Fairfield Glade or Lake Tansi? Compare the file, not the brochure

Choose neither community from a feature count alone. Fairfield Glade publicly describes five golf courses, eleven lakes and two marinas. Lake Tansi describes one 18-hole golf course and four lakes, including the 550-acre Lake Tansi. Those are differences in scale, not proof of access, condition, availability or value to a particular household. 1 9

The cost file is uneven. For a Fairfield Glade home with sewer and trash, the reported 2026 Community Club assessment is $137 a month, or $1,644 a year. The reported one-time amenity reserve fee for a home purchase is $6,000 at closing. A 2024 local report says either buyer or seller may pay, or the parties may split it by negotiation; the contract should say. 4 5 6

No authoritative public 2026 regular-dues amount, complete current assessment schedule or parcel membership classification was located for Lake Tansi in the official-source search dated 11 September 2026. That blank must remain blank until the POA answers in writing. 12 13

If either purchase depends on short-term-rental income, leave that income out of the arithmetic. Fairfield Glade's 1997 declaration prohibits short-term lodging in a single-family detached structure, while a 2021 property guide supplies the under-28-day description. Lake Tansi's homepage quotes a daily-or-weekly single-family-house prohibition, but the current 2026 ACC booklet does not contain the quoted sentence. Neither file supports treating a listing as permission. 7 8 9 16

The table deliberately does not convert an unknown Lake Tansi dues amount to zero. It also does not call Fairfield Glade's larger amenity inventory a better value. A waterfront buyer can care more about one dock file than the number of lakes on a community homepage.

Fairfield Glade's reported 2026 figures are specific enough to enter as dated lines in a buying worksheet: $137 a month for a home with sewer and trash and a $6,000 amenity reserve fee for a home purchase, paid once at closing. A 2024 local report says either buyer or seller may pay, or the parties may split the fee by negotiation; the contract should say. The Club also publishes a 2026 amenity schedule and live golf rates. Golf is priced separately. 6 3 2

Lake Tansi's public file explains how dues and assessments are supposed to be set, but it does not provide the current parcel answer. The October 2017 bylaws say the Board sets regular and business dues annually and describe separate special-assessment procedures. A 2022 annual-meeting report said 2023 dues would be set at $285. That dated prospective figure is not a 2026 schedule and does not belong in current buying arithmetic. 12 13

This does not show that Lake Tansi costs more or less. Ask for the parcel's membership class, number of billable memberships, current dues, every special assessment or charge, unpaid balances, liens and transfer treatment. Keep each line separate.

Fairfield Glade lists five golf courses, eleven lakes and two marinas. Its 2026 golf page prices member, preferred-member, guest, annual-pass, rider and other choices separately. A buyer should model the actual pattern of play rather than describe all five courses as included in the assessment. 1 2

Lake Tansi lists four lakes and one 18-hole course. Its 2026 Welcome Booklet also describes pools, a beach, tennis, pickleball, miniature golf and guest-pass rules. Those dated program terms do not promise a facility, slip, tee time or class will be available when wanted. 9 10

Write down what the household will use in an ordinary month. Then obtain the current member price, guest rule, reservation rule and availability for those items only.

The communities do not share one rental rule merely because they share a county.

For Fairfield Glade, the 1997 declaration contains the single-family detached short-term- lodging prohibition. The under-28-day figure comes from the March 2021 property guide, not from the declaration. The reviewed public record does not supply a complete answer for longer stays, other property types, registration, guest cards, fees or enforcement. Separately recorded documents can matter, except where those records incorporate the Original Declaration by reference. 7 8

For Lake Tansi, the live POA homepage quotes a ban on daily or weekly rental of a single-family residential house and attributes it to page 13, Article 15 of the ACC booklet. The current linked January 2026 booklet contains no occurrence of rental; printed page 13 covers fences and outbuildings, and Article 15 on printed page 16 is a residential-business restriction. That mismatch is not permission and does not decide which document controls. 9 16

For either community, send the parcel ID, legal description, property type and proposed stay pattern to the association. Ask it to identify the governing instrument, effective date, registration and guest rules, charges, enforcement process and any separately recorded restriction. Then route title, tax, insurance, loan and public-permit questions to their actual owners.

Fairfield Glade's eleven lakes and Lake Tansi's four-lake system do not create one comparable unit called “waterfront.” The deed, survey, lake, shoreline rule, dock approval, water depth, access point and operating schedule matter.

Lake Tansi's 22 July 2026 notice scheduled its drawdown for fall 2027 after the Board chose to lower Lake Mohawk in 2026. It did not publish the exact Lake Tansi start date, target level or refill date. The 2026 ACC booklet separately requires applications for specified shoreline work, says permits are not transferable and gives the reviewed 90-day start and one-year completion rule. 15 16

This comparison does not apply those Lake Tansi rules to Fairfield Glade or assume every lake within either community works the same way.

Use one worksheet for both candidates. Enter only dated written amounts. Keep these lines separate:

1. association dues or assessment;
2. sewer, trash and utility charges;
3. closing, transfer and reserve charges;
4. special assessments and known capital work;
5. golf, marina, pool, guest and other optional use;
6. insurance and property tax for the actual address;
7. repairs, shoreline work and open approvals; and
8. income the purchase requires.

Mark an unknown as unresolved, not zero. If an unresolved item could reverse the decision or make the purchase unaffordable, require the written answer before contract or make it a stated contingency.

Open the browser-private comparison worksheet