What used to be a quiet downtown Atlanta high-rise where neighbors knew each other by name now feels like a cut-rate hotel with revolving doors, residents say. Absentee LLCs and professional short-term rental hosts have scooped up dozens of condos, and longtime owners complain that building management and the homeowners association treat paying guests like VIPs while full-time residents are left in the hallway.
The fights, late-night smoke scares, and steep fee hikes have worn down many of the people who still call the building home. Some are now less focused on enjoying their views and more focused on finding a way out.
An investigation by The Atlanta Journal-Constitution found that roughly 50 LLCs, trusts, or companies control more than 90 of the building’s roughly 200 units and that four of the five HOA board members run short-term rental operations. The AJC reported that sisters who operate a group called LuLu Homes are registered agents for multiple LLCs and that public listings show dozens of nightly rentals inside the tower. Homeowners told the paper the board has raised HOA fees, allowed common-area repairs to lag, and repeatedly sided with hosts over long-term residents…