HOA Rental Waiting List

[Tyler Vinsand]

I purchased a condo a little over a year ago, not realizing the HOA has a rental cap. When I bought the property, I was 12th on the wait list... 13 months later and I'm still 12th. While I like living here, I'd like to turn this into a rental within the next few years. I have equity in the home but do not want to sell it.

Lesson learned to read the fine print of the HOA rules prior to purchasing! I also understand condos aren't the most ideal asset class because of dealing with the HOA. With that being said, has anyone dealt with a similar situation in which they rented out a condo while being on the rental wait list? Is it possible? If so, what are the repercussions?

Thanks in advance for the advice!

[PJ M.]

As @Leah Stuever says the HOA has a lot of power. I have 1 condo rental. The HOA has escalating fines every 10 days. So if they found out a unit was rented without the approvals, there would be a notice sent to cure with a $25 fine. 10 days later another notice with a $50 fine. 10 days later another notice with a $100 fine. Luckily the fines cap off at $100 but that would still be $300 per month in fines after you hit the cap. I've got no doubt that if the HOA decided to make a point of it they would increase the fine cap or make illegally renting a "superfine" that doesn't get capped.

With HOA's, as Leah said, they always get their money in the end. Best to find out what they'll do but if they had the foresight to institute a rental cap, I'd imagine they'll want to enforce it.