Like many of you, I knew I wanted to purchase a place here the first time I walked onto the property. I found my condo about 4 years ago and have spent much more time here than I originally anticipated. I’m staying here about 3-4 nights per week.
I was neutral on the STR situation and felt that owners should be able to do whatever they want in regard to renting. My opinion has changed as I’ve seen people treat our community differently than I think most owners would treat there own property or something they value. I’m sure our maintenance team has plenty of observations to this point, as well. I would like to thank them for their hard work.
The greatest of my concerns for Snowater is the risk of fire and people who do not understand it. I have personally seen on multiple occasions, in one building, people who I do not recognize as neighbors throwing cigarette butts from the decks onto the surrounding grass or into the woods during peak fire season. I have also broken down a couple of used fire circles on our property and another just east of the line in the NF. Would owners or people knowledgeable of the area do this? I have also seen open fires on decks which were reported to Snowater management and handled appropriately.
I have also have experienced many annoyances that impact me and other guests. I’m happy to share these on request but honestly they’re too lengthy otherwise. I’ll just summarize that I see a stark contrast in the actions of owners and those I see in known rentals. As an owner and frequent resident my mountain experience, use of common areas, my sleep, and enjoyment of my own unit is certainly being negatively impacted by people who do not respect shared space, or me as a neighbor.
I would like to see all rental units identified as such with contact information and phone number being made available to owners, regardless of whether it is managed by a local company or through a popular app. I also think that whoever receives complaint calls should be required to address them regardless of the time of day or night. I have called two of the local management companies to file complaints and one never returned my call and the other called me back four days later. I think this unacceptable. Is a renters experience more important than an owners?
I hope that we all put appropriate weight on the safety and the quality of the Snowater and the mountain experience, in addition to our individual financial concerns as we navigate this issue.
