Hi, I am an owner of a condo which should be occupied by owner only per the bylaws. I relocated because of the job change. The unit is empty now. If I let my close friend move in, will the association find out the unit is not owner occupied? If they do, is there any way to work around so my friend can live there trouble-free? Thank you very very much!

Your best bet is to ask for a release from the board. You need to read the bylaws that govern this situation. But the board does know who the owner is.

Thanks Scott.
I know from my neighbors that our association is just a cold stone. They won't give any release to nobody.
What if I tell them my friend just live with me temporarily? What kind of charge the association can give me?

That would be spelled out in the bylaws.

Your friend is "house setting" during your absence... he does not say when you are coming BACK and he provides your cel # if asked and you indicate you are on a business trip for Homeland Security!!

Basic the Association is made up of people from your area, so someone will turn you in. They will see new car, different person there.

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Originally Posted by pureak

How does the condo association know the unit is not owner occupied?

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Hello pureak:

They'll know because condo associations are made up of people who have nothing better to do than snoop - and they do.

I hate HOA'S.

excon

Quote:

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Originally Posted by pureak

Hi, I am an owner of a condo which should be occupied by owner only per the bylaws. I relocated because of the job change. The unit is empty now. If I let my close friend move in, will the association find out the unit is not owner occupied? If they do, is there any way to work around so my friend can live there trouble-free? Thank you very very much!

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The by-laws are a contract with the association and you are bound by the terms.

Could you lie and try to get around those terms? Sure. Will you get caught? Probably. And fined - perhaps, read the by-laws.

And if you lie and your friend moves in, will the neighbors notice? Probably. And then what will happen? Check the by-laws.

This may be an entirely off-the-wall question, but what are your long-term plans for the condo? If you are letting your friend "stay there", does that mean that you are renting it to him? If yes, do you plan on doing that long-term? If I were your neighbor, my concern would be that you are going to turn it into a rental property, with strangers moving in each year, etc. And that would be enough to get me to turn you into the board, because part of the reason that people buy condos with restrictions on renting is because they don't want to live by renters. Which is also another question... can you legally rent the place out, under the city codes?

Flip side... is there some reason that you don't want to sell the place to your friend? Do that, and all your problems are over.

Hello again, pure:

Froggy gave me an idea.

Why don't you sell it to him on a contract. You can certainly word the contract so that it can be broken in the future without penalty. In fact, you can right them any way you want.

If you present THAT to the assn, they'll be hard pressed to say it's NOT a sale.

excon

I don't think they'll go for that excon. They probably want a real estate sale like everybody else had to do if I know condo associations.

Thanks for all your replies.
My friend just plan to live in my city for no more than 2 years. So he doesn't want to own any property.
I will put him name on the deed and play game with HOA.
HOA sucks.
Don't ever buy a property with HOA!!

Quote:

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Originally Posted by pureak

Thanks for all your replies.
My friend just plan to live in my city for no more than 2 years. So he doesn't want to own any property.
I will put him name on the deed and play game with HOA.
HOA sucks.
Don't ever buy a property with HOA!!!

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The problem seems to be people buy condos without reading the rules and regulations and then are surprised by those same rules/regulations. Or else they are selectively enforced.