You’ve found the perfect house, in the perfect neighborhood, for the perfect price. But then you find out it’s in an HOA and you will be charged a monthly fee. Perhaps this isn’t what you had in mind and you don’t really know much about what HOAs are all about. You may have heard stories […]
What is an HOA Estoppel? (TX)
Editor
/ Owner - August 22, 2020
Estoppel is a legal concept meaning that someone certifies the accuracy of certain facts as of a specified date. A lender or bank requires an estoppel letter or certificate from the homeowners association prior to closing on a property within the HOA. Read the article…………………………………
What Is An HOA Demand Payoff Letter?
Editor
/ Owner - August 4, 2020
Homeowners are often surprised to discover additional fees and documents that are required before they can sell their property. For those who have received an HOA demand payoff letter, know that you are required by law to submit this requirement. To make the process clearer, here’s what you need to know about an HOA demand […]
Who Pays for the HOA Resale Package? (TX)
Editor
/ Owner - August 3, 2020
If you’re in the market of buying or selling a home within an HOA, you’ll most likely come across the requirement for a resale package as part of the process. Not familiar with what a resale package is? Hopefully this article will help! Read the article………………………………
HOA basics: What is a restrictive covenant?
Editor
/ Owner - July 22, 2020
When you buy a home in a homeowners association, or HOA, the association has certain rules owners must follow. These rules are called restrictive covenants, and they can make a difference in what you’re allowed to do with your property. Before you buy a home in an association with restrictive covenants, make sure you understand […]
Variety of factors can affect condo square footage
Editor
/ Owner - July 12, 2020
Q: I am on the board of a condo association and it was brought to our attention by a past owner who was selling his unit, that a potential buyer noticed that the par value noted in the governing documents of our association did not match that in the multiple listing services in our local […]
What Do My HOA Fees Cover?
Editor
/ Owner - July 10, 2020
Common questions posed by potential homeowners considering buying within an HOA often center around assessments. Prospective owners want to know what assessments cover, how much they will be, and if they’re worth the added expense. Some buyers may even hesitate to close the deal at the prospect of required fees. Read the article……………………………..
Court: Condo Must Stop ‘Unreasonable’ Financial Screenings (FL)
Editor
/ Owner - July 9, 2020
A condo buyer cancelled a transaction because the board required two years’ worth of tax returns. A Fla. judge called that blanket requirement “patently unreasonable.” Read the article……………………………..
County judge orders Marco Island condo association to stop ‘unreasonable’ screening practices for new buyers (FL)
Editor
/ Owner - July 2, 2020
A Collier County Court judge has ordered the Crescent Beach Condominium Association on Marco Island to get rid of its “unreasonable” financial screening practices for new buyers. The unusual ruling follows a bench trial a few weeks ago for an unusual case brought by a prospective buyer in small claims court. Read the article………………………………..
What You Need to Know About HOA Fees
Editor
/ Owner - June 22, 2020
Too many people fail to pay attention to the impact HOA fees have on homeownership. HOAs are serious about collecting the fees owed to them. When fees are unpaid, it can have devastating consequences for current homeowners and people looking to buy another home who left unpaid fees behind at a previous community. However, HOA […]
Rising Seas Threaten an American Institution: The 30-Year Mortgage
Editor
/ Owner - June 19, 2020
Up and down the coastline, rising seas and climate change are transforming a fixture of American homeownership that dates back generations: the classic 30-year mortgage. Home buyers are increasingly using mortgages that make it easier for them to stop making their monthly payments and walk away from the loan if the home floods or becomes […]
Turtle Creek condo complex up for grabs (TX)
Editor
/ Owner - June 18, 2020
Owners of a Turtle Creek condo complex are offering their property up for redevelopment. The Turtle Creek Gardens Condominiums Homeowner’s Association has hired commercial real estate firm Cushman & Wakefield to find a buyer for the 4.5-acre property Read the article……………………….
How To Create A Helpful Community Welcome Packet
Editor
/ Owner - June 16, 2020
When new homeowners join your HOA or condo association, you want to make sure that they have a pleasant experience upon arrival. As a board member in your community, you want to be confident that you foster a relationship of friendliness and trust from your very first interactions. There are a few things that you […]
Title Tip: Who is Responsible For Fixing an HOA Violation, The Buyer or The Seller?
