Cost of CC&Rs

Judy, are you completely aware of what the $515 charge includes? First I would find out what is included in this cost. The Board may be clueless. If so they need to be educated and perhaps change the management agreement.

For example, I just emailed the CCRs, 1st amendment to CC&Rs, Articles of Incorporation, By-laws, Rules and Regulations, 2008 budget, Balance Sheet & Income statement for 12.31.07, 2008 annual meeting minutes, and the 2008 Board meeting minutes to a realtor in preparation for a home sale.

The charge for this service was $0.00. However, we do charge a title transfer fee which includes providing this service to realtor(s; status letter(s) to title company(s), and welcoming the new owner. The cost, depending on time and risk to our company, is usually less than $200.00.

Judy,

Have you checked out the Davis-Stirling Act to see if this is addressed. AZ state law says the HOA may charge a reasonable fee. This "reasonable" fee can sometimes be as high as $500 and is called a transfer fee. In addition to that, some assn's also charge a disclosure fee, which could be another couple hundred. Then there are the assn's who charge a third fee, the "preservation", "buy-in", (or whatever fancy name they call it!) fee which is a contribution to the reserve fund. This fee ranges from $500 - $1,000 and I heard of one assn that charges $10,000!!!

IMO, all these fees need to be regulated. Some assn's have found a gravy train and the unsuspecting buyer just pays and doesn't ask questions. If the assn contracts with a mgmt co, they will have the transfer fee written into their contract and, in many instances, they will recieve the money directly from the title co.