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 When you purchase a downtown San Jose condo, there are lots of things you'll need to know to make an informed decision. Some of that information will come from the HOA (Home Owners Association). What type of paperwork will the HOA give to you for review once you're in contract to purchase a condominium, townhouse or loft?
The HOA will provide quite a stack of documents, usually including the following:
- Articles of Incorporation
- Bylaws
- Rules & Regulations
- Covenants, Codes and Restrictions
- Last 12 months of newsletters
- Last 12 months of meeting minutes
- Current budget
- Information on the reserves
Some of these make for very dry reading, but they are important for you to read and understand so that you don't buy a home now and later find yourself surprised at something you were informed about in this stack of papers.
What kind of things might surprise you? Some condo communities may limit the number, type, or size of pets (remember that service animals which help disabled people are not pets so do not fall under these restrictions). In some townhome communities, there may be rules about when your garage door can be open, whether you can wash your car on the premises, or even what color your curtains may be if they face the street!
The reserve account is crucial. Is the amount in reserve to pay for future, predictable repairs enough? Often it's not and the result is a huge "special assessment" when you least expect it.
The newsletters will give you a taste for the complex and any issues. Is one of the neighbors playing music too loudly? That's where you'll hear about it.
The HOA package can be several inches thick and the task of reading them feel dauting. Set aside several hours and plan to go through them in blocks of time. Keep notes and use little stickies to mark pages where you have questions or concerns.
FInally, there are a couple of services available in Silicon Valley where you can have another set of eyes go through the documents, look for completeness and above all, analyze the reserve fund. Contact me if you'd like to get that information.
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