OK – so I’m a recovering golfer (mediocre one at best).  Got my handicap down to 13 at the height of my addiction, playing about 3 rounds a month.  Went to golf camp, read Ben Hogan & Harvey Penick, couldn’t help but buy a new putter every 6 months to cure what ailed me, etc.

But since our two kids (Cayley and Cooper) came along it’s the standard cliche…lucky to get to the range once every few months.  Maybe 1-2 rounds a year at an alumni scramble where spraying the ball around is a little less painful than trying to kid myself I can still play.

Despite this, lately as I watch all the news about how hard hit the Arizona Real Estate market has been hit by the slump, foreclosures, etc – I’m starting to wonder whether this wouldn’t be a good opportunity to invest in my eventual return to the golf world.   Because as much as I haven’t admitted this to my wife – that return is inevitable.  And what would make for a better re-entry to spoiling good walks, then a little golf pad in Scottsdale?

Besides, I like rental property and have been noodling picking up a vacation home or condo that could serve to host a few guys trips as well as offset or cover its expense via the occasional rental.

So of course I’ve been keeping my eye on all types of Arizona Real Estate on Roost from condo to phat single family home.  Well, needless to say there is a lot of inventory out there.  And while I haven’t figured out the rental market opportunities and the likely ability to cash flow the property – or as my Real Estate agent who helped me buy property in Arkansas (another story) put it – “how to avoid the alligator…” – it does look interesting enough for me to start working some numbers.

As of today I see 777 single family homes and condos on Roost when I do a “Golf” keyword search.   And quite a price range – from $100k for a 1 bed/1 ba condo, to $15.9mm for a 7 bed/10 bath (!) home.

Amazingly, of those 777 properties.  658 are condos listed between $150k and $300k - which is my price sweetspot for this type of deal.  That blew me away and tells me that a golf getaway doubling as a little Real Estate investment opportunity might be just the thing to distract me from the stock market!