Melissa Ballman:
Cons of Living in Daybreak and Big Fines with New HOA Changes
$25,000 fines. That’s what Daybreak’s HOA is starting to do, so if you are thinking about moving to Daybreak, you live in Daybreak currently, or you’re under contract, make sure you watch this video. Don’t miss it because I’m going to talk about the new thing that just has started coming out recently and it’s going to fine homeowners $25,000.
Hi, this is Melissa Ballman and I am a real estate agent here in the Greater Salt Lake City area. So what that means, if you’re looking at making a real estate move, I’d love to connect with you. Shoot me a text, send me an email, do what you got to do, but get in touch with me.
But first, today, this is not very well-known and it’s just starting to pop-up with people who are currently buying and selling real estate in Daybreak. And so I want to talk to you about it because unfortunately, it’s coming up at the closing table, when this could have a huge impact on whether or not somebody’s interested in buying your house if you live in Daybreak, or if you’re looking at buying in Daybreak, you may want to reconsider.
So first, this is not necessarily a new thing, but I want to give you some background. When you go to the closing table, a buyer has to sign an affidavit, basically, for the Daybreak HOA saying they agree not to use the property as a rental property, Airbnb, things like that. The rule is that you are supposed to live in Daybreak for 12 months before you can even think about using it as a rental property and Daybreak HOA can require you to show proof that you have in fact lived there as an owner-occupied unit, or as a second home for those last 12 months before they’ll allow you to use a rental. But, there’s now an addition to it that title companies are starting to see just recently on closings, that add another layer to the complexity of that.
What is happening is when a buyer is getting to the closing table, there is now an affidavit that you sign as a buyer, saying you now agree that you will not sell that property within 12 months of you buying it. That’s huge. Now they do have a little list of exclusions for things of why you can sell it and I will go over that. But what they’re saying is they will fine you $25,000 if you sell that property within 12 months of purchasing it, if it’s not for one of their approved reasons.
So flips, no. Can’t do it. Can’t do it within 12 months. Let’s say you are dating somebody and you decide to get married and you both own houses. Well, if you purchased your home in Daybreak within 12 months, guess what? You can’t sell it. That’s actually not on their approved list, which is shocking to me.
Let’s talk about a couple of things that are on their approved list. First, unfortunately, and obviously, death. Second, a divorce, which I find ironic that they allow a divorce, but not necessarily if you remarry and one of you have to sell your house.
Next, is a job transfer of over six months, for you or a spouse living in the home, that is over 60 miles. Now, let me put this in perspective. If you look at SoDa Row, because Daybreak is huge. So we’ll just take SoDa Row. If you are traveling from SoDa Row to Park City, that is not 60 miles. If you’re traveling from SoDa Row to Ogden, that is not 60 miles. If you go from SoDa Row to let’s say Spanish Fork, not 60 miles. Payson, not 60 miles. Santaquin, still is not 60 miles. So imagine if you have a job transfer and you’re having to make that commute to and from every day, because you just purchased a home and it falls outside of that 60 mile window.
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So there are more reasons and I’m not going to get into all of them, but just to kind of give you an idea, some of the reason that selling within 12 months is allowed. Now I am not an attorney. I am not giving you legal advice or anything, just telling you what we are starting to see and that is that people really don’t know about this change, so I don’t know how that’s going to play out. If owners have to make a vote to make this official, but they are sending this… HOA Daybreak is sending this to title companies for buyers to sign at closing.
So some things to consider. If you live in Daybreak and you are wanting to sell your property, this could really hinder your buyer pool and what’s available. The other thing to consider is if you kind of have the attitude of, well, if they don’t know it won’t hurt them, whether it’s to do a rental or sell it within the 12 months or whatever, $25,000 is a pretty serious fine. But also to consider, what if they take the amenities away from your renter because you’re not in compliance. So, they don’t have internet. They don’t have access to pools. They don’t have all of the amenities that Daybreak touts and as a drawing factor for people to live there.
Now, as a seller, if you’re under contract with somebody right now, I’ve not had this happen myself, but I’ve heard from title, that they have had buyers get to the closing table or a few days before right now, and they’re saying, “No. I’m not buying under this and I’m canceling my contract and I want my earnest money refunded because the seller did not disclose the during the seller’s disclosures time.” So as a seller, this is really affecting you too. It’s not just buyers that are having the issue.
I hope you enjoyed my video today. If you have any questions, feel free to reach out to me. I am always here to help, but as always, make it a great day.