Buying a Tampa Home or Condo--What You Need to Know About the Home Owners Association

As you get closer to actually getting in the car and looking at homes, one important item to consider is the Homeowner Association. In many Tampa communities the homes offered for sale will be subject to the rules and regulations of a Homeowner Association, especially homes built in subdivisions during the 1960's and thereafter.

There is more than one definition of Homeowners Association (HOA). Excerpted from Wikipedia, "the term "homeowners association" or "association" refers to a mandatory homeowners association, where the homeowner's property interest is the real property (dirt) and improvements thereon. Condominiums and cooperatives are considered by most states to be a different form of community association because the property interest is different. The authority of a homeowners association is determined by relevant state statutes and the "governing documents." The governing documents usually include the Covenants, Conditions, and Restrictions (CC&Rs) and the corporate documents (articles and bylaws) referenced by the CC&Rs and usually attached as exhibits. They may also include board-enacted rules as authorized (expressly or implicitly) by the CC&Rs.

If you are considering a condominium purchase, the association's involvement and your need to know about it is even more critical than a single family home purchase. Why? because the Condo Association has responsibility for such items as your unit's exterior building maintenance, re-roofing, pest control/repair, insurance, etc. A Condo Association usually has reserves set aside to take care of these things when the need arises. If funds are not set aside and maintenance is needed, the Association will need to pass a special assessment on to the individual homeowners to pay for the needed improvement. Owners losing their home to foreclosure do not usually pay dues. Failure to pay dues by large numbers of owners means the association's reserves can be insufficient. This problem can cause higher dues and special assessment of 1,000's of dollars. This kind of problem should be disclosed to you prior to purchase but it is in your best interest to make inquiry.

Buying a single family home? A homeowners association typically has no responsibility for individual owner building maintenance, roofs, pest control/repair, etc. The homeowner association does maintain the common areas, community pools, clubhouses, etc.

HOA and Condo Associations also can become involved in litigation for one reason or another. The owners are responsible for the expenses of litigation and special assessments can occur.

What this means to you as a home buyer is that your use of the property will be restricted and you will need to pay dues and possibly special assessments. Failure to follow the rules or pay the required dues and assessments can have negative impacts, financially and legally.

For these reasons, it is imperative that you find out what you are getting into before you purchase a home. Specifically, you need to know about the rules, financial health of the association, assessments (if any) and the dues.

As your agent, I can assist you in requesting the information both before an offer is made and as part of the offer process.

Disclaimer: The foregoing information is based on experience and knowledge over many years working with home buyers and sellers as a real estate agent and is not to be construed as legal advice. A lawyer should be consulted for all matters involving legal questions.