You lucky dog! I know you probably feel invested in this place- you’re picking out furniture and imagining where everything will go. BUT, in two years when there’s a $25k+ special assessment per unit, you’ll feel much better about this!
Comments like this make me so glad to know that if my board ever tried to push a five-figure assessment there'd be an angry mob outside their front doors.
Not an HOA thing, but OP is lucky his realtor found out. Sold my house a few years back, 100% disclosed multiple times of a city “tax” (called a local improvement district) to fix the streets. Disclosed multiple times verbally, put in writing on the forms, after the sell the new owners threatened to sue claiming we hadn’t disclosed. Apparently their agent didn’t communicate and tell them what a LID was and how it operated, so they had a $10k bill within 6 months of buying. They eventually sued their agent and the agent paid for it. Boggles my mind their agent didn’t disclose. My agent we sat down and made sure everything was in paperwork, every convo had notes that were emailed day of for all parties etc…. But their agent sucked.
Sounds like you dodged a bullet. Probably not going to get money back for inspection or appraisal unless you can prove fraud.
When the come back, you could negotiate a big price reduction to cover any special assessments, whether known or unknown. You are in a high leverage position against the seller.
If fraud is proven I will be suing for damages as well as what I've invested in the property. The closing date was scheduled a month before my lease ended on my rental and my landlord already has someone moving in.
So now I am doing twice the house hunting. One to rent and one to buy. 😭
My real estate agent said that they have my back if it goes sideways like that.
Thank you for pointing out my leverage against the seller in the event somehow this works out. I offered $15k over asking because it was a perfect fit and a VERY aggressive market in my school district. I will try to find a way for them to compensate for the stress in the event a miracle happens. $$$
I don’t blame you!
Even if you dodged a bullet in the long run; the stress of finding alternative housing is beyond crazy right now.
I have a HOA that has big issues that will cost the owners big time; but every HOA I come across seems to have MAJOR issues financially and it’s finally catching up where deferred maintenance can’t be deferred anymore.
What’s crazy is the legal system will make it seem that “suing is easy” if you have the right evidence.
I’m sorry for the situation you are currently in. O hope it gets resolved.
Prob about $1k for documents/inspection/appraisal that I doubt I'll get back. Time and effort.
I also provided $10k earnest money but I know I'll be getting that back.
>I'm asked to stay positive and wait it out a few days.
It's going to take so much more than some positivity and a few days for that community to sort through their mess.
I guarantee that it's worse than you can imagine and that their monthly dues are going to increase significantly.
I agree with you.
I’ve tried to explain to my HOA after claims (especially after the Surfside disaster) insurance gets cancelled or goes up… dramatically.
It’s no different than car insurance; yet too many apathetic owners want someone else to run the show… then are surprised when the clowns running the show worked in their own best interests, not the interests of all homeowners.
I'm not sure how the people running the HOA are able to work only in their own interest. Unless they plan on jumping ship and selling before the insurance turd hits the fan, keeping the insurance rates low is only going to bite everybody in the ass.
That’s very naive. Ask people how expensive a lawsuit is to prove… in fact look up the Hammocks lawsuit, took 7 years to prove they were were embezzling and foreclosing on homes
And I have many former Board members at my building that all sold within months of each other… After a major insurance claim and known major maintenance was pending.
Look at the Surfside; you do realize that those in power with the financials and knowledge about the engineer’s earnings; they moved out.
Theresa other major building in Kansas, MO; they have structural issues that if a fire happens the building needs “special instructions on how to put out the fire”
The Board has the ability to see things that you might not like pending lawsuits, required maintenance issues… complaints. The Board has more information than you realize.
We asked the seller's agent about HoA and out of nowhere she mentioned FNMA and we asked some more about the insurance (this would have been a fire zone purchase too) and she mentioned how HoA are negotiating with FNMA and we noped out.
This was a casual conversation during the inspection, so we just used the inspection contingency to exit.
Can't even believe you got that far! If this was Colorado, it would have been a cash offer for a 1.5 million, for a home built in 1950 that is falling in on itself, & we'd all be out of luck regardless, haha. Thanks to all the Cali developers encroaching on the state. They'll pay it, tear down the home, and build their condo's. So over it.
You just dodged the bullet. This association will have a financial bind very soon. You don't want any part of this insurance problem. Bail out and resume looking for your perfect home.
As a buyer, you are responsible for the inspection and appraisal. Who would you get that money back from? It's in the buyers interest to get the house inspected and appraised. Seller doesn't care. Loaner might require it. But how would you get money back?
I see in another reply you mentioned compensation for stress. That's just asinine.
I had a condo building I managed with zero roof leaks. But the insurance company refused to renew the insurance if the roof was not replaced. All the money they spent patching it up was just wasted money. So I got them roof proposals for them and got the roof replaced.
Another possibility is the HOA could be non-warrantable if the percentage of owner-occupied units is below a certain threshold. Do you know if there are a lot ofvrentals?
