New Georgia Homeowner

My husgand and I are purchasing a house in Georgia. What documents am I entitled to see before we close on the house? I have the CCRs, Bylaws and annual meeting minutes. No mention of balance in minutes. What can I ask to see before closing? Any help would be appreciated.

Yes, you need to know if the HOA is in any litigation proceedings.
Insurance coverage for board and common areas.
Request to see the latest financial report provided to the Members.
Any newsletters from the HOA for the past year.
Reserve Fund plan
Complete explanation of all dues and/or assessments.

Hey - YOUR real estate agent should have given you all this info!

You may or not have a right to see the documents mentioned. But if you are refused, you should refuse to close. The same goes if there is a lack of a reserve fund. For that matter, here is what I would look for:

1) A copy of the budget and the previous year's balance sheet.
2) Information on the current funding of the reserve fund.
3) A copy of the last reserve study.
4) Information on any litigation the association is currently involved in.
5) Proof that the property doesn't owe the association any money.

to let you know, the reserve study will discuss what items will be expected to need major repair/replacement at some point in the future and how much is expected to be needed.

Dear everyone who replied - I am very familiar with HOAs in Calif. as I was an HOA recorder. But was not sure if HOAs in other states worked the same way. I have read the CC&Rs and bylaws and requested the financial info. I am not sure if they will provide the info or not. I suspect there are no Reserves because there was an assessment for new mailboxes last year and the Pool Drain has not yet been fixed. They are discussing an assessment for that. They know they cannot pass pool inspection without it. Federal law so don't know what they need to discuss. So, thank you everyone for your input. Marie

I may be naive but shouldn't you have included these details in the 'conditional upon' when making your offer. It is quite common when making an offer to purchase to include, conditional upon satisfactory inspection, conditional upon financing, etc etc. Once an offer is accepted you waive each particular condition as each is met, or you withdraw the condition if it can't be met AND you still want to purchase.

In a hot market alot of these conditions were never included because the buyers were desperate and the sellers could pick and choose...I think those times are gone for a while.