First time buyer

Aaron...easiest way is to just ask them. They are not required to give it to you but they might. A lot of places have their covenants in a PDF so they can email to you or they may have them online. Other more tedious way is to go to the county office and search for it there.

Don't buy in an association !!!!!!!!!

I suggest getting a BUYERS AGENT and not a regular Real Estate agent. A buyer's Agent is a Realtor that works for YOU. They just split the 6% fee between the seller's realtor when the property is sold. That percentage is worked out between the two realtors. Sometimes they can be the buyer agent and seller agent in certain situations FYI. So don't get too suspicious if that happens as they are still realtors and can have their own property to represent. Just don't look at only their property.

Realtor's are like used car salesmen but with houses. NOT knocking them but be aware of what you should know when selecting a realtor. They still are NOT responsible for giving you the rules just like everyone else is NOT. It is viewed as yours. So you can ask the seller to provide copies prior to closing, or go to the RECORDS department of the local courthouse. The HOA's don't have to provide you with anything as you are NOT a member till you sign that closing line. They may just give you a brochure, a website, or talk to you on the phone.

Living in a HOA is what YOU make of it. If you do NOT like it then that is you...I liked living in one if you like a sense of community and keeping things interesting everyday...LOL...

OH, make any offer contingent on receiving that information and after x days having the right to withdraw the offer without penalty.

CAVEAT EMPTOR

IMO: run as fast as you can from any HOA or CCRs

Well, in the State of VA, a seller needs to provide 99% of the items I mentioned and VA law gives the buyer 3 or 5 days (I'd have to check) to back out of the deal once they receive those materials. The only thing I mentioned in the above list that isn't part of VA law is the 2 years of annual membership meetings.

in that case no 'contingency clause' would be necessary

I was always ready to provide a copy of all my HOA docs as soon as the buyer showed serious interest, versus just a walk through.

Initial response was to clearly/precisly answer any questions the buyer asked. Directly or via the realtor.

Second step was to answer additio nal questions if the buyer was still interested.

Third step was for me to provide a copy of anything I had if the buyer requested.

Fourth step was sales price negotations including buyer conditions that the HOA "officially" provide/verify whatever they wanted.

I was not about to, nor expect my HOA, to go through any expense until I believed we had a "serious" buyer versus one just collecting stuff.

If roadblocks are put in ones way (versus my outline above) then one should question why. Are there hidden issues with the association, is the seller an A hole or hiding something or is the buyer considered not serious?

Run twice as fast from condos/townhouses. These present the owner with every single disadvantage of apartment living plus all the disadvantages of being a homeowner without any benefits of either.

The OP Aaron asked a rather simple question in his plans to purchase property and while the answers are important I find some of the responses even more telling.

First to Aaron. You have been given some good advice. Gather the information on properties you might be interested in. Ask for the paperwork go over it and find someone that has more knowledge than you.

Paperwork is important. I would add visiting the property day, night, weekday and weekends. Walk through the property, get a feel for what type of living situation exists. Talk to residents, neighbors, knock on a few doors and speak to folks that live and OWN there.

IMO HOA/Townhouses/Condos offer a route to ownership that in many cases is more affordable and appealing to some property owners. Do some HOAs/Condos have issues? Certainly, but as I have no knowledge of every single HOA property in existence I would hesitate to condemn all of them and suggest to Aaron this should not be an option he might consider.

As to the responses, seems some don't make much of an effort to hide their core beliefs. A simple don't buy suggests each and every such property is evil to the core. Is it the case that every HOA across America is undesirable? Or is it just your property and you have allowed your opinions to be jaded to the point nothing is safe or good.

Why is it those that find HOA living so undesirable LIVE IN HOAS????
Why did you buy there? Why not move?

There are sites that fall in line with your thinking. Where the theme and only accepted point of view is complete hatred for the form of propert ownership. How is that even possible? Is there not ONE HOA that operates in an acceptable manner? To suggest otherwise is foolish, ignorant, or simplemended.

Even this site permits the discussion of both negative and positive aspects of HOA living in the hopes some people might share how to improve their properties and the operation of HOAs in general. This is not by any means HOAs are great, perfect, and without problems. Why does the other viewpoint fail to have the ability to see anything other than their perspective? I know the answer just making a point.

Sounds to me some of the responses to Aaron's post were to be polite extreme. To be realistic not worth considering.

Not sure how many HOA communities exist today just know there are quite a few. IMO deciding all are the devil's workshop and need to be destoyed,
eliminated, or battled each and every day lives in a world of make believe and fantasy. Just what will be accomplished in the end? Bankrupt your own property? Make your property undesirable and worthless? Don't you get it the property fails you fail. The property is destroyed your investment is destroyed.

Sort of like burning your own house down to get rid of ants..........

I find the tone and content of some of the recent posts here to be distrubing and questionable. During my time living in a condo property and serving on the Board I have asked one simple question. "What would be best for the entire property?" The answers usually follow. Today, I read sue them, break up or dissolve the HOA, free speech rights, get the ACLU involved, call the press, get more laws passed, the MCs are wrong, the Board is evil, everything under the sun but what might be the positive outcome of any of this? IMO not much.

I also notice some now seem to be willing to offer advice to others in fighting the good fight. My question would be has any of this actually worked for you? Have the web sites bashing the HOA accomplished anything? Have the lawsuits accomplished anything? If so at what cost?
Has anyone dissolved their HOA? Was that a positive thing in the end? Haven't read about many of those. You though could be the first.

We also have people passing off questionable legal advice and counsel. No matter they have never actually been to court let alone in the state the poster resides in. They have never held a law degree. They have never actually read and understood the laws. But they heard about, read about a case where something similar happened and therefore good enough to base your beliefs on. The they spread the word about ever case that puts HOAs in a bad light and offer this as proof. What is most shocking to me is people come to this site get such advice and put a value on it simply because it supports their point of view!

To Aaron good luck, let the buyer beware. Do your homework and ask questions. This is not inventing the wheel. For some people HOA ownership works well. Not every case but I heard about one or two.

To those of you blinded by your beliefs from more than likely ONE expierence in HOA ownership, just what would be best not only for you but the property you own? IMO not the road you have chosen..........

I believe one of those out here that is very negative about associations once rented a unit in a association, never owned in one.