Anyone who has to deal with them on a regular basis, knows that some Orlando condo associations are getting out of control these days. They've gone from letting their communities go to ruin after the real estate crash, to implementing draconian measures to try and reverse the rot.
We get it, things need to be kept under control. And the truth is, some do-it-yourself landlords haven't been screening properly, unwittingly allowing felons and the like to gain residency. This has caused condo owners associations to start screening tenants themselves. Unfortunately, this means that many tenants have to go through the same application process twice. Once with a reputable Orlando property management company like ourselves, and then again with the board of directors. And that means paying again.
But now, some associations are going even further.
In the latest of draconian measures, which are surely designed to put investors off from buying there completely, The Hamptons condos at MetroWest is now requiring that residents who's lease is simply being renewed, must apply all over again - at their own expense. That's right, they want to re-run criminal history etc. as if they hadn't actually been living there at all.
It's true, some tenants could have run afoul of the law in the prior year they were living there, but it seems to me that this is over zealous. And if condo owner associations are really so obsessed with "undesirables", then surely this additional screening should be done at their expense, and not the tenants'.
The biggest losers of course, could be the investors who have purchased units at the Hamptons. With tenants unwilling to put up with the Association's tactics, they will likely not stay long. And if investors start to sell, or are simply unwilling to buy at all, supply could begin to outstrip demand, causing prices to fall again.
Sounds like a lose-lose to me. So what can you do? Contact the board of directors (your co-owners) and remind them that they work for you. Better still, run for the board and make a difference yourself.
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