The Life South property appears to have more lives than the Cheshire Cat. Gone are the hundreds of apartments as are the false claims this would be meaningfully age restricted. Now we hear about 40 or so townhomes that will be "owner-occupied." But will they? Really? Can we believe anything spewing forth from city hall? Well, if there the Cheshire Cat actually were there, there might be one grain of truth.
Is it even possible to guarantee a development is owner-occupied and not easily converted to "investment rentals"? As it turns out, yes. Yes it is. However, this cannot be done without some effort and it cannot be done with a mere HOA, as restrictive as they seem to those who suffer under them. It will probably take a condominium, a much sturdier and respected legal entity.
For insight and at least one existence proof, we need to look east. To Athens GA. Athens is a very interesting real estate market and in fact is interesting in almost all aspects. It is not uncommon for parents to buy a condo for children, often sequentially, attending UGA. Afterwards, many became student rentals. There is also a significant number of small time investors who will buy a condo for the rental income. You can identify condominium communities with significant rental units by the decayed appearance and associated depreciation over time. Just like a regular apartment. After all it is a business.
One condo community, perhaps a unicorn, has legal support for exclusive owner occupation of the community's home. This is supported in the founding legal documents of the Condominium (what a novel idea). From the Declaration of Condominium:
(A) SINGLE FAMILY USE. All units shall be restricted exclusively to a single-family residential use. No unit or any limited common element, or any portion thereof, shall at any time be used for any commercial, business, or professional purposes. The common elements shall be used exclusively for the recreational and service purposes for which they are intended. No units shall be used for any rental whatsoever, with the exception that (a) the rental of a unit shall be allowed during the period of administration of any Estate of the owner thereof, not to exceed three (3) years of rental, and (b) rental of a portion of a unit by the owner-occupant thereof. Upon the death of said unit owner, the property must be offered for sale to an owner-occupant, occupied by an heir, or leased only in accordance with (a) above. Each lease is subject to approval of the Board of Directors, and prospective lessees are required to indicate to representatives of the Board of Directors that they have read such Rules and Regulations.
You can, sort of, rent your unit, but only if you're willing to die for that opportunity. Amending the Declaration of Condominium requires a supermajority of unit owners, providing the best insurance that it will remain owner-occupied. The units in Athens condo carry premium prices relative to other communities simply because it is owner-occupied, and individual, for their own wants or greeds, cannot change this. Owners know that without this provision, their wonderful, owner-occupied community can be converted to a rental community. And if it can be it will be.
The question is simple. Will the city, thru its zoning process, require air tight legal structures to guarantee these units are exclusively owner-occupied? If they don't, their statements about "owner-occupied" are lies. One someone's behalf.
Posts
