Purchaseed a home sought more HOA info before closing but said would send only after sale. Then received cease order on Airbnb posting although met all city license requirements. What are others doing for HOA overreach to your personal homes?
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Review the HOA docs before closing.
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Why would you close without this information in hand? Once you received it after the sale, do their bylaws actually ban STR?
Youâre responsible for checking the legality of your rental business from the top (federal) to bottom (HOA, co-op board, landlord, etc). Each layer is like a slice of swiss cheese - if all the holes line up, you can start a business. If youâre blocked by one layer, you have to make a hole or abandon the enterprise. The fact that your âcity levelâ cheese has a hole doesnât mean a damned thing if the HOA slice is solid cheese.
Youâre kind of fucked if the HOA already barred STR. Do you live in the home full time? If you were using it as a whole-home STR, you may need to consider LTR.
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100% as above. Far easier to walk away than now try to change what you effectively signed up for.
JF
I have never heard of HOA documents being available only after a sale. In my state, the HOA are legally required to provide the CC&Rs along with the HOA financials, plus any violations, fines and back dues on the property. The title company handles it and is legally required to provide it to the buyer before closing, and the buyer has to sign off on it.
Edit: Did you sign a document stating that you agreed to the HOA CC&Rs? I think thereâs about a 100% chance that you did, so shame on you if you signed that without reading them. Youâd need some really concrete evidence that this info wasnât provided to you and I think the only liable party is the title company. Regardless, donât expect to continue STR.
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What state are you in? Legally in TX the TX Supreme Court ruled your rights have power over the HOA on what you can do with your own property including making it an AirBnB as it supersedes theirs. So you need to check with the state you are in.
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@Allison_H said it exactly right. I think the swiss cheese analogy explains it perfectly.
@Robin_Washington, I sincerely hope thereâs some way for you to make this work. As Iâm sure you know now, the bottom line message is never to agree to anything that you havenât already examined word for wordâand had your lawyer examine. And when I say âagree,â I mean both verbally and on paper.
Best of luck to you.
Did they rule that broadly? So if I move into an HOA property and want to paint my house rainbow stripes or put up a big political sign or board dogs they canât stop me?
Iâm in Michigan.
So let me get this rightâŚa builder, acting on behalf of the interests of future neighborhood, creates a governing body that can enforce rules about how community areas are used, where (or IF) a homeowner can store boats and RVâs, what colors houses may be painted, etc.
People who want to move into the 'hood are informed of the rules and, happy theyâll only be surrounded by beige and grey houses, sign on to the covenants of the community when they purchaseâŚ
only for some dumbass who wants to make a hotel of their 5-BR home to disregard the covenants that were in place when they purchased? Because âmuh rightsâ?
Why didnât this proverbial idiot buy in an area NOT subject to HOA?
Thatâs like me bitching about hearing school buses when I bought across the street from a school.
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No as I understand it itâs related only to the STR of the property.
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Ok, thanks, thatâs what I thought. I didnât really think the TX SC ruled that we can do whatever we want with our property. I donât even live in an HOA and there are all kinds of regulations on what I can do here. As soon as I can put my '65 El Camino back up on blocks on my front lawn Iâll know Iâm free to do what I want with my property.
Did you know there are US cities where you arenât allowed to have a vegetable garden in place of a front lawn? Itâs crazy.
Iâm still debating what to do with my â79 Camero and â85 Trans Am when I move down there permanently from Chicagoland. I just got a quote to make the current carport (20â x 31â) a garage for $2,300 this does not include siding or door which seems very reasonable to me. I may just give them to my children, still not sure.
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HOAs banning STRs isnât an overreach of their authority. I truly hate you were bitten by it.
Iâm surprised you couldnât get a copy of the covenants prior to purchase. Also your real estate agent couldâve gone to the HOA and asked specifically if STRs were allowed.
I listed my Dadâs condo on Airbnb for a semi-annual event and received a âcease & desistâ. Shortly after purchase the HOA banned rentals of less than 30 days.
Even if STRs allowed, most HOAs have governance over basic rules of rental and can modify them.
Like many have already stated, it is highly unusual to not have had the all the HOA bylaws prior to closing. Aside from rental rules, there are many things that you should have had the opportunity to review, including finances of the HOA.
Your realtor or attorney seems to be the one your wrath should be directed towards; especially if they knew of your STR plans and did not do their due diligence to get a confirmation that the property fit your requirements. Often included in an Real Estate Transaction Purchase offer are contingencies that allow for a physical inspection and funding of a Loan. You (and your realtor and/or attorney) should have including a similar contingency to review the HOA âByLawsâ. That would have given you an out clause prior to closing.
With that said, even if the HOA had allowed STR when you purchased your home, it doesnât guarantee that it will always be that way, as you are subject to their evolving rules. The issue of STR seems to be the most evolving of those HOA bylaws.
I attach an article about a neighborhood near me which has recently had their HOA implement rules to limit STR. Worth noting that 2 years ago Arizona implemented a law that allowed STRâs, overruling all city and local jurisdictions (many that had banned them). The only exception to that law was HOAs.
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Letâs face it, someone screwed up here. Initially it seems as though it was the OP. Who spends that amount of money and buys something without checking all the facts? (People go to a lot more trouble when theyâre buying a cheap used car). A HOA always rules.
Most people usually start their search on realtordotcom where details of the HOA are given. On many listings it will say that STR is not allowed. Thatâs before the potential buyer even views the property.
The realtor, having access to the MLS and the seller, has even more information.
HOAs vary but in general they donât like rentals. Some allow rentals after the first year of ownership, some allow a percentage (so that if the allowance is 25%, and 25% are already rented, you have to wait until one stops being) but most donât allow short term rentals. I guess that this is because the whole purpose of the HOA is to keep the area/building/complex in good shape and remain a great place for its residents.
And even if the HOA seems to be okay, they can change the regulations at any time. (Running STRs in a complex with a stuffy HOA is not easy - I know this only too well 
)
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This cheese reference is wonderful! Not only am I hungry, but it makes SENSE! In ABB, work and life. Love it!
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Funny, just this morning I was outside and listening to the marching band practicing. My exact thought was how glad I was that the deal on the home a short distance from that school fell through back in 1990. I was devastated at the time but it wouldnât have been nearly as good a set up for Airbnb.
LOL.
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Care to adopt a child? Housebroken, donât eat much, loves muscle cars.
Who is conspicuously absent from the discussion.
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You what? I am sorry but that is nuts. How in the hell did your agent allow this? You planned to use as a STR and decided to take the risk you would not be allowed to? What state are you in? What DID YOU SIGN? Did you sign something that said you read the HOA info? Wow, just wow.
RR