Editor
/ Owner - June 16, 2020
A recent home buyer posed a question about an HOA violation concerning their new home. It seems the fence installed by the previous homeowner a couple of years ago doesn’t conform to the HOA rules. Now the HOA is requiring the new owner to bring the fence into compliance with the HOA regulations. Who is […]
REAL ESTATE MATTERS: Seller anxious for agents to tell buyers every detail about condo and its association
Editor
/ Owner - May 31, 2020
Q: Most Realtors representing condo buyers don’t educate their buyers about condo reserve funding: the pros and cons of fully funding, partially funding or non-funding of reserves. My beachfront condo in Florida was listed for 15 months with enough showings but no offers. After a while, I contacted some of the buyers’ real estate agents […]
Don’t let your condo dream turn into a nightmare (VA)
Editor
/ Owner - May 30, 2020
Once a purchase contract has been ratified, you should receive a Resale Certificate Package. The Resale Certificate is full of information, a lot of which can seem boring and irrelevant, but there is some particularly important information you do not want to breeze by. Take the time to read. Purchasers have three days from delivery of […]
Do Manufactured Homes Communities Have Home Owners Associations?
Editor
/ Owner - May 25, 2020
Have you ever asked yourself if manufactured homes communities Michigan have Homeowners associations? Since you are curious to have answers to these questions, why don’t you keep on reading this article? Read the article…………………………….
HOA Estoppel Letter: Short Guide for Community Association Board Members
Editor
/ Owner - May 19, 2020
An estoppel letter is a legally binding document that certifies the amount of money a home seller owes to the Homeowners’ Association (HOA). Since real estate lingo varies from one state to another, different people use different names to refer to the HOA estoppel letter. Other terms used to refer to a HOA estoppel letter […]
New Mexico law protects condo buyers
Editor
/ Owner - May 17, 2020
Buying a condominium is a great lifestyle choice for many people. From downsizing retirees to busy professionals who don’t have time to worry about maintenance and yard work, owning a condo can be just the right ticket. Many people tend to think of a condo as a house without a yard, but it’s far more […]
Homeowners Association Rules You Need to Know (CA)
Editor
/ Owner - April 30, 2020
A homeowners association is a legal organization made up of community members who volunteered to carry out governing documents. These documents include Covenants, Conditions, and Restrictions (CC&Rs) that include common homeowners association rules that homeowners need to know. Read the article…………………………..
A Guide for Moving Out of Your HOA
Editor
/ Owner - March 26, 2020
You are considering the move from your home or condominium. You have begun to make a mental map of all of the processes and steps that you will need to take care of. The reality is moving is a daunting and stressful endeavor and it is easy to overlook or forget everything that needs to […]
The Ultimate Guide to Buying a Home in a Community Association (HOA)
Editor
/ Owner - March 18, 2020
Whether you’re buying your first home or your fifth, you’ve probably run into some homes that are a part of a community or homeowner’s association. You may be familiar with the monthly fees, some benefits, and restrictions of living in a home with an HOA, but it can often be more complicated than what you […]
Realtors Beware: Your Client’s Country Club Exclusion Can Come Back Around to Bite You (CA)
Editor
/ Owner - March 18, 2020
In January 2016, plaintiffs and appellants, Michael Dubasso and Jenny Dubasso (collectively, the “Dubassos”), purchased a home in the Tradition community (“Tradition”) in La Quinta, California. The Dubassos hired real estate agent Kathleen O-Keefe (“O-Keefe”) and LQR Desert Real Estate, Inc. (“LQR”) as their real estate agent and broker, respectively. Shortly after closing escrow, the […]
How to Market Your Community to Millennials
Editor
/ Owner - February 25, 2020
Ensuring that your community is ready to meet the diverse needs and wants of a changing generation can seem overwhelming. Still, as the demographics of homebuyers begin to shift, your community needs to be prepared. Millennials are getting older, and at more than 83 million people, represent a quarter of the U.S. population. As a […]
Best advice on HOAs: Learn to live with it (AZ)
Editor
/ Owner - February 16, 2020
There’s little chance of escaping HOAs in Green Valley and Sahuarita, and for the uninitiated to the various types of organizations, the experience could lead to ruffled feathers on all sides. Homeowners Associations in the United States have grown by leaps and bounds, and their impact on homeowners has grown with them. Read the article…………………………
Transferring Title within a Condominium Association (FL)
Editor
/ Owner - February 13, 2020
Is a unit owner who transfers title from an individual capacity to a corporate entity or LLC required to obtain Association approval? The answer is often not simple as the transfer of title does not necessarily result from a sale. There are many different types of title transfers including gifts, devices, transfers between related entities […]
The rise and effects of homeowners associations
Editor
/ Owner - January 28, 2020
In the U.S., nearly 60% of recently built single-family houses, and 80% of houses in new subdivisions, are part of a homeowners association (HOA). We construct the first near-national map of HOAs using publicly recorded mortgage records for single-family homes. We use these data to document the growth and characteristics of HOAs as well as […]
Moving out of Your HOA? Here’s What You Need to Do
Editor
/ Owner - January 28, 2020
Most people are familiar with moving. According to the U.S. Census Bureau, a person will move houses just over 11 times throughout their lifetime. But, when your home is part of a homeowners’ association (HOA), even the moving pros can be left wondering what to do. With more than 40 years of HOA experience, we’ve […]
Who is Responsible for Condo Repairs?
