DRE only gets involved for 5 unit and larger complexes.

Once the original CCR and bylaws are recorded, the HOA can do whatever they want to the HOA fees as long as they follow legal guidelines for holding an HOA meeting.

Until the first unit sells, the builder/developer IS the HOA so even if the CCR / bylaws said that HOA fee is $225, the HOA (builder/developer) could hold an HOA meeting and vote to increase HOA fee to $380.

If you have a legal issue with the HOA fee, which I doubt, it would be that the fee increase was not voted on at a proper HOA meeting. You might ask for the HOA minutes from the meeting where the fee was increased – you should have access to these as a unit owner.

I converted a 4 unit complex to condos and never had to say what the HOA fee would be – it is not listed in either the CCR or bylaws (again, 4 units vs 5+ so no DRE involvement). During the escrow process I told the buyers what the HOA fee would be but I could have changed it prior to them closing escrow because I was the only HOA member.

Not sure about the insurance. Your lender should not have closed your loan without seeing documentation showing that the HOA had enough insurance on the overall property. Your lender should also have required that you personally had enough insurance to cover the non-HOA portion of the property (ie, your unit). If your loan closed, you should have enough insurance – it isn’t unreasonable for the management company to ask to see your insurance policy although they should know that you couldn’t have obtained a loan without it.