thin coat of white paint to make it look a little cleaner. Latest seems to support complete shutdown of the East clubhouse, no modulars on the pad ( too expensive) and moving the pro shop to the old sales office. I noticed over the last month that Adams nursery has cleared land and dug a well on their property behind Fairway Dr. (More groves or other development in the future? Apparently, the buyers of the Diamondback acreage couldn't get water permits for the 2100 hundred-house development they had planned, so that plan is dead even when the economy improves. Supposedly, the primary reason Feltrim was so interested in Grenelefe is that it has water (utility capacity) permit approval for 600 residential units beyond what exists now. Current economic issues aside, this may give Grenelefe some actual potential for a future developer once the economy and housing market picks up.
8. Update #4 1/3/2010-It's been a long time since I've been on this site. The reason is the total lack of response to it by the homeowners, telling me there was no interest, so I let it atrophy. Though I'm not particularly optimistic about community interest, I am updating this site by adding the following Ledger news article that, once more, gives a thin thread of hope for the future of Grenelefe. I know we've had them before but we can't give up hope and we need to help wherever we can.
Faded Grenelefe Resort For Sale Again A push to sell the once premier East Polk County facility at a reduced price will begin this month var collab_title = 'Faded Grenelefe Resort For Sale Again';
By Kevin Bouffard
THE LEDGER
Published: Friday, January 1, 2010 at 11:22 p.m.
Last Modified: Friday, January 1, 2010 at 11:22 p.m. HAINES CITY | A relatively small amount of green may purchase a lot of Grenelefe.
.art_main_pic { WIDTH: 250px; FLOAT: left; CLEAR: left } Related Links: The Grenelefe Golf and Tennis Resort, a once premier Florida facility that fell on hard times during the 1990s, is up for sale again.
Marcus & Millichap Real Estate Investment Services of Encino, Calif., listed the Grenelefe property on its Web site in December, but the sales push will begin this month, said Sean Glickman, a company associate.
"I have a very strong confidence we will have a contract in the next couple of months," Glickman said.
Westgate Resorts in Orlando purchased the 1,273-acre Grenelefe resort in 2002 for $12.75 million from the U.S. Bankruptcy Court. The property includes 432 condominiums, three 18-hole golf courses, tennis courts, a 50,000-square-foot conference center and a marina.
Marcus & Millichap has already received 12 inquiries about Grenelefe, including from one U.S. and two European companies expected to make offers to buy it, Glickman said.
One of those three was from Garrett Kenny, president of Feltrim Developments of Davenport and Dublin, Ireland.
In February 2008, Kenny announced he would purchase Grenelefe for $51.5 million and return the resort, built in the mid-1970s, to its former glory of the 1980s.
His deal fell apart in late 2008 because his bank financing evaporated.
But while he was still making plans, the West Golf Course, which is now closed, was certified for PGA Qualifying School, and the tennis courts attracted professional players, who trained there, and tour events.
Kenny said he would put $300 million during the next decade into Grenelefe.
Kenny could not be reached for comment last week.
The sale will likely be a cash transaction because "financing is extremely difficult for these kinds of properties," Glickman said.
That's not necessarily an obstacle because some companies have a lot of cash after the stock market rebounded this year, said Mark Jackson, director of tourism and sports marketing at the Central Florida Development Council.
"I'm optimistic there's cash available, but (the buyer) will probably have to be a little creative," he said.
Glickman would not discuss a price the current owner is looking for, but he acknowledged it would be significantly less than Kenny's 2008 offer.
He did say Grenelefe would probably sell for more than $25 million.
The new owner may purchase just a majority stake in the property with Westgate keeping a minority interest, Glickman said.
The price and any joint ownership plan will depend upon what the buyer intends to do with the Grenelefe property, he said.
In its sales prospectus, Marcus & Millichap offers several possibilities, including a "stay and play" condo-and-golf-resort complex, a retirement community similar to The Villages in Sumter County or an RV resort.
Marcus & Millichap is pushing for an upscale, Villages-type community with senior living, golf and tennis and small retail, Glickman said.
"If you add a senior living component, it definitely makes it one of the most attractive developments in the country," he said. "It has a lot of potential."
Jackson said he would like to see Grenelefe developed along the lines of Kenny's proposal with professional-level sports facilities and a refurbished conference center.
"There's an enormous deficit of meeting and convention space on the east side of the county," he said. "It's viability as a resort and meeting destination has probably been enhanced with the growth of the Orlando area."
The Development Council gets almost daily inquiries from Florida and out-of-state companies looking for a resort area with conference facilities for conventions and annual meeting, Jackson said.
