Property Management – Woodland Hills – Transient Tenants

When “For Rent” signs pop up in front of homes in Gilbert’s Neely Farms neighborhood, the homeowners association takes note. And with the way the East Valley housing market is, the association can expect to be making a lot of notes. An increase in rental properties here is inevitable, experts say. Skyrocketing home prices force some prospective buyers to become renters and investors tend to rent out homes while they appreciate in value. Homeowners associations worry about landlords and tenants who might not be as invested in the neighborhoods as those in owner-occupied homes. “Its mostly the investors, people from out-of-state, like California? who rent out homes in Neely Farms, said Jennifer Rewarts, who manages the development for R&R Property Management. “The board is monitoring it”. Complains to her office about rental properties have increased substantially in the last year, Rewarts said. People complain about renters not maintaining property, not adhering to the covenants, conditions and restrictions of the association or not even being aware that they are under the jurisdiction of the homeowners association. The underlying complaint most homeowners associations have is the transient nature of rentals, said Augustus Shaw, a Tempe attorney who represents community associations in Arizona and writes a column as an expert on the issue for the Tribune. “With community associations, community comes first,” he said. “When you move in to an association, you want to get to know your neighbors and know they’ll be there for at least a couple of years.” That assurance is becoming less likely Valleywide. In 2004, 11,860 properties were registered as rentals with the Maricopa County Assessor’s Office, said Joan Blackburn, support services manager for the office. Rental registrations this year are on their way to surpassing that, with 9,357 on the books already. The numbers include new rentals registered that changed owners or management, bur Blackburn say she can tell there are more rental properties out there. “Our workload is definitely increasing,” she said. So is the rental-related workload of East Valley municipalities and homeowners associations. Chandler focused its second Congress of Neighborhoods last Saturday on rental properties, said Brian Bosshardt, who oversees neighborhood programs for the city. The session was inspired when residents at the first congress in January said rentals were their top concern. In Mesa last fall, the board of the Dobson Ranch Homeowners Association approved a policy requiring owners of rental properties to register with the association and pay a $95 fee each time a new lease for the property is signed. The policy was drafted in part because “the association commits an inordinate amount of time enforcing CC&R’s with properties owned by incestors and for-profit real estate business enterprises,” wrote board member Tom Minor in a letter to homeowners on the association’s Web site. In Tempe investors and real estate firms often rent homes to Arizona State University students. This can mean rental properties turn into party houses. The city has a loud-party ordinance specifically designed to discourage this, and, in May, it established an Ad Hoc Rental Housing Task Force to encourage property owners and renters to contribute positively to the community. Shaw said associations concerned about rental properties should first talk to the homeowners they represent. “Board members of HOAs have a tendency to rule from on high,” he said. “They think that there is a problem in the community and there may not be.” And, Shaw added, it’s unfair to pin blight solely on renters. “I believe you can get owner-occupied people who wreck their property just as much as lessees are likely to wreck the property,” he said.

By Sara Thorson