Category: Airbnb Updates

Posted on by — Leave a comment

HOA Sent An Email To All Homeowners To Pay Up!

This HOA has given me more issues than I care to even describe, oh wait, I have been pretty detailed in everything they have done to this point. The HOA sent an email to all homeowners to pay up. That is right, after this fiasco I have had with them to be able to rent my home out and being denied, and now they are asking all homeowners to pay up their quarterly dues immediately!

Get caught up on everything that has happened to this point following the links below starting from Part I:

 

I have been simply trying to pivot my short term rental business model to a month to month or long term rental business and the HOA has yet to allow me. My goal is to weather through this storm with enough rental income to cover my major expenses in each of my short term rental properties. This should be a temporary thing and I have been able to successfully pivot my real estate investments in each of my properties but this one property.

Here Is The Email From The HOA

This is definitely a long email, but I want to post the entire thing for you to get the full story. If you want to just get to the meat and potatoes, jump to the last paragraph! I have gone ahead and highlighted the part I couldn’t believe they added to the email.

Dear Homeowner,
As promised, this is an update on the impact of Coronavirus on the resort and how we are responding. Obviously, this is a fast-moving situation and while we will attempt to flag up pertinent issues as they arise, all owners are urged to listen to public broadcasts and particularly take the time to understand the implications of the Florida Governor’s Executive Orders (EOs), which detail the State’s response to the unfolding situation and provide instructions for citizens to follow.
The latest “Safer at Home” Order (EO 20-91) relating to “essential services and activities”, became effective April 3rd and expires on April 30th. This EO is wide ranging and we would encourage you to familiarise yourself with its contents. EOs can be found online by a simple search but we shall be posting these on the resort owners’ website for ease of reference. Please don’t ask our staff for guidance on the implications of the various orders, as they are not qualified to advise but if you are in any doubt, do contact the authorities for clarification.
Just for information, for those not actually onsite, all resort amenities are currently closed down and we are operating on a skeleton staff, with strict social distancing rules applied to those visiting our front desk. Our front gate remains covered 24/7, by our own staff during the daytime and by our regular contractor during overnight hours. These measures will be in place until at least the end of this month, when the position will be reviewed in light of prevailing circumstances and, of course, guidance from the authorities.
Also, in accordance with an earlier EO (20-87), in which the Governor temporarily suspended vacation rental operations, we have been refusing new rental admissions and our attorney has advised that we should continue to do so for the duration of the order and of course, any extension, unless for any rental which may be exempt, as prescribed by the Order. If, therefore, you are considering renting out your own property within the duration of the Order, perhaps to emergency workers coming in to help fight the virus, please contact our GM who will advise on what documentation will be required to comply with the Order but again, if you are in any doubt about compliance, please seek legal advice first.
Finally, your Board are currently working with our management team to find ways to mitigate the threat to our financial wellbeing, as we work our way through this crisis and to formulate an “Emergency Budget”, to give us a slimmed-down template to follow over the coming months. We are also looking at the available Government support schemes, which may benefit the HOA and our employees in the short term.
A further update on our financial planning will be provided in the next few days but in the meantime, thanks to all who have already paid this quarter’s fees and to those who have not yet paid, please do send yours in as soon as possible, so that we can maintain sufficient cashflow levels, not only to protect your resort asset but just as importantly, to keep our resort and its residents, guests and staff, safe and secure through these difficult times.
Thank you all for you co-operation and please stay safe,
Resor HOA Board

 

Overall Summary Of The Email

Like I said, this was a very lengthy email. Here are a few things I took away from the email.

First, they are finally listening to some of the feedback that I gave to them in regards to communication. I sent a clear email to the HOA/Board coaching them up to understand that they can’t close down the resort and then send 0 communication to any of the homeowners on what is going on. This is extremely unprofessional from a business standpoint.