Grenelefe could become a magnet for Florida companies holding regional meetings.
This story appeared in print on page B1 All rights reserved. This copyrighted material may not be re-published without permission. Links are encouraged
9. Briefly, I met with Garrett Kinney on February 9, 2010 to see if he was still had interest in Grenelefe as rumor had it that he and Del Webb were possible participants in the latest Westgate offering. He said he was, as always, very interested in developing Horizons. Here is the problem, He wants Grenelefe because of it potential; lenders are not interested in it primarily because of its condition. One recently visited to consider a $15 million loan but immediately withdrew because of the extensive deterioration of the property. Also, importantly, condos and golf resorts are on the bottom of the list that banks are interested in. Golf courses are closing left and right around the country. Florida has more that any other state. We've got the highest unemployment and are among the highest in foreclosures. Potential buyers are probably not standing in line for Grenelefe. I've heard Westgate is looking for somewhere around $25 million. Banks are not interested at $15 million. I'm waiting to see what happens at the end of March; Westgate's deadline for bids. Then I would be very interested in forming an exploratory group to consider our options for the future if no sale materializes.
10. 3/24/2010 Country Homeowners-Last year David Seigle made a couple of token responses to the 116 code violations we elicited from Polk County inspectors last April: sloppy cosmetic attention to the West Course clubhouse and annex pool. We have met twice with county inspectors since then. Finally, after a whole year we are getting the dead tree rubble from Charlie cleaned off of the course. If more of us could get involved, I think we could make further, much more significant and even amazing progress in cleaning up and possibly revitalizing the West Course area. Would you like enjoying the time you spend here a lot more, have sellable homes if that were you're wish, something good to leave to your heirs rather than have them walk away from them as they are now, or, if nothing else, just get rid of the eye sore. As a side note, the eye sore is spreading to our residences and not just the foreclosures (5). The HOA is working hard to get the banks to respond to our requests to maintain. Right now, under current law, the homeowner is still responsible until the foreclosure process in completed; and they're obviously not going to do anything. Hopefully, under the new law, currently being considered by our state legislature, mortgage holders will inherit that responsibility at the beginning of the process. That decision should be reached by May. No word on a potential buyer for Grenelefe. We should know, I'm guessing, in the first week of April, if the news is positive. The longer information release takes, the less likely a buyer exists. I'm hopeful but not optimistic.
11. 5/3 A small group of Country Homes residents have been investigating and pursuing the acquisition of the West Course, working with Garrett Kenny/Feltrim, Inc. and Carlton Exchange, the listing agent for the auction of Grenelefe. Though our offer was not accepted we were able to make valuable contacts and have learned late last week that an offer of $25M has been accepted with a tentative closing date in November, 2010. Originally, the buyer wanted 1 year but the seller wanted 90 days. A compromise was reached (miracle of miracles) and 6 months was agreed upon. Our group is still very much interested in working with the new buyers in assuring that reopening the West Course is a priority. We feel it is absolutely key in promoting and Grenelefe as a whole and increasing the value and marketability of residences here. The East and South courses, while fine and, hopefully, upgraded facilities in the future, don't have the history and past state and national ranking that the West possesses. They have not been able to bring the prominence to Grenelefe that the West surely will. Its reestablishment will put Grenelefe on the map as nothing else here can. This may well be our last opportunity to replace Westgate with a proper steward and will likely be the difference between people avoiding Grenelefe and families seeking it out as a vacation resort and/or a home. I implore you all to throw every ounce of support you can for this critical development in our history and make our future owner feel nothing but welcome here. Save all of your hopes, concerns and fears until after the change of ownership is complete. We absolutely cannot afford any comment that will discourage them in any way. No matter what they do it will be an improvement over the present. I will post any developments and soon as I learn of them so keep in touch and use the forum for and comments or suggestions you have.
12. 5/3/10 We have a significant problem with abandoned properties in different states of foreclosure. Banks are dragging their feet in taking title and living up to their responsibilites. With By Laws and Convenants written in the day when our Grenelefe was a valued community and was occupied by owners who maintained their properties and paid their bills, the economy was much better, and it was unnecessary to confront banks to face their responsibilities, we are currently faced with a crisis we cannot currently manage. We have engaged an attorney to help us redraft our Country Homes Convenants to give the HOA needed authority to enforce property maintenance, debt collection and foreclosure management issues in order to maintain the quality and value of our residences and community. In the meantime we are working with homeowners where possible, banks and the county to protect our community. If anyone would like to assist in this endeavor contact me, Bob Wilcox, at [email protected] or 863-422-1036.
