Thinking about Paula Creamer’s house, you know, these big golfer places, it gets me remembering something.
People see these fancy homes in those exclusive golf communities and probably figure it’s just about having the cash. And sure, you need a boatload of money, no doubt about that. But sometimes, getting into those places, or even just the slightly less fancy ones nearby, it’s not just about the bank account. It can get kinda weird.
My Brush with the Gatekeepers
A few years back, I was looking to maybe move down south, maybe Florida. Found this place, nice enough, part of a golf community. Wasn’t Paula Creamer level, understand, just a decent house on a quiet street near a course. Thought it would be relaxing. Green grass, sunshine, the whole deal.
Well, I went through the whole nine yards. Got the mortgage pre-approval sorted, looked at the house a couple of times, everything seemed okay. I was ready to make an offer. Then came the part I wasn’t really expecting: the HOA board interview. Yeah, you heard that right. An interview. To buy a house I was paying for!
- Felt more like a job interview for a spy agency.
- They sat there, three of them, looking all serious.
- Asked about my job, my family, even what kind of social events I liked.
It felt really intrusive. I mean, I get needing to know if I can pay the monthly HOA fees, that’s fair. But they were digging into stuff that felt way too personal. One fella kept asking about my ‘long-term commitment to the community aesthetic’. What does that even mean? Am I going to paint my house purple? No!
The weirdest part? I had this old leather briefcase with me, carried it for years, reliable thing. One of the board members, this woman with perfect hair, kept glancing at it. Like it personally offended her. Maybe it wasn’t fancy enough? I swear, I think my slightly scuffed briefcase might have been a factor.
The ‘Community Fit’ Thing
So, after this whole interrogation, I waited. A week later, I get a call from the realtor. They passed. The board decided I wasn’t a ‘good fit for the community’. A good fit! Based on what? A 30-minute chat and my briefcase? It was ridiculous.
Honestly, it completely turned me off the whole idea. Felt less like a neighborhood and more like a private club I wasn’t cool enough to join. Made me wonder what kind of ‘fit’ they actually wanted. Someone who played golf three times a week and drove a specific brand of luxury car, maybe?
I ended up buying a place somewhere else entirely. No golf course view, no gates, no board interview. Just a regular house in a regular neighborhood. And you know what? It’s great. My neighbors are normal folks, nobody cares what kind of briefcase I carry.
So now, when I see articles or pictures about huge celebrity mansions like Paula Creamer’s house, I mostly just shrug. Sure, it’s probably nice inside. But I also think about those gatekeepers and the weird hoops you might have to jump through. Makes me appreciate my simple, interview-free life a lot more.
