Be Careful when Buying in Condo HOA

[Happs]

Please be careful when buying a condominium in an HOA because a lot of them have unplanned future expenses and poor reserve accounts to handle unforseen expenditures. It’s wise to read past minutes of board meetings and study the balance sheet before you buy. Check out this article from last week’s UT on the topic:

http://www.signonsandiego.com/news/metro/20080817-9999-1n17hoa.html

[peterb]

Very true. This is why most lenders dont like to lend on condo’s that arent mostly owner occupied and mostly sold. If you find a screaming deal on a condo but the complex is less than 70% sold, watch out. Someone has to pay to maintain etc….
And make sure the HOA fee’s makes sense for future expenses and maintenance. Again, someone will have to pay for these things and guess who it’s gonna be?

[peterb]

Very true. This is why most lenders dont like to lend on condo’s that arent mostly owner occupied and mostly sold. If you find a screaming deal on a condo but the complex is less than 70% sold, watch out. Someone has to pay to maintain etc….
And make sure the HOA fee’s makes sense for future expenses and maintenance. Again, someone will have to pay for these things and guess who it’s gonna be?

[peterb]

Very true. This is why most lenders dont like to lend on condo’s that arent mostly owner occupied and mostly sold. If you find a screaming deal on a condo but the complex is less than 70% sold, watch out. Someone has to pay to maintain etc….
And make sure the HOA fee’s makes sense for future expenses and maintenance. Again, someone will have to pay for these things and guess who it’s gonna be?

[peterb]

Very true. This is why most lenders dont like to lend on condo’s that arent mostly owner occupied and mostly sold. If you find a screaming deal on a condo but the complex is less than 70% sold, watch out. Someone has to pay to maintain etc….
And make sure the HOA fee’s makes sense for future expenses and maintenance. Again, someone will have to pay for these things and guess who it’s gonna be?

[peterb]

Very true. This is why most lenders dont like to lend on condo’s that arent mostly owner occupied and mostly sold. If you find a screaming deal on a condo but the complex is less than 70% sold, watch out. Someone has to pay to maintain etc….
And make sure the HOA fee’s makes sense for future expenses and maintenance. Again, someone will have to pay for these things and guess who it’s gonna be?

[urbanrealtor]

I am really glad to see this getting more airtime.

I have threatened to cancel escrow several times recently when a bank or the overtaxed escrow firm they contract with have failed to order or deliver hoa docs in a timely manner.

It really is important. This is especially true during the abbreviated inspection period that most bank-sellers want buyers to abide by.

EG: If you have a 7-day inspection contingency that is removed passively (like it ceases to exist when the appropriate date passes) and the seller bank delivers hoa docs on day 8 showing 2 special assessments of 10,000 each, you might be in a shitty situation where you have to give up either on the deposit or eat the assessment cost. If this happens, you can fight it but succeeding might involve attorneys or courts.

Point is, really make sure you get this as a buyer and that your agent knows how to read it.
Good luck.

[urbanrealtor]

I am really glad to see this getting more airtime.

I have threatened to cancel escrow several times recently when a bank or the overtaxed escrow firm they contract with have failed to order or deliver hoa docs in a timely manner.

It really is important. This is especially true during the abbreviated inspection period that most bank-sellers want buyers to abide by.

EG: If you have a 7-day inspection contingency that is removed passively (like it ceases to exist when the appropriate date passes) and the seller bank delivers hoa docs on day 8 showing 2 special assessments of 10,000 each, you might be in a shitty situation where you have to give up either on the deposit or eat the assessment cost. If this happens, you can fight it but succeeding might involve attorneys or courts.

Point is, really make sure you get this as a buyer and that your agent knows how to read it.
Good luck.

[urbanrealtor]

I am really glad to see this getting more airtime.

I have threatened to cancel escrow several times recently when a bank or the overtaxed escrow firm they contract with have failed to order or deliver hoa docs in a timely manner.

It really is important. This is especially true during the abbreviated inspection period that most bank-sellers want buyers to abide by.

EG: If you have a 7-day inspection contingency that is removed passively (like it ceases to exist when the appropriate date passes) and the seller bank delivers hoa docs on day 8 showing 2 special assessments of 10,000 each, you might be in a shitty situation where you have to give up either on the deposit or eat the assessment cost. If this happens, you can fight it but succeeding might involve attorneys or courts.

Point is, really make sure you get this as a buyer and that your agent knows how to read it.
Good luck.