Editor
/ Owner - January 13, 2020
Q: Our condominium board requested an owner make an exterior repair to comply with our architectural guidelines. The repair was never made, and the owner is now listing the unit for sale. What do we need to do during the buying and selling process to be sure the repair is made? Could the association be […]
Updated Condominium FHA Approval Rules
Editor
/ Owner - January 7, 2020
On September 12, 2019, our office published a blog explaining the new FHA Condominium Approval Rules that became effective on October 15, 2019, which includes the single-unit approval process. The purpose of these new rules was to create more opportunity for individual condominium owners to obtain FHA insured mortgages. As many condominium associations are learning, […]
Important Tips About FHA Condo Approval (TN)
Editor
/ Owner - December 12, 2019
There has been a great deal of debate about how to successfully afford housing for the younger generations in the United States that have larger financial strains due to excessive debt or limited credit history. The federal government has made an effort to create a policy that enables less-established prospective buyers to have the potential […]
Those new FHA condo regs have wide-reaching implications (IL)
Editor
/ Owner - December 3, 2019
This past October, the Federal Housing Administration (FHA) enacted long-expected changes to the regulations governing condominium purchases. While these amendments will hopefully ease more prospective homebuyers’ affordability woes, the wider commercial real estate industry will feel the effects as well. Read the article……………………….
Condo Contract Crisis? Lawsuits May Line up as Purchasers Try to Jump Ship (NY)
Editor
/ Owner - November 25, 2019
The National Law Review is alerting litigators to be prepared for a rash of lawsuits related to a possible looming housing recession, likening the outlook to what happened in 2008’s economic crash. As the condo developers of a decade ago notified their contract purchasers of their projects’ impending completions, many of those would-be owners sued […]
Judgments must be disclosed to potential buyers (IL)
Editor
/ Owner - November 23, 2019
Q: Our condominium association has been cited on numerous occasions with building code violations that require actual court appearances. Do these matters need to be included in the 22.1 disclosure? Read the Q&A……………………………….
If You Purchase a House at an HOA Lien Foreclosure, Are You Entitled to Excess Sale Proceeds? (AZ)
Editor
/ Owner - November 14, 2019
That pesky excess sale proceeds statute, A.R.S. § 33-727, is making waves again. We previously blogged about this statute here. In the prior post, we explained that excess sale proceeds (i.e., a foreclosure sale price greater than the lien being foreclosed) must be used to pay other lien creditors, in full, before the owner receives […]
Statutory Limitation on Condominium Transfer Fees – A Reminder that the Limit is the Limit (FL)
Editor
/ Owner - November 4, 2019
Transfer fees are those fees an association may charge in connection with the sale or lease of a unit. There are significant differences between allowable transfer fees for homeowners’ associations as compared against condominium associations. When it comes to transfer fees for condominium associations, Florida law is patently clear – in no event may such […]
$100 limitation on transfer fees applies to anyone working on behalf of Association (FL)
Editor
/ Owner - October 26, 2019
Q: Your column recently indicated that condo associations cannot charge more than $100 for approval of the purchase of a unit. Does this statement also apply to management companies, since they are hired by the association and should be required to operate under the same statute? Read the Q&A…………………………….
