Neighbor cop doesn't like airbnb so he harrasses my guests

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Neighbor cop doesn't like airbnb so he harrasses my guests

Paul Johnson
Member since 2019 · 8 posts · 7 votes

     So I have a neighbor who unfortunately happened to move into a corner lot circle across from my property, ever since he has moved he told my other neighbor who shared with me information that he is anti pro short term rentals. Today after 1 year long term lease  and renovations,


I had guests that were supposed to stay for 7 days. As they were waiting next to the house, this neighbor cop stopped right next to them and let them know that that airbnb is illegal in that area .The HOA doesn't allow short term rental, the city of Orlando,FL on the other hand allows 30+ days of rental, yet the cop acts like a judge and scares away potential costumers and causes loss of income to me. Anyone ever ran into something like this? I am considering taking legal action against him.

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Russell BrazilBusiness Member
Moderator
Real Estate Agent · Washington, D.C. · Member since 2012 · 17k+ posts · 30k+ votes
5y

Hes a member of the community to which you are breaking the rules of the community? Seems like he has a legitimate grievance. He bought a property in an HOA that doesn't allow short term rentals. You are interfering with his quiet enjoyment of his property by breaking the HOA rulea. Im pretty sure any action you take here is going to back fire on you.

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  • Russell BrazilBusiness Member
    Moderator
    Real Estate Agent · Washington, D.C. · Member since 2012 · 17k+ posts · 30k+ votes
    5y

    So the HOA does not allow short term rentals and yet you are using the property for short term rentals?

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  • Paul Johnson
    OP
    Member since 2019 · 8 posts · 7 votes
    5y

    Correct, the issue isn't about HOA, they aren't very strict about this, the issue is with power tripping from the cop that moved recently and thinks he can act like a judge.

    0Reply
  • Russell BrazilBusiness Member
    Moderator
    Real Estate Agent · Washington, D.C. · Member since 2012 · 17k+ posts · 30k+ votes
    5y

    Hes a member of the community to which you are breaking the rules of the community? Seems like he has a legitimate grievance. He bought a property in an HOA that doesn't allow short term rentals. You are interfering with his quiet enjoyment of his property by breaking the HOA rulea. Im pretty sure any action you take here is going to back fire on you.

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  • Paul Johnson
    OP
    Member since 2019 · 8 posts · 7 votes
    5y

    well that's unfortunate, I had no issues with airbnb till officer moved in. Looks like I will have to sell  the property and buy it somewhere next to a lake.

    Thanks for the input

    3Reply
  • Aigo Pyles
    Flipper/Rehabber · Memphis, TN · Member since 2020 · 758 posts · 285 votes
    5y

    It seems that if you take legal actions it could back fire to you. They maybe not that strict but I think the cop is correct. 

    1Reply
  • John UnderwoodPro Member
    Investor · Greer, SC · Member since 2014 · 13k+ posts · 17k+ votes
    5y

    Just turn this one into a LTR and buy your lake STR (not in an HOA)

    8Reply
  • John Thedford
    Real Estate Broker · Naples, FL · Member since 2013 · 9k+ posts · 6k+ votes
    5y

    Sell or annual lease. Easy to solve. 

    3Reply
  • Jay HinrichsBusiness Member
    Real Estate Consultant · Summerlin, NV · Member since 2014 · 45k+ posts · 66k+ votes
    5y
    Originally posted by @Russell Brazil:

    Hes a member of the community to which you are breaking the rules of the community? Seems like he has a legitimate grievance. He bought a property in an HOA that doesn't allow short term rentals. You are interfering with his quiet enjoyment of his property by breaking the HOA rulea. Im pretty sure any action you take here is going to back fire on you.

    No kidding if I lived in an HOA protected project and someone was violating it with STR i would do the exact same thing

    there are legal places to do this and places that its not legal what is the big deal with following the rules and the laws other than one thinks it does not apply to them and then whine about it.

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  • Joe SplitrockPro Member
    Moderator
    Rental Property Investor · Sioux Falls, SD · Member since 2015 · 9k+ posts · 18k+ votes
    5y
    Originally posted by @Paul Johnson:

    well that's unfortunate, I had no issues with airbnb till officer moved in. Looks like I will have to sell  the property and buy it somewhere next to a lake.