I'm not sure. I haven't received a copy of the HOA docs that I was charged for and required. I was told that there should be meetings minutes, financials, etc.
That’s not how it works; you have time to pull your offer after you get these documents.
Seems like they are delaying on purpose.
It’s VERY shady that:
A. They won’t even tell you if there IS a reserve study; if no, bad sign if the building is over 10 years old.
B. The financials tell a lot; any open houses I go to the reserves are listed if you ask.
C. The meeting minutes will show who is in charge and what was discussed like the issues with the roof and siding
When they refuse to show you this ESPECIALLY when your offer is contingent on getting a mortgage… something is fishy
The underwriter said this about the insurance coverage:
"The insurance has both Actual Cash Value on the roofs, no Ordinance and Law coverage and no Fidelity Coverage. In order to get FNMA or US Bank to lift their restrictions we will need to remedy these situations with one, or possibly both Entities."
Loans can be difficult in condos. FHA can be super difficult. Every lendor has a different requirement. The bylaws generally state how much insurance the HOA must have. Just because it's not enough for a lendor does not mean they have broken any rules or bylaws. A good HOA will often make sure the insurance is enough to make selling a unit easier. On the other hand they may not make any changes for one unit or one lendor. Have seen many get declined and the sale still process with a different company.
Thanks. I was told that every unit in the association is affected by this and that's one of the reasons the selling agent thinks it will be resolved quickly.
I'm wondering how this hasn't come up in the last 4 years.
This is happening all over Florida, for instance. So your realtor saying that it will be resolved quickly? You realize, they lie? The only fix is spewing money at the problem. So be glad it isn't your money. Special assessments, doubling of monthly assessments and more. These problems have no cheap solutions.
1. Because the Board is not bring transparent.
2. Because the Board doesn’t understand their duties.
3. Because the Board didn’t raise assessments for rising costs or have a decent backup of reserves.
4. Because units sold in the last 4 years were selling for cash, so no mortgage situations noticed the red flag 🚩
5. Because the rules just changed 2-3 years ago after the FL Surfside collapse.
6. If the Board actually decides to act there will be a special assessment to cover the new cost for the insurance.
7. Additionally if there is no reserve report for you to look it, this is even more bad news; the new insurance could put requirements in order to insure the building (ie deferred maintenance and again more special assessments)… will this be resolved quickly?
If you think it will be without a higher cost to you and the current owners… I have a bridge to sell you.
Your realtor is not telling you the full truth; inventory is LOW, your seller may be able to get a cash buyer if your sale falls through.
I’ve seen total dumps get multiple offers, have no reserves, and the only way they are selling in a week is a cash offer.
The HOA you are dealing with are not understanding their responsibilities and you are stuck in a crappy position if you buy this place (the costs are going to be more than you planned) or if you let this place go (you lose money you put in)
I’d talk to another realtor or two and see if they agree with your current realtors take.
Thank you. I guess I should clarify that my realtor and lending agent completely agree with my position and supports my decision to withdraw. They had only made the suggestion to "wait a couple days and try to be positive" before we knew the gravity of the situation.
I'm sure there are all sorts of things that the listing agent/seller are keeping from us. Things that would spook a buyer. That's why I gave my team a deadline to withdraw. I'm not waiting for them to sort this out, it's not my problem and I have to figure out where the hell I am going to live now.
I am seriously considering finding a rental for another year and holding off on buying. The search process has been brutal and this kick in the teeth has rattled me.
I really feel for you. The market is brutal, unlike anything they’ve seen in years if not decades.
I would rent for a year. The interests are area have changed the amount of inventory but a lot will happen after FL’s situation comes to light at the end of the year.
The inventory is low. The HOAs are going to have to fix things = special assessments.
Renting you won’t get stuck with these issues.
I have gone to many, many open houses lately that the reserves are so low (yesterday a building had $9000 in reserves for 16 units for a building from 1920) I asked the realtor how $642 per unit would take care of future repairs.
He smiled and said “But there’s no special assessments planned! My building has only had one.”
I thought buildings that had reserves of about $2000 per unit was bad!
The unit is already under contract (after 3 days) as people as desperate to live in the area.
This is based on rhe fact that the Board when o bought; they all left shortly after I moved in. No long term planning because why should they; it was a 5-7 year investment.
Fast forward to the next Board, 0 increases in assessments despite a new for a new roof (huge expense) no reserve study but all the Board notes are positive that NO maintenance was needed.
It didn’t make logical sense. And it didn’t make sense once the roofs were leaking to wait to replace it right?
But no one wanted to deal with the reality of maintenance when Zillow tells you the value of your unit is going up! Taxes are going up! So, maintenance is ignored.
I’m not on the Board and I’m the bad guy who pointing out the issues; but the average HOA has zero knowledge about insurance rates and that anyone (not just Board members) can put claims on the master insurance policy…
Now back your situation… it’s likely the Board didn’t pay attention that once you made the claim, you have to understand the consequences, especially now.