Cielo makes changes to its ‘restrictive’ real estate rules
Editor
/ Owner - October 22, 2019
Behind the gatehouse at Cielo, the secluded streets wind up and up through the sprawling and hilly 1,400-acre residential community in Rancho Santa Fe. The 373 homes inside Cielo offer killer views with some of the highest vantage points along the coast, stretching from La Jolla to Lake Hodges and the mountains. Trouble was, no […]
New Rules For FHA Financing – What Board Members Need To Know (FL)
Editor
/ Owner - October 7, 2019
For some home buyers, financing the purchase of their new home can be a barrier to entry. Many home buyers need the benefit of an FHA backed loan for their lower interest rates. The Federal Housing Authority (FHA), a part of the Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD), has provided mortgage insurance on loans […]
HUD Issues Mortgagee Letter on Condo Origination Requirements
Editor
/ Owner - September 26, 2019
The U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) issued a new Mortgagee Letter (ML) late Thursday updating the origination requirement for FHA mortgages on condominium units, applicable to both the traditional, forward mortgage and reverse mortgage programs simultaneously. The letter provides additional clarification ahead of the rule’s implementation on October 15. Read the article………………………….
Questions to ask before signing an HOA agreement (AL)
Editor
/ Owner - September 25, 2019
Buying a new home is a major purchase, buying a home with a homeowners association is an even bigger deal. WBRC received an email from a woman who claims she owns a condo at Woodside Condominiums in Center Point. She claims the roof inside of her unit had caved in and was covered in black […]
FHA to allow ‘spot approvals’ — a practice it banned almost 10 years ago
Editor
/ Owner - September 3, 2019
FHA condo mortgage financing has long been complex and hard to get. The current rules are so restrictive that more than 90% of the nation’s 150,000 condo projects do not qualify for FHA-backed mortgages. Read the article……………………….But now HUD is simplifying FHA condo mortgage rules.
HOA Homefront: Changes in condominium lending rules – What it means (or doesn’t) to you
Editor
/ Owner - September 2, 2019
The Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) has issued revisions to its condominium lending rules, effective Oct. 15. In 2009 HUD began predicating FHA condominium loans on the entire project being approved by meeting certain minimum guidelines. HUD slightly liberalized its rules in 2012, which were modified again by Congress in 2018 through the […]
Buyer Beware: Things To Consider Before Purchasing A Condominium
Editor
/ Owner - August 28, 2019
As the old saying goes, ‘every man may justly consider his home his castle and himself as the king thereof.’ However, when purchasing a condominium unit, your powers as king (or queen) and the ability to do as one pleases within your castle are greatly limited. The fact is that most purchasers of condominiums are […]
HOA Homefront: Changes in condo lending rules – what it means (or doesn’t) to you
Editor
/ Owner - August 27, 2019
The Department of Housing and Urban Development has issued revisions to its condominium lending rules, effective Oct. 15. Here’s a brief rundown of HUD’s lending rules and what’s changed. In 2009 HUD began predicating FHA condo loans on the entire project being approved by meeting certain minimum guidelines. HUD slightly loosened its rules in 2012, […]
Ask a real estate pro: My great condo deal could now cost me a ton of money
Editor
/ Owner - August 15, 2019
Q: I got a great deal on a condo that the seller had bought at a foreclosure sale and cleaned up. I used my savings and did not take a mortgage. Now I am concerned that I did not get such a great deal because the condo association is demanding a lot of money. To […]
FHA to back more condominium loans as it eases crisis-era rules
Editor
/ Owner - August 14, 2019
New rules by Federal Housing Administration will allow more condominium purchases to be eligible for lower-down-payment loans. Read the article………………………..
Like that condo you see? Before buying, make sure the association also measures up.
Editor
/ Owner - August 12, 2019
Many condo buyers purchase a condominium based on the actual unit, but they often fail to consider the underlying association that binds them. Living in a condominium is joining a community where the rules are set by the association — and you agree to follow them when you buy your condo. In our experience, the […]
Buying a home? There’s a good chance you’ll deal with HOAs, so here’s what you should know
Editor
/ Owner - August 6, 2019
If you’re on a house hunt now, there’s a good chance you may end up finding your dream home within a community association. About 25% to 27% of the U.S. population lives in a community association – whether a homeowners, condominium, townhouse or co-operative housing association – according to the Foundation for Community Association Research. […]
HOAs: Responsible maintenance vs. meddlesome board members (CA)
Editor
/ Owner - August 5, 2019
Homeowners Association or HOA is a term that can cause panic among house-shoppers and scare them away from buying a condominium, which invariably comes with monthly association dues ranging from the mid-$100s to nearly $1,000. Read the article………………………