If you're someone looking to buy or sell in a community with an association, you'll wanna stick around for these helpful hints.
Associations have their benefits and their drawbacks. One thing that is both a benefit and drawback simultaneously is the community's resale documents package. An obvious benefit is that you get to see the functionality, financing and structure of the association and the community it manages. The level of detail, accuracy, and bookkeeping seen in the documents can also give you a clue into the efficiency and organization of the association. Remember, these are the governing rules and management that determine, say, if your condo building needs a roof repair or if you want to paint your front door (yes, it can get that specific!).
A drawback, however, is that these documents can make or break a contract, on both the buyer's and seller's sides, respectively. There is no such thing as a "Association Documents Contingency" because there is no ability to waive the Document Review Period. In every sales contract, the seller must provide the buyer access to the resale documents to review. The buyer is then allotted a specific time frame in which they can review the documents and, if they choose, void the contract.
So, homeowners who are selling in an association: even if you accept an offer with 0 contingencies, your buyer still has this one opportunity to void the contract.
Based on the jurisdiction your transaction is located in, there is also specific language regarding the number of days after a contract ratifies that the association documents must be delivered, or the buyer can void it under the reason of not receiving the documents. For example, in Washington, DC the seller has 10 days after contract ratification to provide the association documents to the buyer, or the buyer may void on the basis of never receiving the documents.
Sounds like just another thing to worry about during a transaction, right? Well, it doesn't have to be and it all starts with a proactive owner and agent duo!
Our tip to sellers: when you know you are about to list your home, or, as you start getting offers in, go ahead and contact your association to request the documents or at the very least, ask how you can procure them when your home goes under contract. This will save you and all other parties a lot of grief going forward because the contract process is a whirlwind! And speaking as a friend here: associations can be a nightmare to get a hold of. For whatever reason that may be, you do not want to be hunting down the association for critical documents on the cusp of closing (trust me, we've been there)!
Just like with anything is real estate, being prepared early on in the process makes things run a whole lot smoother. And when you have some stellar agents like the Jillian Keck Hogan Group helping you out, we make this whole exchange seem like a breeze!
Til' Next Time,
Jillian
