The HOA had their chance to email the homeowners to keep us up to date on all the things going on. Now time for some fun in my response back to them. Sometimes I feel the email etiquette I have learned from work makes some people surprised about how I well I format some of the stuff I say. I would love to deal with these things over the phone or in person, but the HOA and board have yet to want to speak in person or over the phone.
So now, I am stuck with email to try and get responses.
If you haven’t caught up yet, start from the beginning of the story to get the full craziness of this saga with my HOA!
- 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
- Part VIII: Ready To Pull My Hair Out On This HOA Issue! – But Time For A Political Response
- Part IX: My Decision On Moving Forward With A Lawyer – To Pay Or Not To Pay, That Is The Question
- Part X: What I Think Of My HOA – The Unedited Version
My Email Response To The HOA
I wanted to make sure the HOA understood that I was taking my time before responding to their emails. Do I think they read the entire email response I sent, no. Absolutely not. If they did, they would have responded to my question the first time.
So here is my response in all of its glory:
Good afternoon HOA and Board Members,
I would like to address your email to the homeowners. First thank you for finally sending an email. Communication should be sent out once if not twice a week to update all homeowners on the situation.
Now, to address the actual content of the message. It was honestly laughable.
First, let’s discuss the difference between EO 20-91 Essential Services and Activities During COVID-19 Emergency and EO-87 (Emergency Management – COVID-19 – Vacation Rental Closures).
EO 20-91 Essential Services and Activities During COVID-19 Emergency is an EO that speaks directly to essential services. The only three references to vacation rentals pertain to Miami Dade County, see screenshot below.
Yes, that is right, I hit Crtl+f and typed in vacation rentals to see exactly where it popped up.
EO 20-91 Essential Services and Activities During COVID-19 Emergency was extended and set to expire on 4/30 2020 unless extended by subsequent order.
Now, let’s touch on EO-87 (Emergency Management – COVID-19 – Vacation Rental Closures). As of 2:30pm EST on 4/8, this executive order is set to expire on Friday, 4/10. This means, vacation rentals, as of 4/10 can go back to business as normal and the HOA and board would be in direct violation of the law if you were to not allow guests to check in. This is pending any potential extensions of the EO that may happen from now till 4/10.
This is how I would have worded this communication to homeowners.
As of right now (enter current time), EO 20-91 Essential Services and Activities During COVID-19 Emergency was extended through 4/30 unless extended by subsequent order. EO-87 (Emergency Management – COVID-19 – Vacation Rental Closures) preventing us from allowing new short term rental guests is set to expire this Friday 4/10. This is pending any subsequent order that could be signed into law between now and Friday. If no extension is signed to this order, we will be allowing new guests to arrive beginning on Friday 4/10.
On another topic, would the HOA not permit me to rent my place out long term to abide by the law? Again, there are no options the HOA has offered for investors like myself, and the fact that there are no options and the email above asks for our money is well…a joke and very inconsiderate. I have paid and always will pay my HOA dues on time in full every quarter. Period. But asking for my money in an email communication like this is not a good look.
My Thoughts On The Above Response
I am obviously biased in my response, but I feel I am being fair and pointing to straight facts. I am simply trying to find a way to rent my place long term that abides by the law. Period.
I am not trying to be difficult even though I know the HOA feels like I am just trying to be an ass.
What they need to understand is this. The resort is made up of 80% investors. Yes, this is an investment property. Not a vacation home or something that I have budgeted to just take money out of my pocket every month because I can’t rent it out. This has and always will be an investment property for me.
I don’t buy real estate to not produce cash flow for me. I only plan on buying assets in my life, and not liabilities. An asset to me means something that puts money back into my pocket. Right now, this investment property has become a straight liability. Normally, I wouldn’t be upset about this as I would say I would have control over most of my assets, but the fact that the HOA still feels like they have the authority to just stop me from renting has continued to frustrate me.
Why I Feel How I Feel
Again, I have never dealt with HOA issues in the past. Part of real estate investing is having to deal with the punches and things that come up from time to time. The main things I have accounted for are the most common capital expenses that will come up. Something I have not factored into my investment strategy is the fact that a HOA can just shut down the main entrance and prevent me from having any income. I still believe what they are doing is not abiding by the law.
Even more frustrating is how they talk about having to create an Emergency Budget to be able to handle these tough times. When, the reality is they should be saving money due to everything being shut down and people still paying their dues.
Something Hilarious Was Posted On The FB Group
Even more hilarious about the entire situation was something one of the homeowners who lives in the resort full time posted in the Facebook group.
Now, before I post exactly what they posted in the Facebook group, here is a little context on this owner.
This owner was one of the ones who belittled me saying how inconsiderate I was for wanting to still rent out my place long term and put the other homeowners in the resort at risk.
In tomorrow’s post, I will post the ridiculous comments made by this owner and the proceeding shenanigans in the Facebook group.
Things got out of control. And there was a ton of bickering. This one, I decided to stay out of. I will continue sitting on the sideline until I determine what I plan on doing with the property!
If you aren’t already, don’t forget to follow me on Instagram!
Thanks again for all the support and continuing to come back each day for new updates in this saga!
Checkout the next part of the saga at the below link!
The HOA Facebook Group Gets Heated – Time For The Popcorn!
