I am ready to pull my hair out on this HOA Issue! But time for a political response. If work has taught me one thing, it is to understand your audience when you are communicating. This is part of the fun of real estate investing. I hope I can help share this story with any, but if there is one thing I hope you learn is that this is apart of real estate investing. This is what I signed up for when I purchased an investment property. Although I want to blow up on the HOA for a few reasons, it is time for a political response to them and see what they come back with. In tonights article, I want to share exactly what I responded to the HOA with.
Before going into the email, get caught up on the story danggit! There has been so much that has gone on to this point. Again, can’t believe this is Part VIII in this saga and it is only continuing!
- Part I: Calling HOA To File Lawsuit!?!?! Short Term Rental Update – Ol’ Faithful
- Part II: S**t Is Getting Real – I Posted In My HOA Homeowner FB Group And Got People Fired Up
- Part III: Security Turned The Guests Away This Morning – I Watched The Whole Thing From Inside The Gates
- Part IV: Lawyer Time – I Spoke With A Lawyer Over The Weekend, And Here Is What They Said
- Part V: Lawyered The S**t Out Of The Final Email To The HOA & Board
- Part VI: The HOA President Responded With The Board Decision – Prime The Popcorn
- Part VII: Time For Legal Advice From A Local Florida Attorney – Will See What Guidance They Provide
Now Time For My Email Response!
Before my email response, make sure to checkout Part VI specifically to read the HOA response to my first email. If you didn’t read my first email, well damn! Go back to Part V: Lawyered The S**t Out Of The Final Email To The HOA & Board.
Ok, hopefully you are now up to speed on everything going on. So a quick recap:
- I lawyered the shit out of an email (thanks to a lawyer editing it) to send to the HOA and Board outlining my stance
- This lawyer read the law as I did. She didn’t spend much time, but she read and interpreted the Executive Order like I did
- The HOA responded saying I was reading the Executive Order wrong and they confirmed that with their attorney
- I spoke with a local attorney to get her interpretation of everything going on, and she agreed with the HOA attorney. She did mention the executive order is horribly written and even in Section B of the Executive Order it excludes resorts, which my place seems to claim to be
Anyways, a lot of crap going on. And it hasn’t stopped. I am not trying to egg on the HOA or be difficult. I am simply trying to rent out my home legally. I don’t plan to ask the government for assistance to pay my mortgages. For one, I think it would be too complicated for me to figure out how to qualify and secondly, I just want to fight through it and get rental income at all my properties to pay my expenses.
The Actual Email I Sent
Here is the actual email I sent to the Board and HOA in response.
HOA Board,
Hopefully that can be read. Here are the main points I was trying to get across in the email:
- I am disappointed in the overall communication from the HOA. Typically, I wouldn’t expect much of any response from the HOA’s I own in based off the situation going on. Maybe just one email saying what they are doing if anything, but when the HOA decides to shut down the resort to any new guests, my expectation for their communication is at a whole different level. I plan to write an entire post early next week on HOA’s and more thoughts on this.
- They have offered 0 options for investors who make up 80% of the community for things we can do to rent that they will allow. That is right 0!
- I get safety is a priority. This one is going to be a long bullet point, because I take safety seriously. I also have received feedback from multiple people saying I am inconsiderate for trying to rent my place out right now with everything going on. Here is my stance. Yesterday, I was on a meeting with our supply chain team. We had the Senior Vice President of Health & Wellness join the call and give us an update on everything going on. In the conversation he wanted to be clear on how COVID-19 is transmitted. He said what we do know right now is it is transmitted from human to human mainly through someone sneezing or coughing. There are three spots it can enter into your body, the nose, mouth and eyes. COVID-19 can stay in the air for 2-3 hours and can exists on surfaces for up to 72 hours. He ended with saying this, there is significant evidence showing you must be around another individual having COVID-19 for more than 30 minutes to be able to contract it. For all of these reasons, having someone new come into the resort, checking in at security for less than a minute (while practicing social distancing) and then driving to my home will pose no threat to anyone’s safety in the resort.
I Am Still Lost How New Guests Put Others In Significant Harm
Again, I will be the first to say safety is my top priority, always. But with everything that I heard from our Senior Vice President, I am confused how new guests pose a significant risk to the few who live in the resort. While all the resort amenities are shut down, and everyone practicing social distancing, I am so lost as to how my guests will pose a threat to people living there.
Something I Learned From Speaking To A Homeowner In The Resort
I would also like to point something out that one of the homeowners who is an investor pointed out to me. He told me that the resort, when it opened, was only for investors renting out properties as short term rentals. He mentioned somewhere along the people who got on the board, who also happened to own a property in the resort, added a clause in the Bylaws allowing people to live in the resort full time. This then started to create a very tight knit group of individuals who were always in the community. This group slowly took over the entire HOA board and always have immediately gone to the front desk to speak to the GM whenever they had an issue. Mainly because they were onsite.
Him and I have been going back and forth for the last three days. He said how he believes the homeowners who live onsite all talked to each other and went to the GM of the resort requesting him to immediately shut things down to new guests upon the Executive Order being signed into law. Per this other owners words “the homeowners who live there want to use the resort as their own Alamo of security and we can’t stand by this shit.” Not my words, his.
Anyways…The Plot Thickens
This is not the end to this plot. Just wait till you see what happened just 5 hours after I sent this response email to the board. I keep thinking shit can’t get crazier, but I continue to be more and more amazed around the actions of the Board than ever.
New article coming tomorrow! Stay tuned…cliff hanger 🙂
In all seriousness, it has been fun putting these posts together even though they take a long time to write each night. It would be greatly appreciated if you subscribe to the blog! Each time you go to a new post, you should receive a popup asking for you to subscribe. Thanks in advance for reading and looking forward to tomorrow’s post!
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My Decision On Moving Forward With A Lawyer – To Pay Or Not To Pay, That Is The Question