West Course Clubhouse Today
2. As you may or may not know, I ask the County to inspect Siegel's Grenelefe property to see if there was anything they could do to make him accomplish some repairs/improvements. I was warned by some of the more important residents that they did not approve of my actions, would have no part in supporting them and were concerned that it may precipitate reactions by Westgate that could affect the South and East courses. As I had already set up the inspection with Code Enforcement, Fire Safety and Building Inspector we continued with the agreement that any correspondence to Westgate would come directly from the county with no mention of complaints by Grenelefe residents. I sincerely apologize for going forward. I understand that golf was why most of you moved here, and maintaining what's left of that ammenity, no matter how shabby the facilities are, is more important than the overall quality and safety of this community. I am not quite ready to give up on trying to improve conditions on the West Side but will take no further action until I run any ideas through Country Homes and Arrowhead homeowners for their approval.
3. What's happening in Country Homes that concerns me so deeply? At least 14 (of 96) homes are for sale, three in foreclosure and abandoned; probably a half dozen more are under consideration; some rentals are sitting vacant and the HOA is mowing unkept yards just so the golf course appearance dooesn't spread to the streets. With some exceptions property values have declined to somewhere around the 150's (I know I'll get a lot of disagreement on this. It's just my opinion), still with no takers. Yard debris is being left around Country Homes in spots that Florida Refuse will not pick up and our golf course is covered with 3-to-5-foot weeds. And recently, we've received periodic calls from the sheriff about burglaries in Grenelefe.
Is there any cause for optimism? Possibly. I have heard that Westgate is soliciting bids to refurbish his condos. He's not in the leasing business so this means to me that timeshare or possibly fractional ownership, something short term is his plans. It follows that restoration of the resort facilities is necessary, at least to a point where Grenelefe is sellable, possibly even as a turnkey operation. Since the East and South have functional golf courses I think Westgate will want to sell those condos first, so the West could be some time well into the future. I could be wrong on all of my opinions; let's hear yours.
4. I'll be requesting proxy forms signed by as many of you as will respond, even if you plan on attending our next HOA meeting, probably in January. If you attend we'll return it to you at the meeting. If you don't then assure your voice will still be heard.
5. Update #1: 8/8/09- Last month we had a water main break that knocked out service to most of Nottingham (and elsewhere I imagine). It appears that the source was plumbing underneath the West Course clubhouse main stairs. The stairs were torn out, plumbing fixed and demolition left unrepaired. I've been by the clubhouse occassionally and two days ago noticed a large dumpster in front of the building and white trucks and vans parked around it. Today I was over there and spoke with some of the laborers. Very broken english but was told that they were going to REPAIR the clubhouse and all the other buildings at Grenelefe. All doesn't really mean all but it looks now it might include the West clubhouse and maybe the cart barn and the cart barn portion of the Main clubhouse (Rumor has it that the rest of that building may be razed and modulars put on the pad next to the pool). As you may already have heard Westgate has been taking bids on refurbing condos. Haven't seen any actual work yet except for a half dozen laborers at the West clubhouse. Of all things they were painting or primaring (seems like an odd place to start a repair) and removing/trimming palms around the pool. Don't get your hopes up too hi; Westgate has painted before and stopped but if anyone is going to do anything real in the forseeable future, it's probably going to have to be him. At this point I feel it would probably be a very good idea to start thinking about throwing our complete support behind David Siegel, Mark Waltrip and all of Westgate just in case this is an actual sign of a positive future for Grenelefe. Also, let others know about this site. We need a lot more people looking at it and contributing to it. Send me any email addresses you have for Country Homes, Arrowhead and West Course condo owners that you have. Regards, Bob Wilcox
6. Update #2: 8/12/09- I think I'm just going to put every little rumor I hear on this site because it's fun speculating, it gives us a little something to look forward to and, when you put them all together, they may tell us something. Anyway, the latest rumors: one party (GW)has heard that there are potentially two possible buyers on the horizon, one is a previous suitor, and neither is Feltrim nor Civix. Any ideas? Another (TT) is that the East clubhouse will be closed, the EXTERIOR repaired and the pro shop moved to the old sales office (on the other end of the parking lot). Cosmetic work on the buildings does support possible investors theory. It may mean nada, but then again, who knows. Pass your thoughts to me at [email protected]
7. Update #3: 8/15/09- It's looking as though Siegel is doing just enough touchup on the West clubhouse to get the county off his back. Cut some palm trees down, a couple off sheets of new siding and a thin coat of white paint to make it look a little cleaner. Latest seems to support complete shutdown of the East clubhouse, no modulars on the pad ( too expensive) and moving the pro shop to the old sales office. I noticed over the last month that Adams nursery has cleared land and dug a well on their property behind Fairway Dr. (More groves or other development in the future? Apparently, the buyers of the Diamondback acreage couldn't get water permits for the 2100 hundred-house development they had planned, so that plan is dead even when the economy improves. Supposedly, the primary reason Feltrim was so interested in Grenelefe is that it has water (utility capacity) permit approval for 600 residential units beyond what exists now. Current economic issues aside, this may give Grenelefe some actual potential for a future developer once the economy and housing market picks up.
