Condos that allow short term rentals?

Question

Are there any condos where the HOA allows short term rentals in the galleria or westchase area?

Michael Baum · Answer

Hey @Ruth Reyes, I agree with both @John Underwood AND @James Carlson.

I never really look hard at condo's due to the HOA fees and the fact that a controlling member can rule the roost.

For example we almost bought a ski condo at the Inn of the 7th Mountain in Bend Oregon. Things were in dire shape due to neglected maintenance. It needed to be completely resided as well as all roofs redone.

The special assessments were outta sight. There were people literally giving away their long held family condo's for a dollar. The assessment on the largest units, a top floor 4/3 3000sqft place, were nearly $400,000. The condo's were worth 1/2 that at the time.

The assessment on the one we were looking at was about 35k and based on the purchase price, we felt was reasonable for us.

The thing that turned us away was the fact that a single family owned about 60% of the condo's in the resort. That means that they controlled how things were done, where money went and how much. They are a wealthy family and I don't think they were bad folks or anything but they wanted to spend a lot of money bringing it up to snuff. Which meant a lot of folks had to get out.

Having said that, the condo's at the Inn have increased in value a ton due to the investments. There would never be an issue there to stop STRs as it is a vacation resort.

So, if you are looking at a condo, make sure that you do your due diligence. Make sure that the HOA is in good shape. That the majority of the owners are paid up. That there is a good number of other owners who are renting the units when they are not using them. That sort of thing.

I wouldn't buy a condo in a place where it isn't focused on vacation rentals.

John Underwood · Answer

I would advise you to look for a house instead of a condo.

Condos have many fees, rules and can have expensive assessments for repairs and improvements that you will be forced to pay.

Also Condos are a dime a dozen so the competition is fierce which drives the nightly rental rate way down.

Dustin Tucker · Answer

Yes, look at properties in Galveston, 6102 Sea Wall Blvd, Galveston, this complex allows STR's, we can do STR no seasoning DSCR loans if you are interested.

James Carlson · Answer

@Ruth Reyes

I'll be the outlier here and say a condo can be a good buy. If it's what you can afford, it's a solid building with a good HOA and financial situation, a condo can be a great buy. Especially if it's a first one.

Our first three purchases were condos in the downtown Denver area. We still have one of them, and it's been awesome for us. I hear what everyone above says about HOA fees and such, and that's true, but ...

Condos are also waaay less work. There's no roof or sewer for you to manage. Exterior maintenance and yard work are usually handled by someone else. There's no absolutes in real estate, and if you're weighing your priorities and not doing a bunch of work yourself is a priority, a condo can start to look real good.

Evan Polaski · Answer

@Ruth Reyes, along the lines of what Gustavo and John noted, HOAs can often change their rules pretty quickly.  So even if you are allowed to rent out as STR today, the HOA could change that and impact your ability to rent as STR.

While cities, as a whole, are also able to change rules, typically those take far more time, and allow for more people to share input first.  And unlike HOAs most are not going to flat out ban STRs, but rather try to collect taxes/fees from those that want to run them.

Gustavo Delgado · Answer

If you plan on short term rentals for condos in those area, make sure you do your due diligence! I know of two in the westchase area that have incorporated in their bylaws that there are no leases allowed of 6 months or less. Personally I would focus for areas near downtown/ med center/galveston. Good luck!

Condos that allow short term rentals?

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