The proposed amendment change to the Pine Hollow HOA bylaws has prospective landlords chomping at the bit, and here’s why.

Under the current rules, only members of the Association can vote in our elections and run for our Board. A member means a lot owner, and since all Pine Hollow lots are built out, a “member” effectively means a “homeowner.”

This definition of “member” is good because it ensure that homeowners like us are the ones voting and serving on the HOA Board. As homeowners, we would support guidelines that maintain our property values and preserve the sense of community that we value. As homeowners, we have put in place HOA guidelines that promote single-family dwellings of the type and style that create the neighborhoods we want to live in.

Now, let’s say you are a landlord who only buys up properties for the sake of maximizing the rental income. You never plan to live in Pine Hollow; you are just looking at it as an opportunity to make a profit.

Today’s guidelines allow only single-family rentals. But as a professional landlord, I want to convert the properties I have bought in Pine Hollow into multi-family units in order to increase my profit. What to do?

Under the proposed amendment change, the answer is easy: for $10 each, deed a 10% interest in my rental property to two different cronies. Cozy up to the current Board members and as seats become open, insert my so-called “property owners” onto the Board. On a three-person Board, it only takes two votes to gain control. I now control the Pine Hollow HOA Board, its bylaws, its committees, and its guidelines.

If you think something like this could never never happen, think again. It already has. When money is involved, unscrupulous players know no limits on the extremes they will go to in manipulating the system for financial gain. Tomorrow’s post will show you just how bad it can be.

And if you think it could never happen in Pine Hollow, think again. There is already a corporation systematically buying up properties in Pine Hollow and turning them into rentals. More on that soon too.

But it is not to late to prevent this slide. Show up at the annual meeting on Wednesday and voice your opinion about the proposed amendment change, before it is too late.