    Thanks for the input

     You were breaking the rules and your neighbors were ignoring your bad behavior. It is like saying, "I always went 90 miles per hour down that road and never had any issues until an officer was there." It was never ok to go 90 miles per your, you just never got caught.

    In business most problems can be avoided by simply following the rules, so this is a good lesson to learn going forward.

    10Reply
  • Dan Maciejewski
    Realtor · PInellas County Largo, FL · Member since 2016 · 902 posts · 810 votes
    5y

    I was all ready to be on your side until. . . the HOA! An HOA is very much allowed to have stricter rules than the city or county or state. AND they can make them stricter after you buy if they decide they don't like short term rentals at any time!

    That's a huge reason I never advise my clients to buy in an HOA. The exception might be the vacation home communities in Orlando that were purpose-built for STR, but even then, a rogue bard can change a lot in a year!

    It looks like your choice is to sell or rent 30+ days, but the cop can still make your investment and life crappy -- right or wrong.  I would put a long term tenant in there if it makes financial sense, or get out while the market looks good!

    5Reply
  • Theresa HarrisPro Member
    Member since 2019 · 15k+ posts · 11k+ votes
    5y

    If the HOA doesn't allow short term rentals, then you are breaking their bylaws. Do what the others suggested and either do long term rental or sell and buy in a place without HOAs that will allow you do to short term rentals.

    4Reply
  • Andrew B.
    Rockaway, NJ · Member since 2016 · 2k+ posts · 2k+ votes
    5y

    If you want to continue the STR and the HOA doesn't care, they should update the rules for everybody. If they wont do that, get a letter from the board giving you explicit permission to run a STR. Then his issue is with the board, not you.

    1Reply
  • Linda S.
    Investor · Richmond, VA · Member since 2016 · 1k+ posts · 2k+ votes
    5y

    @Paul Johnson,

    If your plan was to do AirBnB, how in the world did you NOT read all the bylaws of the HOA? I mean you're breaking the rules-- and he's calling you out for violating a bylaw, and you want to report him for calling you out? Doesn't make any sense.

    People will report  you if a trash can is out a day  too long, you think they're going to let obvious new  guests come/go?     People like condos because of the HOAs, it keeps everything in line!

    Your only option is to do 30+days, or a long term rental, or sell and get a place without an HOA.

    4Reply
  • John MorganPro Member
    Rental Property Investor · Grand Prairie, TX · Member since 2018 · 2k+ posts · 2k+ votes
    5y

    It sounds like the HOA is weak and doesn't stand its ground to enforce the rules. And your cop neighbor probably wants the HOA to honor what it says since he moved in recently. I would err on what the HOA rules are. Maybe you could attempt to change the HOA rules on STRs in that hood. Many home buyers don't want to live next door to one. I assume he's not the only neighbor unhappy about this.

    2Reply
  • Jim K.
    Handyman · Pittsburgh, PA · Member since 2018 · 5k+ posts · 13k+ votes
    5y

    We make our tenants pass credit and background checks, shouldn't we at least be able to break three digits on the Stanford-Binet?

    2Reply
  • Monte Jackson
    Member since 2019 · 2 posts · 2 votes
    5y

    Good to discern on this topic rules (of the HOA) and laws of the local community, if the local laws allow it but the rules or CC&R of the association do not and you signed off on those rules then it is on you. However, in some cases the local law could cause issues for the Association as well. There is a third aspect that can come into play, some associations have multiple bylaws within the same neighborhood, for example, there is a master agreement and then subsequent iterations of the CC&R's based on areas developed or phases of a neighborhood. I had a unit that I wanted a buyer to be able to rent and the unit was on the cusp of two classes of ownership, being sure that the subject property was included in the first class, which could rent was a simple matter of getting a developer to sign off on my property being included in that class. Just taking the time to meet with the developer allowed for a greater re-sale value in that instance. So, just be sure to look up all the aspects of your specific circumstance.

    2Reply
  • Raymond Mehling
    Member since 2021 · 20 posts · 18 votes
    5y

    This should be re titled. I have broken the rules how dare he complain!

    4Reply
  • Patrick Knapp
    Contractor · Wake Forest, NC · Member since 2019 · 138 posts · 132 votes
    5y

    @Paul Johnson my first step would be to have a lawyer send a letter that you will be suing him. If he doesn't stfu, or you can knock on his door and have a man to convertion asking why he is acting that way.

