MEMPHIS, Tenn. — ABC24 is committed to providing solutions to challenges in the area's housing market. That includes the local fight against out-of-state investors who buy up properties, flip them into expensive rentals and keep ownership of reach for many Mid-South families.
That was front and center in Cordova in recent months, where the LaGrange Commons homeowner association fought back with hard work and teamwork to keep investors out and protect homeowners from problematic properties.
"We love our community, we love our neighborhood and we just saw where it was headed to and we just wanted to stop it as soon as possible," LaGrange Commons HOA President Ebonee Hodges said.
In the past year, Hodges and fellow neighbors witnessed firsthand the major negative impact made by a small number of rental properties owned by outside investors.
"It was a safety issue, I had a complaint about some police having to come for domestic violence, people on each other's property," Hodges added.
That's why Hodges, Candi Brown and other neighbors devised a plan: change its HOA charter and ban future investor home purchases.
"We wanted to maintain our affordable safe neighborhood for hard-working people," Brown said.
The move required 70% approval in the community of 120 homes. So, in recent weeks, neighbors canvassed for votes.
"We all kept believing in it, believing in each other and kept knocking on doors," Brown said.
The measure needed 84 homeowners to sign on; the HOA secured 87.
"I was just amazed of how supportive everyone was and just how we leaned on each other for each other's help," Hodges said.
Now that LaGrange Commons addressed the investor issue, neighbors offered advice to other HOAs contemplating such an effort.
"Talk with an attorney that is familiar with this, familiar with the amendment and how to do it the right way," Brown said.
"It's not as hard as I thought, you just have to have a plan and you can't do it by yourself," Hodges said.