What Paperwork Must I Give Buyers of My House That's in a Homeowners' Association?

Be prepared for prospective buyers to request lots of paperwork related to your homeowners' association; or to provide them the documents even if they don't ask, because this might be required by your state's law.

Here are key items you'll in all likelihood need to provide copies of to either potential or serious buyers:

• your HOA's Covenants, Conditions, and Restrictions (CC&Rs) and related documents, such as bylaws, rules, and regulations
• any special writeups of restrictions affecting properties in your association, such as with regard to parking, pets, or rental of the unit
• recent association financial statements and budgets (to help the buyers research whether the HOA is solvent or whether they should expect their monthly dues to rise significantly)
• the amount and use of monthly association and maintenance fees
• current and planned special assessments against the property (fees above and beyond the regular dues, used for projects benefiting all homes in the association or for major emergency repairs)
• certification that any improvements you made to your home were approved by the association, and
• the association's master insurance policy.

To save time and energy searching for papers at the last minute, ask your real estate broker early on what homeowners' association documents and materials you will need to provide buyers. These are typically spelled out in the standard contracts real estate agents use for the purchase of a house.

If you keep good records (and have a well-run homeowners' association), you might already have much of the paperwork you need in your files. You are likely to also need to contact your homeowners' association for copies of recent documents.

For More Information

See Organizing Paperwork for Your Home Sale for more on getting organized.