Condos and condo-hotels have restrictions for the owners, and there is little surprise that they do. When there is a bunch of people being so close together, you need rules governing this being together, or close enough to affect each other.
Sometimes I am stunned how much effort people are willing to put into circumventing the system. You can usually see it with condo-hotels. They are relatively cheap (you can buy one in Daytona for less than $50K) and they are on the ocean. Wonderful.
So, the problem is that there are limitations stemming from the very fact that they are condo-hotels, i.e. operate as hotels. But our buyers want it as their residence. And they start inventing one trick after another, so that they can live there and pretend that they are not living there…
Rarely works, usually ends in frustration, and people sell and leave with the sour taste in their mouth.
But it is so difficult to reason with people. Some are so smart. You tell them that this condo-hotel does not allow long term stay for the owners, they say “no problem” and then try to make it their primary residence. You tell them it does not allow pets. And they say “fine”. And then bring and hide pets.
I remember this couple very well. They said, there was no problem. So, after all the formalities were over, we had the Closing, came back to the resort, I introduced the Buyers/new owners to the General Manager of the resort, they took the keys and they went to their room.
10 minutes later the President of the Board of Directors walked in our office and asked:
- Do you know that these new people in room number so and so have pets?
No, we had no clue. But how could she know in 10 minutes?
- It is a bird. It is screeching. Let me show you…
We followed her there, and yes, from the hallway you could hear this bird loud and clear. 15 minutes later the buyers were in my office, explaining, that they figured that it was not a dog, they did not need to walk the bird, so nobody would ever see the bird, and they decided to trick everybody.
They were so smart…
Then it turned out they were even smarter than that, and planned to live there for a few years… but promised the President not to cause the problem.
Within the next 30 days we sold the unit for the same amount (but with some loss for the Buyers-turned Seller so fast… They left with the bird, and with the tricks to some other place.
It is tough when you outsmart yourself…
Comments(15)