8. Update #4 1/3/2010-It's been a long time since I've been on this site. The reason is the total lack of response to it by the homeowners, telling me there was no interest, so I let it atrophy. Though I'm not particularly optimistic about community interest, I am updating this site by adding the following Ledger news article that, once more, gives a thin thread of hope for the future of Grenelefe. I know we've had them before but we can't give up hope and we need to help wherever we can.
Faded Grenelefe Resort For Sale Again A push to sell the once premier East Polk County facility at a reduced price will begin this month var collab_title = 'Faded Grenelefe Resort For Sale Again';
By Kevin Bouffard
THE LEDGER
Published: Friday, January 1, 2010 at 11:22 p.m.
Last Modified: Friday, January 1, 2010 at 11:22 p.m. HAINES CITY | A relatively small amount of green may purchase a lot of Grenelefe.
.art_main_pic { WIDTH: 250px; FLOAT: left; CLEAR: left } Related Links: The Grenelefe Golf and Tennis Resort, a once premier Florida facility that fell on hard times during the 1990s, is up for sale again.
Marcus & Millichap Real Estate Investment Services of Encino, Calif., listed the Grenelefe property on its Web site in December, but the sales push will begin this month, said Sean Glickman, a company associate.
"I have a very strong confidence we will have a contract in the next couple of months," Glickman said.
Westgate Resorts in Orlando purchased the 1,273-acre Grenelefe resort in 2002 for $12.75 million from the U.S. Bankruptcy Court. The property includes 432 condominiums, three 18-hole golf courses, tennis courts, a 50,000-square-foot conference center and a marina.
Marcus & Millichap has already received 12 inquiries about Grenelefe, including from one U.S. and two European companies expected to make offers to buy it, Glickman said.
One of those three was from Garrett Kenny, president of Feltrim Developments of Davenport and Dublin, Ireland.
In February 2008, Kenny announced he would purchase Grenelefe for $51.5 million and return the resort, built in the mid-1970s, to its former glory of the 1980s.
His deal fell apart in late 2008 because his bank financing evaporated.
But while he was still making plans, the West Golf Course, which is now closed, was certified for PGA Qualifying School, and the tennis courts attracted professional players, who trained there, and tour events.
Kenny said he would put $300 million during the next decade into Grenelefe.
Kenny could not be reached for comment last week.
The sale will likely be a cash transaction because "financing is extremely difficult for these kinds of properties," Glickman said.
That's not necessarily an obstacle because some companies have a lot of cash after the stock market rebounded this year, said Mark Jackson, director of tourism and sports marketing at the Central Florida Development Council.
"I'm optimistic there's cash available, but (the buyer) will probably have to be a little creative," he said.
Glickman would not discuss a price the current owner is looking for, but he acknowledged it would be significantly less than Kenny's 2008 offer.
He did say Grenelefe would probably sell for more than $25 million.
The new owner may purchase just a majority stake in the property with Westgate keeping a minority interest, Glickman said.
The price and any joint ownership plan will depend upon what the buyer intends to do with the Grenelefe property, he said.
In its sales prospectus, Marcus & Millichap offers several possibilities, including a "stay and play" condo-and-golf-resort complex, a retirement community similar to The Villages in Sumter County or an RV resort.
Marcus & Millichap is pushing for an upscale, Villages-type community with senior living, golf and tennis and small retail, Glickman said.
"If you add a senior living component, it definitely makes it one of the most attractive developments in the country," he said. "It has a lot of potential."
Jackson said he would like to see Grenelefe developed along the lines of Kenny's proposal with professional-level sports facilities and a refurbished conference center.
"There's an enormous deficit of meeting and convention space on the east side of the county," he said. "It's viability as a resort and meeting destination has probably been enhanced with the growth of the Orlando area."
The Development Council gets almost daily inquiries from Florida and out-of-state companies looking for a resort area with conference facilities for conventions and annual meeting, Jackson said.
