What do you mean…I can’t rent out my condo?
Condos aren’t common (yet) in Spokane real estate, condos for sale in Spokane represent less than 5% of all Spokane homes for sale.
However, for those that choose to purchase a condo as their Spokane real estate investment, this is an important topic.
A client of mine, who purchased a condo about a year ago, wrote to me today asking about limiting the percentage of condo units that can be used as rentals to 10%:
A neighbor of came by and had a petition to sign - that would limit the percentage of condos that could be rented — to ten percent of the total number of condos.
At first thought, it sounded good to me because it prevents the neighborhood from deteriorating with ever-increasing numbers of rental units. However, on second thought, I wondered: If that’s such a good idea, why permit even ten percent? Why not vote to prohibit rentals altogether?
The rub, as I see it, is that after the first ten percent of owners eventually rent their condos out - then effectively virtually nobody else can do it regardless of unexpected circumstances or need. But, what would I do if I were transferred to another job location and forced to move - and found I could not sell at a reasonable price because of some downturn in the resale value of the condo?
I’m conflicted over the pros and cons of this issue - so I’m really curious about your take on it. I fully appreciate how dreadful it would be to have 1/2 the condos eventually turned into rentals. All the riff-raff would make the condo little different from living in an apartment - and that would obviously torpedo the resale value of the units.
On the other hand, I dislike the idea that the first 10% of condo owners to rent their units out, are free to do so if it suits them - but then the gangplank is pulled up and for all practical purposes nobody else can do it - even if there was an unexpected and important need….
What’s your take on this interesting conundrum?
My Response: It’s a good policy…
As far as a 10% cap on rentals, I tend to agree with it. My experience is Read more
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