AZBusiness May/June 2020

and West Coasts to enjoy golf and enjoy the winter months in Arizona’s perfect weather. A majority of golf courses also have country clubs for men and women to socially engage with neighbors and other residents, MacDonald says.

Beware of these issues Patrick MacQueen, founding partner of MacQueen and Gottlieb, says the No. 1 issue potential homeowners should be aware of are the trends in golf course play.

“You want a course that can sustain itself so you don’t run into situations where courses have to shut down due to lack of play,” he says, “so the health of the golf industry and the health of the particular golf course itself is very important if you’re considering buying on a golf course or developing on a golf course.”

In addition, other factors to consider are placement of the home on the golf courses, noises like golf course maintenance, potential damages from wayward golf balls, and lack of privacy in your backyard.

“A couple other things we tell people to look at is placement on the course itself,” MacQueen says, “so if you’re considering buying a house 250 yards down the righthand side, expect to get a lot of balls in your yard or hitting your house and then you run into potential insurability issues as well.” It’s also important to consider the lawn maintenance for the course, as they usually mow lawns early in the morning and that can disrupt sleep if you work odd hours MacQueen says.

MacQueen says some legal issues that may arise for potential homeowners or developers include adverse possession and prescriptive easement. Adverse possession is when golf course employees mow homeowners’ backyards and ultimately the AB | May - June 2020 31