Grenelefe could become a magnet for Florida companies holding regional meetings.
This story appeared in print on page B1 All rights reserved. This copyrighted material may not be re-published without permission. Links are encouraged
9. Briefly, I met with Garrett Kinney on February 9, 2010 to see if he was still had interest in Grenelefe as rumor had it that he and Del Webb were possible participants in the latest Westgate offering. He said he was, as always, very interested in developing Horizons. Here is the problem, He wants Grenelefe because of it potential; lenders are not interested in it primarily because of its condition. One recently visited to consider a $15 million loan but immediately withdrew because of the extensive deterioration of the property. Also, importantly, condos and golf resorts are on the bottom of the list that banks are interested in. Golf courses are closing left and right around the country. Florida has more that any other state. We've got the highest unemployment and are among the highest in foreclosures. Potential buyers are probably not standing in line for Grenelefe. I've heard Westgate is looking for somewhere around $25 million. Banks are not interested at $15 million. I'm waiting to see what happens at the end of March; Westgate's deadline for bids. Then I would be very interested in forming an exploratory group to consider our options for the future if no sale materializes.
10. 3/24/2010 Country Homeowners-Last year David Seigle made a couple of token responses to the 116 code violations we elicited from Polk County inspectors last April: sloppy cosmetic attention to the West Course clubhouse and annex pool. We have met twice with county inspectors since then. Finally, after a whole year we are getting the dead tree rubble from Charlie cleaned off of the course. If more of us could get involved, I think we could make further, much more significant and even amazing progress in cleaning up and possibly revitalizing the West Course area. Would you like enjoying the time you spend here a lot more, have sellable homes if that were you're wish, something good to leave to your heirs rather than have them walk away from them as they are now, or, if nothing else, just get rid of the eye sore. As a side note, the eye sore is spreading to our residences and not just the foreclosures (5). The HOA is working hard to get the banks to respond to our requests to maintain. Right now, under current law, the homeowner is still responsible until the foreclosure process in completed; and they're obviously not going to do anything. Hopefully, under the new law, currently being considered by our state legislature, mortgage holders will inherit that responsibility at the beginning of the process. That decision should be reached by May. No word on a potential buyer for Grenelefe. We should know, I'm guessing, in the first week of April, if the news is positive. The longer information release takes, the less likely a buyer exists. I'm hopeful but not optimistic.
11. 5/3 A small group of Country Homes residents have been investigating and pursuing the acquisition of the West Course, working with Garrett Kenny/Feltrim, Inc. and Carlton Exchange, the listing agent for the auction of Grenelefe. Though our offer was not accepted we were able to make valuable contacts and have learned late last week that an offer of $25M has been accepted with a tentative closing date in November, 2010. Originally, the buyer wanted 1 year but the seller wanted 90 days. A compromise was reached (miracle of miracles) and 6 months was agreed upon. Our group is still very much interested in working with the new buyers in assuring that reopening the West Course is a priority. We feel it is absolutely key in promoting and Grenelefe as a whole and increasing the value and marketability of residences here. The East and South courses, while fine and, hopefully, upgraded facilities in the future, don't have the history and past state and national ranking that the West possesses. They have not been able to bring the prominence to Grenelefe that the West surely will. Its reestablishment will put Grenelefe on the map as nothing else here can. This may well be our last opportunity to replace Westgate with a proper steward and will likely be the difference between people avoiding Grenelefe and families seeking it out as a vacation resort and/or a home. I implore you all to throw every ounce of support you can for this critical development in our history and make our future owner feel nothing but welcome here. Save all of your hopes, concerns and fears until after the change of ownership is complete. We absolutely cannot afford any comment that will discourage them in any way. No matter what they do it will be an improvement over the present. I will post any developments and soon as I learn of them so keep in touch and use the forum for and comments or suggestions you have.
12. 5/3/10 We have a significant problem with abandoned properties in different states of foreclosure. Banks are dragging their feet in taking title and living up to their responsibilites. With By Laws and Convenants written in the day when our Grenelefe was a valued community and was occupied by owners who maintained their properties and paid their bills, the economy was much better, and it was unnecessary to confront banks to face their responsibilities, we are currently faced with a crisis we cannot currently manage. We have engaged an attorney to help us redraft our Country Homes Convenants to give the HOA needed authority to enforce property maintenance, debt collection and foreclosure management issues in order to maintain the quality and value of our residences and community. In the meantime we are working with homeowners where possible, banks and the county to protect our community. If anyone would like to assist in this endeavor contact me, Bob Wilcox, at [email protected] or 863-422-1036.