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Chiwawa River Pines – Vacation Rental Ban Update

 
The Chiwawa River Pines neighborhood has recently voted to enforce a covenant that bans vacation rentals in their neighborhood.

 

According to Al Lorenz of the NCW Real Estate Blog (who is also a board member at Chiwawa River Pines), the neighborhood recently voted to allow “Long Term, low impact, service oriented businesses” and “long-term, residential rentals for a period of more than six (6) consecutive months”.
 
They are no longer allowing “short-term residential rentals for a period of less than six (6) consecutive months”

Click here to see the voting on the Chiwawa River Pines blog

 
As I have mentioned before in earlier posts about the vacation rental issue I think this will have a negative effect on sales and property values in the neighborhood.
 
For those who live in the neighborhood, this may increase their quality of life. I certainly can understand the problems that can come from bad neighbors or bad renters next door.
 
According to my research of the market on the North Central Washington MLS:
 

 8 homes sold in the neighborhood in 2007.

 In 2008 only 1 home has sold so far.

 Currently 1 home is under contract or “pending”.

 9 homes are currently listed for sale.

 3 homes have sold in the past 12 months giving us a 3 Years supply of homes

 
Chiwawa River Pines used to be a desirable neighborhood. How many current vacation rentals are in the neighborhood? How many of these owners will now put their homes on the market?
 
I count 6 rentals in Chiwawa River Pines on the ComfyCabins website and I know there are plenty more at VRBO.com
 
Here’s what one owner had to say on my previous post:
 

I am a new member to the Chiwawa River Pines community and i was not aware of this issue. Should I have reviewed the bylaws, 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 independently wealthy, many of us look to supplement 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.
What’s next for Chiwawa River Pines?
 
I expect the next shoe to drop will be litigation. There are rarely big winners when things like this go to court, but I expect it will. Will the CRP association sue to enforce their rules? Will they get sued by owners of current vacation rentals?
 
Did you buy a vacation home in Chiwawa River Pines hoping to use it as a rental to defer costs? Are you considering buying real estate or holding off on your purchase because of this debate?

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