1280 West Midtown? (Atlanta: leasing, HOA, condominiums)

[Betty Lancaster]

Hi there everyone, nice to meet you!
I have enjoyed reading the threads on this forum and getting to re-know Atlanta again. I am a native Atlantan and went to school at Georgia Tech. I am looking to purchase a unit in this complex and would love to hear the ins/outs? I own single story condos but have never had a High-Rise unit and am finding the rules and regulations almost stifling. I understand that it is necessary with over 400 different owners but is the HOA here that strict? i.e. How does the security know the difference between a short term rental and a guest? I would like to rent out to close friends and family for in town events when I am out of the country. It would be for overnight trips so they would not have to drive home late but there seems to be a problem with HOA. I am not technically 'renting' to them, just asking them to chip in to help out withe expenses...is this a real issue? I have been trying to get a copy of the bylaws to no success...does anyone know where I can obtain a copy? (Yes, I already asked my realtor.) If there are any commments/insight/renters/owners on this forum...please...I need help! PM me if necessary...thanks SOOO much!
Betty

[Febtober]

I can't help you much with the HOA stuff, but I lived there in the summer of 2005 (I think...) before someone bought the unit we were renting.

The unit was great. 2 bed/2 bath, floor to ceiling windows and a nice balcony on the 26th floor. The building's amenities were pretty nice as well. Great gym, nice pool, racquetball court, movie room with pool tables and such.

The biggest downside was the location. There isn't anything particularly exciting in the immediate neighborhood. After 1280 I moved over to Piedmont and 14th, which I loved. Tons more stuff to walk to, the park and local bars/restaurants being the highlights.

I've been thinking about moving back to Atlanta in the near-ish future and I've been looking at condo listings for fun. Most 2 bed/2 bath condos in areas near Piedmont Park, say between 14th and 10th seem to start in the low 200's, whereas I've seen quite a few listings for similar units at 1280 for well under $100k. I'm not sure if these are just scam listings or what, but I'd almost consider it, even with the location disadvantage.

edit: As far as how they know the difference between a resident and guest, as long as your guest has your keys and your access card to the garage I don't see how they would. Even when I first moved in and none of the staff knew me, I'd just swipe my card to get into the garage, wave at the security guys as I drove past, park and go up to my unit without any interference. I could have just as easily been someone's guest.

[Rama767]

I think it's ridiculous that the seller won't provide you with a copy of the Condominium Declaration or ByLaws. However, your realtor should know that these documents are actually public record. You can actually go to the County Clerk's office and look them up. In this case, I'm pretty sure it's Fulton County. If your realtor doesn't know this, I would ditch him/her for someone who is actually knowledgeable about Condominiums.

With regards to renting, your risk is commensurate with the Management Company/Board of Director's attitude. Some Boards don't care about "illegal" leasing. Unlike a single family home subdivision, I would be very careful about purchasing a condominium in a high-rise building. You just can't tell whether or not the Board of Directors or the Management Company are psychos who are only concerned with your brother staying in the unit for a few days instead of making sure the pool is properly cleaned.

In the end, you need to obtain the Condominium Declaration and Bylaws, which are filed at the County Clerk's office to make sure that whatever you would like to do is permissible. More often than not, you will be able to find plenty of loopholes to get what you want.