Neil Speaks!

It's interesting to see the concern raised by Mr. Kelly's recent announcement that he intends to dissolve the HOA of the building where he now owns the majority of the votes and the majority of the units.

         More interesting are the strategies being proposed to prevent this from happening.

         Enshrining clauses in the bylaws of associations preventing the purchase of more than one unit in any building may seem like a good idea. A cunning speculator could easily subvert that idea by forming incorporated companies and buying under those names, or simply putting units in the names of friends and relatives.

         Limiting the time a unit owner would be allowed to rent a unit would have a dampening effect on sales leading to more abandoned and empty units and the accompanying loss of revenue that led to the problem in the first place. Not only that, limiting rentals to short terms would replace residents who are currently residing here long term and replace them with short term renters, those types of transient residents would undoubtedly have little or no concern for the future of the village.

         Many prospective buyers rent a unit and live here for a while before deciding whether to buy in or not. Rules limiting rentals would deter them from doing that.

         A bylaw restricting owners from having more than one vote regardless of the number of units they own would put an end to monopolizing associations.

         Giving renters a voice and a vote in association affairs would deter unscrupulous owners from renting to questionable people.

         Placing a residency time requirement on voters would inhibit absentee landlords and short term renters from imposing their wishes. It would seem to make sense that if you are not actually living in a unit you should not be allowed to dictate to those who are.

         The underlying issue that is not being addressed is the lack of prospective buyers. More units being purchased by individual buyers would go a long way to resolving many of the issues being faced right now. 

      

         Neil J Moore