Tag: real estate investing

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How Much Clearer Do I Need To Make Myself – Asking The Same Question For The Third Time

I have had zero luck with this HOA to this point. How much clearer do I need to make myself. I have asked the same question for the third time now and they continue to not want to answer the specific question I am asking them. This is not only frustrating, but they are using this tactic to continue buying them time. I am a real estate investor, and have been a real estate investor for the past 3 years. This is the first time in my real estate investing journey that I have had issues with an HOA. I never would have imagined to have these issues with a HOA. But now that they are here, I am definitely taking this as a learning opportunity to continue getting better! What doesn’t kill you only makes you stronger if you want it to make you stronger!

Get caught up on everything that has happened to this point! This has been a wild journey to say the least and it is definitely not over! Below are the links to all the craziness in this saga!

Quick Recap Of Where We Stand

It has been a wild real estate investing journey up to this point. Now time to give a quick update on where we are at. The last email I sent to the HOA was clearly stating the pivot I was making on my business model. It is clear based off the Executive Order from the governor that no short term rentals are allowed anymore. At least while the Executive Order is in place.

I decided to pivot my business model into rentals of 30 days or more. To my knowledge, there are a few things that need to be true about your property for this to be legal:

  1. You can’t have it listed on short term rental sites
  2. You have to advertise it as 30+ day rentals
  3. For my situation with this HOA, any rentals between 3-6 months must be approved by the HOA/Board.

Awesome, now that we know where we stand, time to dive into the HOA/Board’s response from my latest email telling them I plan to pivot!

The HOA/Board Response To My Pivot Email

Now time for more fun, this time, a few back and forths with still a lot of frustration from my end.

In my last email response to the GM and Board, I clearly articulated why what they explained was misleading to all homeowners. They are simply creating more confusion than they are helping the situation. Especially for homeowners who are investors and don’t live in the area, which is the majority.

Here is the response they had to my last email:

Good Afternoon YRB,

We are working under the premise that EO-87  (Emergency Management – COVID-19 – Vacation Rental Closures) ends tomorrow. If the ban is not extended or a new ban issued then new guest rentals will be allowed entry as of Saturday.

Please note that clubhouse amenities will remain closed until further notice.

Thanks and stay safe.

Well, that response literally didn’t answer the only question I had. I clearly stated why their first email was misleading and then asked to rent my place long term. They don’t even want to think of offering other alternatives to investors, instead, they simply outlined the fact that they would allow new guests in once the ban is completed.

Here is the simple fact that both them and myself knew. There was a 99.9% chance the governor of Florida would sign an extension to the ban on the day of expiration of the first executive order.

Here Is What Is Frustrating

I usually can keep my cool pretty well. In this scenario though, the HOA/Board took over 48 hours to respond to a simple question. Not only did they take over 48 hours, they didn’t even answer the damn question I asked them to answer!

They knew the response they sent would just allow them to kick the can down the road even longer. Not to mention the fact that I am sure they are fed up with me at this point. I continue to point out holes in their arguments and they believe I won’t seek further damage because of the actions they have taken. More to come on that front.

In the meantime, I decided more email communication would be necessary to get a very clear direction to the Board/HOA on what I wanted them to answer.

My Follow Up Email

I was tired of them giving me the run around again and again and again while they know they are not doing the right thing. Time to be extremely clear on the ask…AGAIN!

Here is the email response I sent back to them:

Thanks HOA GM. 

I would like to ask the question again about long term residents as the law states long term rentals are still allowed. I will ask the question again for the third time and try to rephrase it in hopes this will help you understand what I am asking. 
This is in regards to long term residents, not short term. 
 
Question
Regardless of the Executive Order being extended, are new long term tenants not allowed to check in and stay at my place? 
Thanks for your time, I look forward to hearing from you soon regarding this very important and time sensitive matter. 
TheYoungRetireeBy33

 

If this isn’t clear enough, then I don’t know what is. I didn’t state anything but the fact that I want to know if I can rent long term.

Ok, now for their response which was again delayed for over 24 hours!

Hi YRB,

As per our Docs there are no restrictions on guest staying from 1 to 90 days.  Owners are allowed to make reservation for up 90 days. Guests staying from 90 days to 6 months will require HOA approval prior to check-in. And as per our Docs no guests are allowed to stay beyond 6 months.

Hope this answers your question.

I have been overly patient with the HOA and Board. They are continuing to dance around the question. There is only one reason they are continuing to stall. Because they know they are not abiding by the law and they have no grounds to stand on here.