    Make sure you confirm with a lawyer you are correct or you might look like a fool if your wrong lol

    1Reply
  • Patrick Knapp
    Contractor · Wake Forest, NC · Member since 2019 · 138 posts · 132 votes
    5y

    @Paul Johnson my bad I didn't read it correctly, ya dude if your breaking the rules he's in the right. He pays to live there in that community

    5Reply
  • Todd Rasmussen
    Rental Property Investor · Clarksville, TN · Member since 2016 · 1k+ posts · 1k+ votes
    5y

    @Paul Johnson

    If he's spending his entire day sitting in front of his own house on duty in a city car to ambush your guests you might have a position with his employer, but any escalation of the situation will be bad for you since you are choosing to do something against your HOA regulations. Sounds like he's doing you a solid by not dragging the issue in front of the HOA and just kindly informing people that short term renters are not permitted. You should get on the board and change the rule and pursue the other options available to you while you pursue.

    0Reply
  • Karl ForsheePro Member
    Member since 2018 · 9 posts · 6 votes
    5y

    @Paul Johnson. I had a similar situation. Bought a nice 5 bedroom SFR in an older neighborhood with an HOA. Since it would be about a year before my family could join me decided to rent the upstairs rooms with short term and month to month rentals while I lived in the finished basement. Needed to pay the mortgage of this new house and my old house my family was still living in.

    Read all the covenants and bi laws. Nothing mentioned short term rentals. I also found other AirBnB units in the same neighborhood

    Guess it was too successful as a neighbor started to complain, harassed my tenants and alerted the HOA. HOA sent me nice letters saying str was illegal with no mention of where the rules were at. They failed to honor my request to tell me where that rule was at. A realtor friend told me that it could be buried in the minutes and most HOA's don't update the covenants. Apparently it's a complicated thing to do. I talked to our city urban manager and was informed that it depends on all HOA rules and judges usually side with the HOA.

    In the end I switched to all 30+days room rentals. Still kept the rooms full. Rental income did drop some but I was still able to pay the mortgage.

    Lesson learned is the covenants is only the starting place. It is also good to talk to the neighbors and interview the HOA management company. Or just avoid HOA's.

    2Reply
  • Greg M.
    Rental Property Investor · Los Angeles, CA · Member since 2017 · 2k+ posts · 5k+ votes
    5y
    Originally posted by @Karl Forshee:

    Read all the covenants and bi laws. Nothing mentioned short term rentals. I also found other AirBnB units in the same neighborhood

    Guess it was too successful as a neighbor started to complain, harassed my tenants and alerted the HOA. HOA sent me nice letters saying str was illegal with no mention of where the rules were at. They failed to honor my request to tell me where that rule was at. A realtor friend told me that it could be buried in the minutes and most HOA's don't update the covenants. Apparently it's a complicated thing to do. I talked to our city urban manager and was informed that it depends on all HOA rules and judges usually side with the HOA.

    I'm on multiple HOA Boards. I have a pretty good idea of where the ban on STR is. It's in the Rules & Regulations that practically no buyer ever asks for. Everyone requests or gets from the city a copy of the CCRs which makes clear that the Board can set R&R for the operations of the HOA. However, no one ever actually asks for a copy of the R&R.

    3Reply
  • Nathan Barshinger
    Realtor · York, PA · Member since 2020 · 140 posts · 28 votes
    5y

    @Jay Hinrichs

    Seems like someone just wanted to bash on cops for upholding the law

    1Reply
  • Tony Kim
    Rental Property Investor · Los Angeles · Member since 2018 · 844 posts · 1k+ votes
    5y
    Originally posted by @Nathan Barshinger:

    @Jay Hinrichs

    Seems like someone just wanted to bash on cops for upholding the law

    A lot of that going around these days. It's ridiculous. 

    1Reply
  • Louie Gabriel
    Member since 2020 · 57 posts · 24 votes
    5y

    Unless the guest is doing something more than simply their mere presence what’s the problem? We all pay for our rent or mortgage. We all have the same rules to follow in the community. If the community allows for it, then this does not appear to be a very good reason.

    0Reply
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