By George Gombossy
www.ctcondonews.com
As the result of the recession and the millions of foreclosures, renting is safer and more affordable than buying for many.
But be careful, if you complex is starting to approach the 50 percent mark, your association might want to consider putting a freeze on allowing more unit owners to rent their condos.
As MarketWatch's Lew Sichelman explains "Fannie Mae, Freddie Mac and the Federal Housing Administration all shy away from backing mortgages in condo buildings where half or more of the units are not occupied by their owners. That could change, either up or down. But for now, those are their rules, and these days the primary lenders who fund new loans play by those rules, to the letter."
In answering a readers question, he wrote "For that reason alone, I would be in favor of the bylaw change, even if you are not interested in selling at the moment. But there are other reasons to limit rentals."
"One is that values tend to fall in buildings where the majority of occupants are renters. Well, perhaps not fall, but apartments certainly don’t rise in value at the same rate as those in buildings where owner-occupants predominate."
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