Comments on: Vacation Rental Ban in Chiwawa River Pines?

By: Icicle Creek Real Estate » Chiwawa River Pines – Effects of Rental Ban?

Sun, 16 Aug 2009 19:43:03 +0000

[...] At the time, I took the position that I thought that enforcing the existing (but unenforced) prohibition on short term (nightly / weekly) rentals would be bad for home values. My experience tells me that vacation home buyers (who drive the Leavenworth and Lake Wenatchee real estate market) prefer to have the option to rent their home when they aren’t using it. Not every vacation home owner does rent their cabin, but most prefer to have that as an option. [...]

By: Geordie Romer

Geordie Romer — Tue, 26 Aug 2008 00:14:00 +0000

anon-

Al emailed me and said he wouldn’t comment because of his new role on the Chiwawa River Pines board.

Here is the link on his blog:

http://www.ncwrealestateblog.com/2008/08/18/chiwawa-communities-association-rental-update/

Including info about the upcoming meetings and membership votes.

A majority of vacation home buyers I talk to on a daily basis are interested in having the OPTION of renting out their home as a vacation rental. I don’t think Chiwawa River Pines should make this decision lightly.

By: Anonymous

Anonymous — Mon, 25 Aug 2008 22:04:00 +0000

Al,

I am a new member to the Chiwara River Pines community and i was not aware of this issue. Should I have reviewed the bylays, sure, but I also was aware that there were nightly rentals in the area.

In general, I understand your points. However, may of us that did not purchase a home 5 or more years ago are paying a pretty penny to find a vacation home in Leavenworth. While we would all likely to be indepently weatlhy, many of us look to suppliment the cost of a mortgage with nightly rental proceeds.

I also believe that the values will decline since you are removing a subset of the buyers from this community. I understand the risks associated with renters, but I have yet to see a detailed list of violations that have caused such a concern. Do you have one? If so, please share.

Why can't a 2-3 strikes your out policy be implemented. If a home owner's renters violate the community rules then the owner will be written up and notified. After 2 or 3 issues, their ability to rent will be removed.

I look forward to your comments

By: Al Lorenz

Al Lorenz — Mon, 03 Mar 2008 16:24:00 +0000

It has really only been in the last few years that there has been this noticeable rental activity. Certainly 4 years ago I never noticed it. Now, in certain parts of the development it is a problem. I’ll use my speeding analogy again, just because I didn’t get caught last week doesn’t mean I won’t get caught tomorrow.

That’s also why I don’t think the values will be negatively impacted. The folks that bought in Chiwawa River Pines have always known rentals weren’t allowed. Thanks again for the forum!

By: Geordie Romer

Geordie Romer — Mon, 03 Mar 2008 00:55:00 +0000

Thanks Al, I should have been more clear. While these rules do exist in the covenants for the Chiwawa River Pines home owners association, they haven’t been enforced in the past.

I wonder if many other homeowners associations in Leavenworth or Lake Wenatchee have covenants like this that have been sitting dormant and unenforced for a while?