We had a co-op apt down the street that sat on the market for over a year, at what seemed like a give away price.  Unfortunately, it was in a very old, three story building and you have to walk up to the third floor!  Yikes!  That was a tough one to sell even at the seemingly bargain basement price. 

They also have a restrictive convenant about not allowing owners to lease out their property and this was a deal  killer.   Would have sold in a month, were it not for that clause.  Unfortunately, the poor owners were med students, bought the place thinking it made good business sense to invest in a home for the four years of med school; they couldn't even sell the place to a small business that wanted to have an art studio there -- not to have a retail store, but just to have a place to work.   Seems much too restrictive to me. 

Craziness and all in the name of "protecting" values?   If these units would allow investors to purchase, the units would get some much needed repairs, and they would actually go up in value!  Of course, these provisions are there because tenants can be very rough on a property.   It's a real delicate matter yet it does seem a bit extreme to restrict from leasing completely.  

Maybe Homeowner's Associations could have some rule like no more than 25% of units could be leased at any one time?