Second, they continue to outline the two different executive orders signed into law by the Florida state governor. They even go as far as to tell people to seek their own legal advice if they have questions around what is legal and what is not. They know they are in hot waters right now for how they have handled the situation and they even “claim” they have seeked their own legal advice as well.

Third, they are seeking what they refer to as an Emergency Budget to get through this crisis! Umm…do you understand how a basic P&L statement works? For those of you who may not be familiar, a P&L is a profit and loss statement. This document outlines the expenses and income generated for a business. The HOA, by stating we need to create an Emergency Budget, is implying we will somehow be spending more money than previously by reducing the overall staffing and shutting down all the amenities in the resort. Last time I checked, when you close things and reduce the number of hours people are working, you save money. Not spend more. So I am still scratching my head as to how this crisis means the resort will be incurring more expenses than usual when everything is shut down. And no, they aren’t doing any special type of cleaning in the resort clubhouse. Mainly because it is shut down and everything inside is shut down. So saying they need more money to clean is not a valid point.

Now Time To The Part That Really Pissed Me Off

I continue finding it funny that the HOA thinks they are financial experts on this stuff. Here is the part that not only ticked me off, but also ticked off all the other investors in the Facebook group. This excerpt from the email:

“A further update on our financial planning will be provided in the next few days but in the meantime, thanks to all who have already paid this quarter’s fees and to those who have not yet paid, please do send yours in as soon as possible, so that we can maintain sufficient cashflow levels, not only to protect your resort asset but just as importantly, to keep our resort and its residents, guests and staff, safe and secure through these difficult times.”

So, let me make sure I am reading this right. You are requesting HOA dues from everyone so we can keep our resort and its residents, guests and staff, safe and secure during these difficult times? So you feel morally okay telling people to fork up their dues when you won’t allow me to rent my place long term based off the law allowing it?

Just want to make sure we are clear here. I also want to be clear about another thing. I paid my quarterly dues. On time and in full. Every time. I set everything on auto-payment and I didn’t for one second think to not pay my HOA dues. I pay my dues just like I am supposed to every quarter. These dues, I thought, gave me the right to own and utilize the community for a rental property investment it was meant to be; yet, now I am paying the exact HOA who is preventing me from renting my own place out?

Dang, this seems ass backwards. I can’t believe they had the nerve to put that at the bottom of their email while at the same time they are saying tough luck to all the investors who own in the resort. It isn’t the fact that they aren’t allowing me to rent short term, the law is clear on renting short term. I get that.

It is the fact that they abruptly shut everything down and have yet to offer any alternatives to investors who still have mortgage payments to pay. It is honestly things like this that I believe are going to cause the economy to tank in the next 3-4 months, if not sooner.

In tomorrow’s post, I will outline my response back to their email to the larger group. They continue to handle this situation in ways that amaze me.

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 article at the link below!

My Response To The HOA Clearly Asking To Rent Long Term

Posted on by — Leave a comment

What I Think Of My HOA – The Unedited Version

My views on HOA’s before and after this saga is definitely interesting to look at right now. To give an update on where we are at in the story. I have been told that the Executive Order in place prevents me from renting my home as a traditional short term rental investment property. There are still other avenues that I have yet to explore which I will detail out in tomorrow’s post. In the meantime, I wanted to provide some insight into how I view HOA’s. Real Estate investing is fun and there is so much that goes into it. Just when you think you have the hang of things, COVID-19 hits and the economy gets flipped on its head.

Before jumping into my unedited thoughts on the HOA, get caught up on all the craziness in the saga! Links below to all the articles so far!

What I think of my hoa

Here Are My Unfiltered Thoughts On HOA’s Prior To The Saga

Okay. You waited for it. Now you are going to get it. Here are my unfiltered thoughts on my HOA’s prior to the saga.

I paid my dues on time in full every month. I never had any complaints from the HOA and life felt normal. No issues. No concerns. All things were good and I was happy to continue paying my dues.

What Are My Thoughts Now? I Thought You Would Never Ask 😉

Here are my thoughts now on HOA’s. Do I think HOA’s can be good? Absolutely, I think they can be good.

