Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
HOAs can be in the same state and act very differently one to the other.
I do know that Virginia has a nice Property Owner Association Act that covers a lot. Problem is there's no real enforcement if there is a problem. But it can be useful to quote.
If you are suddenly offered excellent accommodations to move to and the owner who signed the lease with you has in writing this is okay and you are not one to argue...okay...and go to small claims after for whatever is owed if the landlady doesn't pay you all your expenses back.
Or...
First, go by what you have in your hand in writing. Not what an hoa board member got mad about and the realtor said she'd fix it and tell you lies to get you scared.
This realtor may be claiming more than she should. And could get questioned by her board and the state if she lied about not working for a broker, etc. but working under the HOA.
The HOA has rules for the owner. So the relationship is between the HOA and the owner.
That said, I know some HOAs who have managers who manage individual units as well. So it may be the owner contracted with this manager to get his/her unit rented. But that is not your contract.
Looks like, as has been said, someone realized now the place will sit vacant for the rest of the 12 month period. And the owner is mad. Maybe got mad at the board. A few people got mad at the realtor so she is now making stuff up.
Keep us posted. This is interesting.
The real issue is that at this point, it doesn’t matter how long the OP lives there because it seems like the one lease in a year provision would already be triggered. What does it matter if it is a week or three months. Wouldn’t it make more sense for the landlord to get three months’ rent while trying to see if he can work it out with the HOA instead of kicking the OP out after a week and potentially losing almost a full year’s worth of rent?
Why is the lease invalid though? The consequences should fall entirely on the shoulders of the LL, period. The HOA should probably take this up with the person renting, as it is clear they have no clue what they are doing and are now trying to forcefully back out of the situation.
It's valid between the OP and the landlord..however, it's not valid with the HOA.
The OP is getting the short end of the stick here, and the owner and agent, need to make it right...but, the OP needs to protect themselves as well because once an eviction hits the court, it's game over.
Wrong, horrible advice. Every post I read of yours is always against the victim and always pro company/corporation.
Horrible advice? Suggesting that the tenant be proactive to avoid an eviction? What do you suggest? That she sits there on principal and does nothing? That's horrible advice.
Not once did I say the OP was at fault. I know it's a slow day over their Suncoast Estates, but try and focus on the facts, not your assumptions.
Last edited by Kim in FL; 06-01-2018 at 06:36 AM..
You're right, of course. The problem is that I happen to know how hard it is for a low income person to actually get legal help for free. I also studied law, but don't have a JD. What I've learned, after working for lawyers and in my own life, is to first of all, call a bully's bluff. Then, if necessary, take it to small claims court, if you can't find a lawyer who'll help you for free, and really, good luck with that for a landlord-tenant matter like this.
And hopefully, just filing the small claims lawsuit gets the other side to deal with you fairly. That's been my experience 99% of the times I have had to do this. I just this week got a settlement from a rotten renter's insurance company who tried to deny most of my claim.
Then, if they don't settle with you before your court date, which is very rare, then you put your trust in the lawyer/judge in small claims court. This usually costs less than $100.
So, even though, yes, in a perfect world, we could all just call a lawyer to help us when we needed it. But, most of us just can't afford to do so, and can't find a lawyer to help us for free.
And this is what the bullies count on. So, when you stand up to them, they are usually taken aback. They'll keep trying to get you to back down, thinking you don't understand the law, pointing to clauses in their contract, that often aren't even legal and/or are unconscionable, hoping you'll let them get away with murder.
I tell people all the time, just because something is in a contract, doesn't make it legal. And to imagine, for instance, that their lease says they have to cut off their left foot if they are ever late on the rent by one day. Now, anyone would know that wasn't legal. But, if the writing sounds legal, people will assume it is. But, it may actually be contrary to their state's laws. So, don't just believe them when they point at a clause in a contract that supposedly says they can't do anything about what is happening. The fact that they're pointing excitedly at some clause in their contract, often means that it's not actually legal, and they're just trying to bluff you into letting them get away with something.
Anyway, my point is just that, you probably have never been in the shoes of a tenant who doesn't have the resources to just call a lawyer when you have a legal problem with some bullies. What people need to know, who can't afford lawyers, is how to call the bluff of a bully threatening you with their legal department.
I just got AARP The Hartford to back down, simply by calling their bluff and filing a small claims action. Cost me about $150 in court fees and service of process for a subpoena for all recordings of my telephone conversations with them and in-house documents regarding incentives for delaying or denying claims (they never sent these documents and I expect they settled because they didnt' want to produce them). I got my costs back in the settlement. So, little, low income senior me vs. giant corporation and I won - without a lawyer. I just called their bluff and filed a small claims lawsuit, where I can get a lawyer/judge to deal with them. It's really the most cost-effective way for low income people to deal with big companies without having to find a free lawyer (good luck) or pay for a lawyer.
I couldn't have said it even half as good thank you. Some people don't realize how ridiculous they sound when they suggest someone spends thousands on a lawyer to fix a minor problem where they are not even in the wrong.