[urbanrealtor]

I am really glad to see this getting more airtime.

I have threatened to cancel escrow several times recently when a bank or the overtaxed escrow firm they contract with have failed to order or deliver hoa docs in a timely manner.

It really is important. This is especially true during the abbreviated inspection period that most bank-sellers want buyers to abide by.

EG: If you have a 7-day inspection contingency that is removed passively (like it ceases to exist when the appropriate date passes) and the seller bank delivers hoa docs on day 8 showing 2 special assessments of 10,000 each, you might be in a shitty situation where you have to give up either on the deposit or eat the assessment cost. If this happens, you can fight it but succeeding might involve attorneys or courts.

Point is, really make sure you get this as a buyer and that your agent knows how to read it.
Good luck.

[urbanrealtor]

I am really glad to see this getting more airtime.

I have threatened to cancel escrow several times recently when a bank or the overtaxed escrow firm they contract with have failed to order or deliver hoa docs in a timely manner.

It really is important. This is especially true during the abbreviated inspection period that most bank-sellers want buyers to abide by.

EG: If you have a 7-day inspection contingency that is removed passively (like it ceases to exist when the appropriate date passes) and the seller bank delivers hoa docs on day 8 showing 2 special assessments of 10,000 each, you might be in a shitty situation where you have to give up either on the deposit or eat the assessment cost. If this happens, you can fight it but succeeding might involve attorneys or courts.

Point is, really make sure you get this as a buyer and that your agent knows how to read it.
Good luck.

[PCinSD]

I have a friend with an HOA problem, with a twist. She purchased an over-priced one bedroom condo in Mission Hills at the peak. It was a new condo conversion, of an old crappy apartment complex. The final units sold last year. Unfortunately, there have been many problems with the buildings. Many plumbing issues have caused many floods resulting in substantial damages to several owners. Who knows if the prior apartment complex owner disclosed any issues to the condo conversion developers. If they did, it doesn’t appear those disclosures made it to the end purchasers of the condos. Now you have a brand new HOA struggling to stay afloat amid all these damage claims. There should have been a way to obtain a history of damage claims submitted to the apartment complex’s carrier – before it ever became a condo conversion. She couldn’t be more miserable as a first time home owner.

[PCinSD]

I have a friend with an HOA problem, with a twist. She purchased an over-priced one bedroom condo in Mission Hills at the peak. It was a new condo conversion, of an old crappy apartment complex. The final units sold last year. Unfortunately, there have been many problems with the buildings. Many plumbing issues have caused many floods resulting in substantial damages to several owners. Who knows if the prior apartment complex owner disclosed any issues to the condo conversion developers. If they did, it doesn’t appear those disclosures made it to the end purchasers of the condos. Now you have a brand new HOA struggling to stay afloat amid all these damage claims. There should have been a way to obtain a history of damage claims submitted to the apartment complex’s carrier – before it ever became a condo conversion. She couldn’t be more miserable as a first time home owner.

[PCinSD]

I have a friend with an HOA problem, with a twist. She purchased an over-priced one bedroom condo in Mission Hills at the peak. It was a new condo conversion, of an old crappy apartment complex. The final units sold last year. Unfortunately, there have been many problems with the buildings. Many plumbing issues have caused many floods resulting in substantial damages to several owners. Who knows if the prior apartment complex owner disclosed any issues to the condo conversion developers. If they did, it doesn’t appear those disclosures made it to the end purchasers of the condos. Now you have a brand new HOA struggling to stay afloat amid all these damage claims. There should have been a way to obtain a history of damage claims submitted to the apartment complex’s carrier – before it ever became a condo conversion. She couldn’t be more miserable as a first time home owner.

[PCinSD]

I have a friend with an HOA problem, with a twist. She purchased an over-priced one bedroom condo in Mission Hills at the peak. It was a new condo conversion, of an old crappy apartment complex. The final units sold last year. Unfortunately, there have been many problems with the buildings. Many plumbing issues have caused many floods resulting in substantial damages to several owners. Who knows if the prior apartment complex owner disclosed any issues to the condo conversion developers. If they did, it doesn’t appear those disclosures made it to the end purchasers of the condos. Now you have a brand new HOA struggling to stay afloat amid all these damage claims. There should have been a way to obtain a history of damage claims submitted to the apartment complex’s carrier – before it ever became a condo conversion. She couldn’t be more miserable as a first time home owner.

[Author]

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