Do I think HOA’s can have the ability for the board members to have power trips and think they are above the law and can do anything they so please to do? Absolutely, I feel like many members of HOA boards are just yearning for a sense of power. They maybe have never had a position of authority prior and love the power being on a board gives to them.

Do I think HOA boards are typically made up of the right people? Generally, I would say no. I don’t believe HOA’s are made up of the right mix of people. I feel like there are cliques that are created in communities and usually one clique will try to gain all the control on the board. They typically are the group who is the most vocal and has nothing better to do with their time than complain about things to people until they get their way. Oops, yeah, I guess I said it. That is how I view HOA’s.

How I View This Saga

Here is how I view the current saga I am in. This HOA is on a power trip. Here is where I believe the true problem lies though.

This community was originally designed only for short term rental properties. So 100% of the owners in this community were investors. In 2014, a new Bylaw was updated allowing people to live in the community long term as a owner occupied property. Since 2014, 20% of the homes in the community are now owner occupied. That means that 80% of the homes in the community are investors.

I am a firm believer the 20% of owner occupiers have been and are banding together. They have all lived there for many years and they have all made a pact to always do what is best for them and not the investors. I caught word the other day that they once tried to get the HOA to put in a $150,000 dog amusement park in the resort, until logical investors flipped and told them no.

I have an opinion that these 20% of individuals got together and immediately went to the front desk to speak with the GM of the resort as the COVID-19 break started to worsen. I have an opinion that they begged and pleaded to the GM to no longer let any new guests into the community no matter what. They wanted to keep their own “fortified” neighborhood where they were the only ones allowed in and out of the property. They continued to go to the GM everyday until they finally sent an email out telling all homeowners that no new guests would be allowed to check in effective immediately.

Detailing Out The Three HOA’s I Currently Have

I want to clearly articulate my thoughts on HOA’s before and after everything that has been going on. So time to clearly articulate the before.

I currently own 4 different homes. Three of the homes have HOA’s and one of them (the new triplex I just purchase) does not. The first home I ever purchased had an HOA.

The community is a nice community. It has a community pool, playground, dog park, softball field and small soccer field. The HOA charges $150 per month, but here is the amazing thing. The $150 a month pays for all lawn and pest control on my home so that is something I have never had to worry about! The HOA also provides access to all the amenities and maintains each. For $150 a month, I think this is well worth it. I have never had any issues with the HOA and I pay my dues on time every time each month.

Now comes my other two communities I own in, the first two sole Airbnb properties I purchased. The first property has an HOA running at $351 per month. This HOA is a little bit different though. It includes:

  • High speed internet in my home
  • DirectTV in my home with HBO and over 1000 channels
  • Clubhouse with a sauna, movie theater, workout facility and staffed front desk
  • A resort pool with a tiki bar!
  • 24/7 gated security
  • Exterior maintenance, exterior paint, and replacement of roof once needed

For $351 per month, I feel like it is a steal. A bunch of things that are add ons for the property, and internet and TV provided. Not too bad.

The last of my properties costs $251 a month which includes 24/7 security, clubhouse workout facility, resort pool, resort hot tub and resort kids water play area. A little pricey all things considered for what it offers, but I wanted to try a different community in the area.

Read the Facebook posts again. It is clear to see who the owner occupiers who live there are versus who the investors are.

I leave you with this cliffhanger.

Less than 5 hours after I sent my political response email back to the HOA (can be read again at this link), guess what happened?!?

Magically, they sent out an email to all the homeowners. MAGICALLY! Hmm…looks like my coaching up that I am doing for them is in the smallest way working.

In tomorrow’s post, the fun continues…you will not believe what they had the nerve to end the email with!!!!!!!

And you thought things had just settled down! Oh no, no no no. You are thinking wrong now!

Thanks again for reading the blog and staying up to date! Want to support me and get some extra content each month? Subscribe to the blog!