My Hair Continues Falling Out By The Minute

At this point, I just hope I am right about the pivot I have determined to be legal for me to make. My understanding is 30+ day rentals are allowed in Florida and I continue to get the runaround from the HOA because I think they realize the bullshit they have gotten into.

I am still a firm believer they are doing this because they think I won’t seek damages for them to pay.

Time for another response back to the HOA:

Thanks for the response.

This doesn’t answer the question if I am allowed to rent my place long term under the direction per the latest email sent from the HOA. The direction makes it clear that no new guests are allowed into the resort. 
Long term rentals are still allowed per the law. If the law permits long term rentals, does the HOA still stand by not allowing any new guests and not abiding by this? If so, could you please point to what specifically in the HOA Bylaws and/or Declaration documents give the HOA the authority to create restrictions beyond the executive order?
Thanks for you time, I look forward to hearing from you soon regarding this important and very time sensitive matter.
Oh yeah. I went there. If the HOA is not allowing any new guests in, could you please send me where in the Bylaws/Declaration documents does it give them the authority to do so.
Now time to sit back and wait for their next response. Hopefully the next response isn’t another 48 hours away!

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 post in this saga below!

How Many Times Do I Have To Repeat The Same Thing – Real Estate Investing Problems

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The HOA Facebook Group Gets Heated – Time For The Popcorn!

I honestly thought the HOA facebook group wasn’t going to have much more fun stuff to post about, but boy was I wrong. The below is a full unedited version of the conversation that spun up the other day in the Facebook homeowners group. The hilarious part of this story is the fact that the individual who spun it up was one of the individuals who complained about me wanting to rent my place long term. And now she had the nerve to make this comment, and it lit a flare and a lot of fiery conversation!

Before hopping into this incredible exchange on Facebook, get caught up on everything that is going on! 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!

Time For The Fun!

Facebook Pic Pic

The Message That Kicked Everything Off!

FBTV Pic1

Now the fun shall begin!

FBTV Pic 2

First they begin complaining that the HOA turned off the lights at night at that was causing a large safety risk for the people who live onsite. Hmmm…interesting. Someone even mentioned they wondered what happened to the guests that arrived at the gate from my home. Since I haven’t posted anything in the FB group stating what happened, I am for sure certain people think I am still trying to force people in.

FBTV Pic 3

Now the accusations begin coming in with accusing homeowners for breaking guests in “illegally” to the resort. Again, it isn’t illegal. I am allowed to rent my place 30+ days. Period. And this stall that the HOA on is insane.

 

FBTV Pic 4

More accusations accusing homeowners in the resort who are investors whom are still renting out their homes.

FBTV Pic 5

Okay, this is where I have to step in. This lady who is the one who posted on the top of the above picture is full of s**** and the biggest hypocrite I think I have ever seen. So first she complains for people’s safety in the resort for having strangers come in and stay for extended periods of time.

The day after she said all that, someone reached out to me with a link to a Facebook group and told me to check it out. The link ended up taking me to a Garage Sale Facebook group in the Orlando area where this same lady had posted 5 things every day for the last two weeks to sell. Not only had she posted 5 things, but she was openly telling people where they could meet up to complete the sale of her crap. 

Yeah, I laughed out loud for a good hour after I heard and read all that crap.

FBTV Pic7

More fun accusations!

FBTV Pic 6

FBTV Pic 8

 

And now the head of the board weighs in. I lolled at this one as well.

FBTV Pic 9

I won’t even give me 2 cents as to the nonsense I just read over again. The way they are going about handling this situation is, pathetic.

FBTV Pic 10

 

Ok, there was my one comment above. I just couldn’t hold back anymore. My one and only comment in thread though! It was extremely hard to keep my fingers from hitting send on a few different comments I had queued up.

FBTV Pic 11

So that is where this part of the story ends, but my fight and battle with the HOA is not over yet!

In tomorrow’s post, I will post a few different back and forths I have had with the HOA now. These back and forths have been extremely frustrating to say the least and how they have handled responding to email has been horrible. 48 hour response times is not acceptable. They continue to try to just drag this out till they have to let me rent my place out because then the “ban” will be lifted.

More to come…don’t worry. This is not where the story ends!

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 this saga at the link below!

How Much Clearer Do I Need To Make Myself – Asking The Same Question For The Third Time

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My Response To The HOA Clearly Asking To Rent Long Term

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!

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. 
image.png
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!