Administrator Atle Crowe-Maxwell has confirmed a private investor has come forward with a firm offer to buy.

"It's true [we have a cheque on the table] and we are going through the approvals process with the Korean bankers.

"A firmer decision is expected in three to four weeks," Mr Crowe-Maxwell said.

"In the meantime the golf course will continue to operate as normal."

A source who wished to remain anonymous told the Examiner that the price tag was expected to be between $3-$4 million.

While the sale is expected to end the long-running saga of the resort's plagued past, not all members are pleased with the latest developments.

No one however was willing to comment on the record.

Horizons was left in limbo in 2010 after the former owners, Le Meilleur, went into receivership.

For the past three years the course has been operated and maintained by a committed group of residents under the banner of Par for the Course, who have turned the greens and fairways from a parched, neglected state into pristine condition.

Previous efforts to sell the course have been blocked by Korean banks, believed to be owed $12 million, who have control of the deed for the land.

Last July liquidators gave Mr Crowe-Maxwell the go-ahead to sell the property under tender.

Le Meilleur, meanwhile, is alleged to owe $2 million in federal and state taxes and to Port Stephens Council.