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!

To checkout the next part to this saga, click the link below!

Part X: HOA Sent An Email To All Homeowners To Pay Up!

 

 

 

Posted on by — 1 Comment

My Decision On Moving Forward With A Lawyer – To Pay Or Not To Pay, That Is The Question

I haven’t decided to pay a lawyer just yet to look further into my case. There are a few different reasons I have not moved forward with the lawyer. Before we get into those, let’s take a quick look at where we are at with everything going on. As a real estate investor, dealing with things like this will be a common occurrence. It might not always be a HOA that you have to deal with, but there are always things popping up that will cause issues.

Many individuals won’t buy in communities with HOA’s. I completely understand and respect that real estate investment strategy. Especially when you are going through and reading all of this, it doesn’t make you want to buy a property with a HOA. In my opinion there are good and bad things about HOA’s. The HOA haters will point exactly to this and say this is why nobody should buy in a HOA. I will give my limited view on HOA’s in a later post.

Paying A Lawyer

Time To Jump Into Where We Are In The Saga

The latest and greatest update was the response email I sent to the HOA. The response outlined my disappoint in the HOA and how they have handled the situation. This is an unprecedented time for the entire world. I am a firm believer that you learn more about people during tough times than you do when things are going well. To that point, these are tough times and the HOA and Board have been exposed to how they will handle tough times.

If you haven’t been fully caught up yet, start from the beginning to get all the craziness and context of everything that has happened to this point. Links below!

Trust me, it is worth the time to get caught up and hear the story from the beginning.

Why I Am Not (Yet) Moving Forward With A Lawyer

I have never been in the situation I am currently in. It has been a tough situation for many reasons. First, you have everything going on with the virus and the media. This has definitely scared a lot of people and rightfully so. Second, we had a governor who wrote and signed into law one of the most confusing Executive Orders signed into law in Florida. I thought my 8th grade reading level would be able to interpret a document of law, but I was wrong.

Lastly, I am trying to deal with a HOA that has historically been very difficult to deal with and horrible in their communication. I hadn’t seen any of that until going through this experience. An article I will write tomorrow will show even more into how horrible they are at communicating.

Here is why I am not planning to move forward with a lawyer just yet. At the end of the conversation with the local lawyer I asked for her advice on what to do. She immediately scrolled down to the bottom of the Executive Order to see when it was set to expire. The expiration date of the Executive Order was set for a few days out. She told me there wasn’t much point of paying her $385 per hour (or a “cheaper” associate $220 per hour) to dig further into the law and my HOA Bylaws to see what could be done.

The lawyer did mention there is a chance the Governor of Florida signs an extension of the Executive Order prior to expiration. No need to fret. She said to let the time pass and reach back out to her on the day after expiration.

How Much Would A Lawyer Cost

If I were a betting man, I would say the lawyer would use 4-5 hours of billable time to go comb through all the documents they would need to.

For the high side of that, at $385 per hour, I would be looking at $1,925 in money spent for the lawyer to look through everything and provide her assessment of the situation.

There are a few other loopholes I have not explored yet which I will write about in a later post. This could go a few different ways, so I don’t want to write about it until I have a clear understanding if I am going to explore that option.

In The Meantime, We Wait

For now, we wait. There isn’t much worth doing until the Executive Order expires.

Want to hear something crazy though?! Just 5 hours after my email response to the board telling them how horrible their communication has been…..guess what happened?

An email was sent to all homeowners. And boy did the f**k up another piece of communication.

In tomorrow’s post, I will share the entire email to you. Let’s just say I was amazed about how bad they are getting their wires crossed. Not only that, but how they ended the email was absolutely laughable! JUST WAIT!

Things are still heating up!

Thanks again for reading the blog and staying up to date! Want to support me and get some extra content each month? Subscribe to the blog!

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!

To read the next blog post in this saga, click the link below!

Part IX: What I Think Of My HOA – The Unedited Version