Documents you supply

I buried this question in my last post. It is directed toward those who advise to "sell" the HOA home if you do not like it or those who want to sell. There seems to be the issue of "If I find out there is an HOA I would not purchase".

My question to you is then what information are you going to supply to your potential buyer? Some states do require the rules be handed over at closing by the seller. However, most seem to think they should have more than that when deciding to buy. Well, do you want to be required to disclose all those issues that you feel is crooked by your HOA or reveal your HOA status good or bad?

Those who are suing or considering suits against their HOA, do you know that has to be disclosed to financial insitutions? If you get the laws to pass that you are fighting for, then that has to be revealed. Is that something you are comfortable disclosing?

You also have to factor in if you are suing your HOA you can not sell or you will lose your case. If you are no longer a HOA member, then you are no longer sufering damages from something you do not belong to. The court would most likely toss your case out as no longer being valid. However, the lawsuit would still have to be noted on the PUD form until ruled upon. So if you sue, you can not sale anyways if you want to win your case.

I just wanted to point out the otherside besides just saying it is the buyer. The buyer is informed by the information they are given or granted. So you as a seller, can now see how the law works so that it can protect you as well in regardsbof what information is released.

The Virginia Property Owners Association Act contains the following disclosure requirements. If a potential buyer reads all of that material and then goes ahead with the purchase, one can assume he is aware of the association and its regulations:

55-509.4. Contract disclosure statement; right of cancellation.

A. Subject to the provisions of subsection A of § 55-509.10, a person selling a lot shall disclose in the contract that (i) the lot is located within a development that is subject to the Virginia Property Owners' Association Act (§ 55-508 et seq.); (ii) the Act requires the seller to obtain from the property owners' association an association disclosure packet and provide it to the purchaser; (iii) the purchaser may cancel the contract within three days after receiving the association disclosure packet or being notified that the association disclosure packet will not be available; (iv) if the purchaser has received the association disclosure packet, the purchaser has a right to request an update of such disclosure packet in accordance with subsection H of § 55-509.6 or subsection C of § 55-509.7, as appropriate; and (v) the right to receive the association disclosure packet and the right to cancel the contract are waived conclusively if not exercised before settlement.

§ 55-509.5. Contents of association disclosure packet; delivery of packet.

A. The association shall deliver, within 14 days after receipt of a written request and instructions by a seller or his authorized agent, an association disclosure packet as directed in the written request. The information contained in the association disclosure packet shall be current as of a date specified on the association disclosure packet. If hand or electronically delivered, the written request is deemed received on the date of delivery. If sent by United States mail, the request is deemed received six days after the postmark date. An association disclosure packet shall contain the following:

1. The name of the association and, if incorporated, the state in which the association is incorporated and the name and address of its registered agent in Virginia;

2. A statement of any expenditure of funds approved by the association or the board of directors that shall require an assessment in addition to the regular assessment during the current year or the immediately succeeding fiscal year;

3. A statement, including the amount of all assessments and any other mandatory fees or charges currently imposed by the association, together with any post-closing fee charged by the common interest community manager, if any, and associated with the purchase, disposition, and maintenance of the lot and to the right of use of common areas, and the status of the account;

4. A statement of whether there is any other entity or facility to which the lot owner may be liable for fees or other charges;

5. The current reserve study report or summary thereof, a statement of the status and amount of any reserve or replacement fund, and any portion of the fund allocated by the board of directors for a specified project;

6. A copy of the association's current budget or a summary thereof prepared by the association, and a copy of its statement of income and expenses or statement of its financial position (balance sheet) for the last fiscal year for which such statement is available, including a statement of the balance due of any outstanding loans of the association;

7. A statement of the nature and status of any pending suit or unpaid judgment to which the association is a party and that either could or would have a material impact on the association or its members or that relates to the lot being purchased;

8. A statement setting forth what insurance coverage is provided for all lot owners by the association, including the fidelity bond maintained by the association, and what additional insurance would normally be secured by each individual lot owner;

9. A statement that any improvement or alteration made to the lot, or uses made of the lot or common area assigned thereto are or are not in violation of the declaration, bylaws, rules and regulations, architectural guidelines and articles of incorporation, if any, of the association;

10. A statement setting forth any restriction, limitation, or prohibition on the right of a lot owner to place a sign on the owner's lot advertising the lot for sale;

11. A statement setting forth any restriction, limitation, or prohibition on the right of a lot owner to display any flag on the owner's lot, including but not limited to reasonable restrictions as to the size, place, and manner of placement or display of such flag and the installation of any flagpole or similar structure necessary to display such flag;

12. A statement setting forth any restriction, limitation, or prohibition on the right of a lot owner to install or use solar energy collection devices on the owner's property;

13. A copy of the current declaration, the association's articles of incorporation and bylaws, and any rules and regulations or architectural guidelines adopted by the association;

14. A copy of any approved minutes of the board of directors and association meetings for the six calendar months preceding the request for the disclosure packet;

15. A copy of the notice given to the lot owner by the association of any current or pending rule or architectural violation;

16. A copy of the fully completed one-page cover sheet developed by the Common Interest Community Board pursuant to § 54.1-2350;

17. Certification that the association has filed with the Common Interest Community Board the annual report required by § 55-516.1, which certification shall indicate the filing number assigned by the Common Interest Community Board, and the expiration date of such filing; and

18. A statement indicating any known project approvals currently in effect issued by secondary mortgage market agencies.

John,

I direct you to the posts I made earlier in another recent thread:

I don't post laws or references to them. I do NOT represent myself as a lawyer nor do I play lawyer. The reason being is that I do NOT practice law and am NOT qualified to interpt the law properly. That is up to a paid legal practitioner of the law. I can't verify that any laws/links are accuracy of them. They of a google search or other source that I would not trust. It's best for the professionals to handle.

I can tell you what I know from experience and my education. Which I did go to college and took some law classes. Another reason why I know better than to post law references. I am okay with other doing it. However, my personal preference is to never do this. It's my opinion and advice... Take it or leave it. A law reference isn't going to change your opinion of that.

You're correct, JohnB26. In CA the HOA only is required to provide the materials to the seller. It's the seller who's required to provide them to the prospective buyers.

I can understand your preference, Melissa, to never cite the laws. But, I'd advise others who read these posts to count on much more than simple personal opinions and personal experience to help them understand the issues.

I just finished a month of jury service for a fascinating civil trial. If jurors had relied solely on their personal experience and personal opinions, the verdict would have been a disaster. Why? Because the topic was one none of us knew anything about except gossip and rumor. And both sides proved the latter was wrong. There needs to be some sound foundation for forming opinions beyond just personal experiences and feelings..

You are obviously a man with integrity. I really admire that.

Actually, we have gotten more visitors to our Associations web site from potential buyers than from members and have received positive feedback from the Realtor community for having our documents available.

I applaud those of you who take efforts to inform the buyer.