What You Need To Know About HOAs

HomeFinderOC.com

Buying Property that has an HOA

• A Home Owner Association (HOA) can have a huge impact on your life when you purchase a single-family home in a PUD (Planned Unit Development) or in a Condominium Project.

The Pros and Cons of HOA’s:

• A Home Owner Association may have the power to determine the color of your home, the number of pets you have and the type of grass you have to plant.

• They also may have the power to levy assessments, dues and fines

Pro’s and Con’s Cont’d

• HOAs are set up by CC&Rs (Covenants, Conditions & Restrictions) and become part of your deed.

• The CC&Rs dictate how the HOA operates and what rules the owners, tenants and guests must obey.

Review the development

• Prospective homeowners should review the CC&Rs before any potential purchase to make sure that the home you are buying will be right for your lifestyle.

• Here’s some reasons why:

Review the development

• Example: if you have two dogs and three cats (or more), the CC&Rs may limit you to one pet.

It’s not only the CC&Rs

• The CC&Rs are only a portion of the HOA.

• Bylaws are another aspect of HOA’s that reflect the intention of the association.

• Each HOA has a managing Board of Directors or a third-party property management company.

What to do prior to buying ?

• Be sure you check if there are any potential assessments.

• Here’s why: Recently a Condo Association had a foundation problem and was assessing its members over $10,000 per unit.

How they are set-up?

• Subdivisions are commonly set up as PUDs with an additional HOA.

• Until the subdivision is complete, the builder is generally in charge of the HOA.

How they are set-up? Cont’d

• When complete, the management of the PUD is typically turned over to the homeowners at a special membership meeting.

• Get in touch with an experienced Realtor who knows Orange County and what to watch out for with HOAs as well as the numerous PUD and similar properties at:

• www.HomeFinderOC.com