How to Find Rent Friendly HOA's

[Stephen DeFalco]

With my current capitol I am looking into purchasing another condo as my next income property but weary of HOA's as there have been a lot of HOA's cracking down on mid-term and long-term renting through policies designed to drive out non-residents buying into their building. Does anyone have advice on how to learn about HOA's policies on units being rented out before purchasing or analyzing the deal?

Thanks!

[Richard F.]

Aloha,

If you can find out who is the Managing Agent, Account Executive, PM, or whatever designation they use, first step would be email the question...always get responses in writing and file them! However, even IF they inform you there are no issues, you then need to determine what it takes for a change in that status.

Typically, By-Laws and Declarations require significant percentage of affirmative votes from all members to make a change. Also typically, "House Rules" or similar can often be changed virtually at the will of the Board. You need to examine the Governing Documents for the specific HOA you are interested in...they ALL are unique. Similar in many respects, but making a decision based on documents from another project will end badly.

If there is currently no restriction, it may be very difficult for the membership to impose a new one in the future. However, if there is a large voting block of like minded people, they may be able to effect change. It really depends on how active, involved, and NOT self-serving the Board and membership are.

A final caveat: Before committing, be sure you have a clear understanding of the operating budget and the reserve funding plan. I recommend checking for a local chapter of Community Association Institute, as they will have great resources, and no shortage of classes/seminars to learn about topics such as budget and reserves, which EVERY Owner should learn about, and every Board member should be REQUIRED to learn about. Too many Boards focus on the wrong goals for their HOA.

[Paul De Luca]

Quote from @Stephen DeFalco:

With my current capitol I am looking into purchasing another condo as my next income property but weary of HOA's as there have been a lot of HOA's cracking down on mid-term and long-term renting through policies designed to drive out non-residents buying into their building. Does anyone have advice on how to learn about HOA's policies on units being rented out before purchasing or analyzing the deal?

Thanks!

Your agent should be able to filter properties on the MLS for "Owner can rent? = Yes". So for starters you know you can rent the property and then from there you could ask your agent to inquire with the listing agent for the HOA's rule & regulations.