What is the Purpose of HOA Docs?
HOA stands for Home Owners Association. Living in an HOA community means there are certain rules and regulations residents must follow, and they will have to pay fees as well.
When a buyer gets their offer accepted, the seller is required per the contract to disclose if the property is under the jurisdiction of an HOA. The seller will also be providing the HOA documents, which can be overwhelming since it can be a lot of paperwork. We always recommend the buyer take the time to review these documents and/or sit down with their Realtor to address certain questions that you might have. For example, is there a pet restriction? Or are there rental restrictions? But at a minimum, we recommend reviewing the following 3 items:
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The HOA Demand: This document is usually 1-2 pages and is a basic summary of the HOA packet. Some of the items the demand usually includes are:
- Will the HOA dues be increasing soon?
- Is the HOA being sued for any reason?
- Is there a proposed assessment?
- What are the current reserves?
- Will the HOA dues be increasing soon?
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The Newsletters or Notices to the Homeowners: We always recommend the buyer review the newsletter or notices because this can give you a little insight on prior or future events happening, for example, are they planning on repaving the roads? Or have the recently completed some pest control repairs? This will provide some insight into the HOA itself
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The Minutes: The minutes are a summary of the HOA meetings. These can be very informative because a lot of times they discuss problems that need to be addressed, budget topics, and other items that are beneficial for a buyer to know.
