[quote=spdrun]I’m not against using a broker. I’m actually working with one, though I have NOT signed any exclusive. I just find the situation with needing a broker bizarre. If the cost of doing business is that you need to deal with another middleperson, then it is what it is.
But considering that my offer on my current home was a short e-mail outlining price, pre-approval situation, down payment, and stating “AS IS”, I’m entitled to find it all a little odd.
The other thing that I find weird is how financial information on condos is given. Where I bought, if you ask the selling broker nicely, they’ll e-mail you a PDF or fax it to you (for free) within a day or two.
In CA, it seems like condo financials are a big secret. Need an accepted offer, blah, blah, blah, need to pay a fee for copying, yadda, yadda. How can you possibly make a sane offer if you don’t know the financial health of the condo board?
Yes, you can gather quite a bit from maintenance fees, FHA/VA approvals, the condition of the complex, and just from talking to people. But why not put that info out front to make everyone’s life a bit easier?[/quote]
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But why not put that info out front to make everyone’s life a bit easier?
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Because that would be too easy and no one could nickel and dime you.. 🙂
In all seriousness, yes it would nice if this was easily accessible if you not represented before escrow. Just doesn’t happen
You can ask the HOA management company directly, they would probably give you a copy, but you probably have to pay a cost for that. You could try to ask the seller/selling agent for a copy, but unless you’re the only buyer (which chances are you are not), they would put you on the bottom of the priority list, because until you enter escrow, it’s extra work that probably they don’t want to waste time unless you’re the one going to be entering escrow. And once you enter escrow, provided you didn’t waive standard contingencies, you have ample time to back out of the deal no questions asked..And frankly, there’s probably plenty of people that don’t think about HOA underfunding, financial health of HOA prior to a purchase…people who aren’t nearly as careful as you are (when imho they should be).
You’ll find a lot of interesting things about California, and specifically SoCal.
