All Forum Posts by: Kristi Bass

Thanks to all for the valuable insight!

Thanks to ea of you. I have a lawyer who was present at all meetings. We were under the impression that the members were supportive & agreed with my position so neither of us prepared to rebut. I'm breaking no portion of the old or new ordinance. The new ordinance allows for a permit to be denied if it caused significant challenges or issues with the neighbors. This is 100% subjective so it's hard to articulate how to defend the fact that they simply don't like it & don't want it nearby. The biggest issue was traffic & strangers driving down the road. Unfortunately this can't & wont be resolved by denying my permit because the community already knows where this popular home is located so the traffic & unknown people driving down a public street will continue either way. Guests at my location typically have 2-3 cars which is less than my family would have if we were living there every day as opposed to only having guests over an occasional weekend. I do feel the grandfathering clause may be significant because there is an existing bed & breakfast operating without a permit. It has been in business for 16 years & actually is in violation of the old ordinance & still not required to apply for a permit as i was asked to do. So it's wrong on so many levels. Plus I didn't mention that I'm a divorced mom of 3 kids. Seems like I'm targeted personally & verbally attacked by these neighbors, most of which are 65+ year old men. They have all but accused me of inappropriate relationship with the city Manager & have gotten Tv & newspapers foaming at the mouth to keep this center stage. Seems unlikely they would be so cruel & unwavering in their position if I were a man their age.

I'm somewhat baffled! I bought a property & decided it was perfect for a STR. At the time, no ordinance was in place that prohibited my doing so. I set up VRBO acct & started renting it VERY successfully. City manager contacted me & said I should apply for a special use permit to make sure all my I's were dotted & T's crossed. So I applied. In the meantime, one of my neighbors is on the City council & got wind of it. He filed an official complaint against me "running a business" without a permit. Mind you, I'm not inside of a subdivision, have no deed restrictions that apply, I'm in an R-1 zoning area & I have 16 acres of private land that sits along a private lake that I own 1/2 of. Was breaking no laws & was issued a citation for what this neighbor claims was a "business". I don't live in this home but it's VERY popular from being on a Renovation Tv show. His claim was that because I had 5 cars in front of my house & people were photographed carrying fishing poles & a raft, that I must be breaking the law. Long story short, after 3 different council meetings, the city developed a new ordinance that covers STR's & voted it in this week. At the same meeting the council attempted to vote on my permit but it was a tie vote! So does that really mean I lost or does it provide for me another council meeting? The council member, who's my neighbor & made ridiculous accusations about me having a conspiracy with the city manager, wasn't allowed to vote because it was a conflict. The mayor voted for it as did 2 other members but it's in deadlock now! The city manger made a statement to the Tv & paper that without a permit, the new ordinance prohibits me from using my house as an STR (I do not live in this home) so they say I'm going to need to cancel my bookings & cant rent it out any longer!!?! I just can't believe how this is possible from so many angles. The only thing that effected the vote was the emotional blackmail that this mob of neighbors threw at the council & their threats to not vote them back into office. They stood only on the grounds that they didn't want for the neighborhood (which I'm not in) but my land is at the end of their street. The roughly 10 couples who are hostile towards me & the rental, thought it would make their taxes go up & they didn't want their quiet neighborhood commercialized. Really?? I'm charging $1200 per night for these VERY well traveled guests to stay. I would be paying taxes to city for these stays & the money they spend locally would make you choke! So now they added Improving your property values is a bad thing?? Any advise would be GREATLY appreciated!!

Just in case your curious, https://magnoliamarket.com/the-barndominium/

Also just listed it on VRBO this weekend & got a booking made within the 1st 12 hrs!!  Thanks for the support & encouragement, looks like I'm in on this gig👍🏻

Funny how God works! I'm actually buying 3 properties in a bundle from the original owners. They have had some family issues that precipitated them moving out of state. So actually buying this property for a rediculously good deal. 

I have a property that I bought at a huge discount 2 years ago. It's paid for. I have rehabbed it and completely gutted it and created a really cool 3/1. I have a couple who wants to have me owner finance it. I have approx 45k in it. Think I could list and sell it for 75k but would have all closing costs & realtor fees. So may only walk with approx 68k & So I'd make approx 23k & move on. I have done the calculations and if I sell the property for 80,000 they put 12,000 down and I carried the note for 10 years at 10% interest the payments will be $815 a month roughly. I am not adding in property taxes or insurance as this bumps the monthly payment so high. I really could use the money out of the house for another project that I'm trying to invest in however it seems so lucrative to do this and put it on my books is cash flow. Good opportunity I don't know the pitfalls doing an owner finance versus a rental but I'm open to any suggestions or advice, please help!

Haha Percy! That's why America loves him, he's just lil different. Really sweet guy though. 

Yea Marylou, it's sounds too good to pass on. Plus I'm buying it at below appraised values so it's not like I'm buying on the bubble. Appreciate your encouragement. 

Thanks to all for such great words of wisdom. I am going to tread lightly as I approach this venture.

Btw- deed restrictions say I can't provide a "retail service" at one of the properties. My attorney says a rental, whether 1 day or 1 year is not a service, it's residential leasing. So long as I don't actually provide Renters any services. Cleaning would be afterwards & could not offer food service for the guests. Does that seem reasonable?