No one wants to help you. When I was younger I got a traffic ticket where the cop refused to give his name and said it's on the ticket. Well this was a rookie and he didn't sign the ticket, his partner who didn't conduct the stop or even get out of the patrol car was the one who signed it. Plus the foolish rookie alerted me while coming in the opposite direction with his lights, then when he turned around to follow me I was not speeding. You can't pace someone in the opposite direction. He held back a long block. I stopped turned on red, then the jerk cop gave me a ticket for speeding and for running the light which is ludicrous because I knew he was behind me somewhere.
I tried to find help and they said they only help in criminal matters. The judge was crooked, I had told him I sent a letter of complaint to the governor's office. he stopped the trial, the prosecutor on their side and him walked into his chambers, they found me guilty and I got 5 points and a fine. When I tried to appeal they miraculously lost the recording of the trial so I could not appeal so I gave up, but I know karma go the crooked people involved.
Horrible advice? Suggesting that the tenant be proactive to avoid an eviction? What do you suggest? That she sits there on principal and does nothing? That's horrible advice.
....
Enjoy your day in Liberty City, Miami, try not to get mugged, I'm not in Suncoast Estates. I did meet a very nice person that lived there though, a young vet who lives in a mobile home with his wife and young child, he is going to school to get a degree, and he is the son of a pastor, he did say it's not great there, but there are good people who do live there.
The low-income lawyers often abuse the court system to make it more expensive for a LL, and then want the LL to settle, even if the LL is 100% in the right. I won $50 once due to a court no-show, and that was a planned no-show just to keep housing for a bit longer.
Based on the abuses I have seen, I do not ever give money to charities that are for low-income causes.
.
I find it hard to believe that you had valid cases and the judge always sided with the lawyer only because he was a lawyer.
So do you only give to rich people now?
Now that you won't even rent to poor people why not help them, or help yourself and move to a state that doesn't give fee legal help to people who claim to be cheated by their lawyers?
And by the way, it appears the OP is a one post wonder. But, it's been an interesting discussion LOL.
She has responded to several posts, I don't know if she requested that a mod take them down, but she has thanked a few people and responded to her situation, but now it does look like it's just one post from her.
Enjoy your day in Liberty City, Miami, try not to get mugged, I'm not in Suncoast Estates. I did meet a very nice person that lived there though, a young vet who lives in a mobile home with his wife and young child, he is going to school to get a degree, and he is the son of a pastor, he did say it's not great there, but there are good people who do live there.
I don't live in Miami, but have fun with your continuing assumptions. Of course you'll say that about Suncoast..everyone who lives there claims that 'good' people live there, however the news and LEO say otherwise
Toodles
To stay on topic...the OP is in a pickle due to no fault of her own and needs to be proactive...not just sit back and suck her thumb.
I don't live in Miami, but have fun with your continuing assumptions. Of course you'll say that about Suncoast..everyone who lives there claims that 'good' people live there, however the news and LEO say otherwise
Toodles
To stay on topic...the OP is in a pickle due to no fault of her own and needs to be proactive...not just sit back and suck her thumb.
Proactive about what? The OP has not received any official notification other than some second-hand emails suggesting the lease might be invalid from what I can tell. It does not even sound like the association has conferred with its attorney yet.
I find it hard to believe that you had valid cases and the judge always sided with the lawyer only because he was a lawyer.
So do you only give to rich people now?
Now that you won't even rent to poor people why not help them, or help yourself and move to a state that doesn't give fee legal help to people who claim to be cheated by their lawyers?
The Judge will almost always side with a family trying to keep a home.
A judge figures that a week delay for a landlord, or even 30 days, is not too much of an inconvenience for a LL compared with a move-out for a tenant. So a Judge will give the benefit of the doubt to the tenant.
I have NEVER lost an eviction, or a judgement against a tenant. I was even invited to the Judge Alex show, but my tenants did not want to go. Free airfare, hotel, and some cash. They chickened out.
I did kick a woman out with stage-4 terminal breast cancer, that died six months later. My judgement I would guess is no longer valid. She claimed she did not get notified of the court case, yet the attorney was there. And she was in the parking lot and did not come in. The Judge gave me $50 for my having to come back at a later date, and the Attorney's firm had to pay it. I won on the next court date.
I got a garnishment on a family that took almost a year. When I finally started getting payments, they got kicked out of their new place, I assume because I took 25% of their net income with the garnishment.
It is near impossible to rent to low income people, even with your rent paid by the government, and make money. Unless you run a slumlord business. Good quality places require good quality people.
I do not run a homeless shelter. Someone else can house low-income tenants. Since you do not own rental properties, or have never been a low-income landlord, you do not know the issues. There is a reason why people that are low income, are low income. And it is not about money.
Last edited by FIREin2016; 06-01-2018 at 07:41 AM..
Please register to post and access all features of our very popular forum. It is free and quick. Over $68,000 in prizes has already been given out to active posters on our forum. Additional giveaways are planned.
Detailed information about all U.S. cities, counties, and zip codes on our site: City-data.com.
Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
