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ShirleyC (California)
Posts: 117
Posted:
We have a new board and just had a unit sale.........these units
are supposed to sale as residences; so I'm assuming that means the purchaser has to live in it.....and this particular sale the owner is not going to live in the unit.....

Who is responsible for making sure the new owners and sellers are following the rules?.......we had no idea until after escrow closed..Help!!
MelissaP1 (Alabama)
Posts: 13,836
Posted:
The HOA holds the owner to the rules. If that owner has a renter then the owner is responsible for controlling and modifying their rental agreement to agree to the rules of the HOA. The HOA can't enforce rules onto the renter. It has to go to the owner and set up a fining schedule from there.

Former HOA President
TimB4 (Tennessee)
Posts: 21,044
Posted:
Quote:
Posted By ShirleyC on 07/24/2012 4:52 PM

these units are supposed to sale as residences; so I'm assuming that means the purchaser has to live in it.....and this particular sale the owner is not going to live in the unit.....

Renting a unit is typically not considered commercial use of the property.

What is the exact wording in your documents that makes you think units are not allowed to be rented?
LarryB13 (Arizona)
Posts: 4,099
Posted:
It depends on what you mean by "sale."

If the unit was sold at a foreclosure auction then the association has no control over who bids. The purchaser is still subject to the CC&R's, but if the CC&R's do not prohibit non-owner occupation (rentals) then there is nothing the association could have done to prevent the sale.

If, however, you mean that the association sold a unit on the open market, the association had control of the terms of the sale and could have refused sale to a person who did not intend to live there.
SteveM9 (Massachusetts)
Posts: 3,699
Posted:
Its private property. Your hoa may be able to regulate what goes on outside the house, but you cannot regulate what people do inside the house.
MelissaP1 (Alabama)
Posts: 13,836
Posted:
Along those lines of Steve... A HOA can NOT interfere with an owner's contract.

Former HOA President
BruceF1 (Connecticut)
Posts: 2,535
Posted:
Shirley,

"Residential use" means SOMEONE has to live there. It doesn't have to be the owner to be termed a residence. It is the RESIDENCE if the renter.
BruceF1 (Connecticut)
Posts: 2,535
Posted:
It is the residence OF the renter. Darn, I wish you could edit these posts.
ShirleyC (California)
Posts: 117
Posted:
So what assurances does the HOA (or other owners) have that when a sale happens it will be within the guidelines of the CC&R's and Bylaws?

According to the Title Company they only need to give a copy of the CC&R's and Bylaws to the new owner.........

ShirleyC (California)
Posts: 117
Posted:
thanks for all the posts.....this is a great site.

Our HOA allows only 25% rental units and so that's 3 of 14 total.

BruceF1 (Connecticut)
Posts: 2,535
Posted:
Quote:
Posted By ShirleyC on 07/25/2012 7:09 AM
thanks for all the posts.....this is a great site.

Our HOA allows only 25% rental units and so that's 3 of 14 total.


Ah, so the problem is with the number of rental units, not with "nonresidential use" as your original post implied (at least, to me).

Twenty-five percent of 14 is 3.5, so maybe somebody is rounding to say that 4 units can be rented, since 3 out of 14 is less than 25% and you can't rent a half of a unit. Whether it is only 3 units or could be as many as 4 units will depend on the precise wording of your CCRs. Have all of the units been built? Do the CCRs refer to the total number of possible units, including those that are not yet built? Or, do the CCRs refer to only the number of units actually built? Precise wording is important here, and if the wording of your CCRs is ambiguous, then, well . . . .
FredS7 (Arizona)
Posts: 927
Posted:
> So what assurances does the HOA (or other owners) have that when a sale happens it will be within the guidelines of the CC&R's and Bylaws?

Unless your HOA has some special provision- like a right of first refusal- an owner can sell a unit to anyone he wants to.

The restrictions run with the property. It is up to the new owner to comply with them, and up to the HOA to compel him if necessary. By fines and/ or legal action.

ShirleyC (California)
Posts: 117
Posted:
thank you Fred, that's what I was looking for.
LarryB13 (Arizona)
Posts: 4,099
Posted:
Who gets to decide which 3.5 units may be rented? Anything in your CC&R's that requires asssociation approval before an owner may rent out his unit? How does a new owner know how many other units are being rented out? If three units are already rented and a new owner rents his unit out, making four rentals, are the first three owners entitled to continue to rent their units while the newcomer is SOL? If so, what gives one owner different rights to use his property than another?
ShirleyC (California)
Posts: 117
Posted:
I assume that the rental will be first come first serve; they do have to be approved by the HOA board.
CindyT4 (Michigan)
Posts: 27
Posted:
We just amended our Bylaws to state that the maximum # of rental units is 10% or, in our community 4.7, rounded to 5. Before the newly amended document was recorded in the County Clerk's office, one board member rented out his unit, making the # of rental's in our community 6. Then, after the newly amended document was filed, another Board member leased out his, to make a total of 7. When pressed, the Board is not coming up with why the variance to the 7th rental was granted. Ultimately, regardless of what our documents stipulate, it is up to the Board to enforce the retrictions. Our Michigan Condo Act states that a Co-owner(s) can sue the Board and the Association for not enforcing the deed restrictions, a tough way to fight it out, but if you feel your property values are being comprimised by your Board's inaction, it may be ultimately necessary.
CindyT4 (Michigan)
Posts: 27
Posted:
Additionally, our documents require an owner desiring to rent to submit the lease to the Board for approval BEFORE leasing the unit. This should be, but obviously has not been, the safeguard in not turning the community into a rental community.
MelissaP1 (Alabama)
Posts: 13,836
Posted:
The only state I know of that can allow a HOa to limit rentals is Claifornia. That is even limited to this year forward. A HOa can write all the restrictions it wants in it's docs referencing rentals does not mean it can be enforced. A HOA can't interfere with an owner's contract and renter's have rights.

Rental does not reduce home values in a HOA. They effect them in two other ways. The first being limiting the # of available loan programs. Some mortgages do not sale their products due to rental amounts in a HOA. Can still buy and homes appraisals stay the same, just harder to get a loan. The second is that the apparence can effect the ATTRACTIVENESS of the property. This does not effect home values just buyers losing interest. Otherwise rental property effects the owners directly than the HOA. Damages and maintence issues are t the owner's costs not the HOa's.

Former HOA President
ShirleyC (California)
Posts: 117
Posted:
Our CC&R's are pretty much in agreement with the Sterling Davis Act in California; and the HOA is the owners and rental properties affect property values where we live.

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