Hilton Head - Great Golf Communities

Hilton Head

Golf at a Five-Star Resort in Costa Rica

Reserva Conchal is a five-star luxury resort nestled on Costa Rica’s most beautiful north Pacific beach cove and that is all that separates this luxurious resort from the Pacific Ocean.

Reserva Conchal Golf Course is surrounded by 2000 acres of tropical dry forest whose inhabitants include red macaws, toucans & howler monkeys.

Costa Rica is required to set aside one quarter of its land mass for nature preserves and National Parks. Robert Trent Jones Jr., known for his ability to craft memorable courses within the context of strict environmental laws, was hired to build a 650-acre seaside resort and golf course along the Pacific Coast in the province of Guanacaste.

Choose Your Realtor Wisely

Whether you're ready to sell your home or link up with someone to show you your dream home, the choice can be tough. How do you choose the right realtor? How do you find the realtor who understands your needs and goals? You absolutely need to feel that this is someone you trust, but ultimately, it comes down to a business choice. Who will best assist you in making the best deal in what is probably your biggest investment - your home?

Is finding a realtor like dating? Sort of. You need to go through the awkwardness of friends' recommendations, the interviews and being in an uncomfortable position when rejecting them, but that's a necessary part of the process. What should guide your decision? Are you able to talk to them, and most importantly, do you feel that they are really listening to what you have to say? If they can't clearly explain their plans for you, will you be comfortable entrusting a big chunk of your wealth to them? There must be a good gut feeling about this person, or things won't go well. Being nice and friendly may just not cut it - you need to be on the lookout for a trustworthy realtor who can squeeze just a bit extra out of your home's value, or gain the upper hand in negotiating a purchase.

When interviewing realtors to list your house, take note of whether they are excited about your home, or focused on the negatives of trying to sell it? If they say they have clients lined up to buy your home, be sure that you're confident that they'll be bringing these folks through your front door as soon as the ink dries on the listing contract. Any house can be sold if priced right. Make sure that their assessment of your home's value is realistic and based upon comparable homes on the market, not what price gives you a desired profit. Just because you've put your heart and soul into renovations, doesn't mean you'll recoup that investment. A good realtor will explain what enhances or depreciates the value of your home in a way that you can accept. Another surefire way to find the right realtor is to talk to neighbors and look at the real estate ads. See who is really active, knows your area and has had success in selling homes there. When you find a realtor who seems to fit, go beyond personality and style and ask some critical questions. Talk to them about their marketing plan. Do they have a user-friendly Web site so you can easily see what other homes are for sale in your neighborhood? Do they plan to hold open houses on a regular basis? Do they have clients already interested in homes like yours? Are they a member of the Multiple Listing Service? If not, why? It's important that the realtor stay on top of details, so ask if he or she has a support staff to make the essential follow-up phone calls to prospective buyers after a showing. No news is never good news, but you deserve to get the feedback. A good realtor will use it to modify a marketing plan or suggest a price change.

Communication is the key to a good buying experience. Your expectations and time frame are big considerations when choosing a buyer's agent. Again, you need to assess who really understands the market and can pinpoint homes that fit your criteria. Know what you can afford, where you want to buy and what details your dream home should have! If you are someone who needs to move quickly, make sure you find a realtor who can jump right in. Nothing can be more frustrating that waiting for a phone to ring and for appointments to be set when you're in a hurry. If someone doesn't return your phone call in a timely manner, move on and find someone else. On the other hand, you may just be starting out on a home buying quest and only interested in getting a general feel for what's available. Share that with the realtor and see if they'd still like to work on your behalf under those circumstances.

The average person will only purchase or sell real estate a few times in their lives. Because your home may be your biggest investment, it pays to do the research and take the time to find the right realtor to represent you on this great financial adventure.

Welcome to Great Golf Communities in Naples

You’ve found it. Golf heaven, or as the Naples Chamber of Commerce boasts “Welcome to Paradise.” Yet it might not be just bragging—The National Golf Foundation’s latest statistics show that the Naples-Marco Island area is second only to Myrtle Beach in the TOTAL number of golf holes per capita, and #1 when it comes to the number of private holes per person. What that translates into for those of you looking for a Great Golf Community is that while many wonderful golf communities still offer daily-fee, semi-private conditions, nowhere else can you find more options for that extra layer of exclusivity in your golf community lifestyle than Naples.

And there’s more to Naples than just quiet, very secluded golf. Naples is still out-of-the-way enough to still have that small-town charm, where your neighbors still go for a morning stroll or jog and wave as they pass by. Each corner of this town of less than 30,000 in Naples-proper has its own style and areas like Bayfront offer the classy restaurants, exclusive boutiques and nightlife of a classic city like its namesake in Italy.

Yet Naples is even more than simple sophistication. In the spring of 2005, the city was named the best “Small Art Town” in a book of the 100 Best Art Towns in America. Author John Villani called Naples “an arts powerhouse overdue for national attention.” The book rates Naples ahead of Taos, Aspen, Provincetown and Ashland, Oregon, all renowned for the quality of their local support for galleries, festivals, theaters and museums. Villani was talking about the area’s arts community when he extolled the virtues of Naples’ “amazing range of natural splendor”, but he could well have been visiting one of the area’s growing number of fabulous golf communities. If you consider golf an art form, you may have found a new home.

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