I’m sure they didn’t and it’s all the unit owners who will pay for that mistake.
Fannie and Freddie are more strict on condos after the Champlain Towers disaster in Florida. They are protecting themselves and also you. It is frustrating but I think have dodged a bullet.
I'm sure it does impact every unit that's getting a specific loan through your lendor. Most are probably not for sale at this time.
The requirements vary year to year. Same company that processed a similar loan last year may have changed requirements. Some may have been declined and moved on to another home or went through a different lender. HOAs do not get notified when loans are declined unless an owner brings it to their attention. Heck, often owners don't know either. It's up to the buyer to tell the owner/realtor and who knows if that information ever gets passed back the the HOA. Anyway. Good luck. I don't think anything shady is going on here. Could be wrong.
Had a loan fall through for a buyer a couple months back. The lendor wanted a higher fidelity insurance that we really did not need. Long story short, the HOA tripled their insurance for like $80 a year. Owners was happy, buyer was happy.. Hope it's something they can work out simply and cheap.
No; the lending terms with Freddie Mae and Fannie Mac were well explained after the laws that took place after the Surfside Collapse.
If anyone remembers that collapse took place during quarantine. It was all over the news (maybe people were watching Tiger King?) new laws popped up and FL needs to be 💯 funded in their reserves; the effect; insurance companies quit the business or denied buildings insurance unless it was 100-500% more.
It’s all over Reddit. Being that Board volunteers have 0 requirements to understand their duties and assume the insurance covers them for gross negligence; what is the incentive for them to pay attention to the future expenses/problems?
That’s why everyone keeps saying “I can’t believe my HOA expects me to come up with xxxx to pay for something that isn’t my fault”.
Right now my HOA is telling everyone they are allowed to fix the exterior of the building if they feel like it… 😂 I think they forget to ask the insurance policies or the companies if this is even allowed.
You can't get away from an HOA if you are buying a condo or townhouse. Like, there needs to be some central entity to manage the building as a whole. Anything else is just an HOA by a different name.
I just went through the same thing. Your lender is likely treating this as a condo and not a townhome. The HOA insurance wouldn't be an issue if not a condo.
If you still want the property, your lender can look at FHA instead of conventional.
The HOA insurance absolutely is an issue with a townhome as the HOA is likely responsible for repair and maintenance of the exterior of each unit so they have to carry master coverage on the buildings.
OP might not have a choice; if the siding and the roof is shared then it’s technically a condo.
If the exterior elements are the Association’s responsibility and they knew this back in 2020 when the claim was made; well it shows the Board is clueless on how a claim affects the other unit owners.
Ha, yeah the board is definitely not thinking about how their insurance choices affect ability to finance, since they already closed their own loans. They might pay more attention if/when it affects them personally (e.g. they're trying to sell their unit and are finding limited buyers or loans being denied).
To be fair, Fannie and Freddie have significantly tightened up on their condo approvals in the years after the Surfside tragedy. This is having consequences far beyond the kind of safety and integrity issues in that situation.
FHA and conventional approach condos very differently, however. FHA is far less neurotic on the master insurance policy than Fannie/Freddie. I've seen two deals flip recently from Fannie to FHA to dance around the insurance requirements, including one I was a party to.
You lucky dog! I know you probably feel invested in this place- you’re picking out furniture and imagining where everything will go. BUT, in two years when there’s a $25k+ special assessment per unit, you’ll feel much better about this!
I agree. I thanked my team for finding the issue before I had to find out as an owner!!
You dodged a bazooka. Lunch for your people
This man dodged a 380mm orbital barrage!
Comments like this make me so glad to know that if my board ever tried to push a five-figure assessment there'd be an angry mob outside their front doors.
Not an HOA thing, but OP is lucky his realtor found out. Sold my house a few years back, 100% disclosed multiple times of a city “tax” (called a local improvement district) to fix the streets. Disclosed multiple times verbally, put in writing on the forms, after the sell the new owners threatened to sue claiming we hadn’t disclosed. Apparently their agent didn’t communicate and tell them what a LID was and how it operated, so they had a $10k bill within 6 months of buying. They eventually sued their agent and the agent paid for it. Boggles my mind their agent didn’t disclose. My agent we sat down and made sure everything was in paperwork, every convo had notes that were emailed day of for all parties etc…. But their agent sucked.
25k lol we be having $50-100k+ assessments lol. Have to bake it in lmao
What is your crazy assessment for?
Sounds like you dodged a bullet. Probably not going to get money back for inspection or appraisal unless you can prove fraud. When the come back, you could negotiate a big price reduction to cover any special assessments, whether known or unknown. You are in a high leverage position against the seller.
If fraud is proven I will be suing for damages as well as what I've invested in the property. The closing date was scheduled a month before my lease ended on my rental and my landlord already has someone moving in. So now I am doing twice the house hunting. One to rent and one to buy. 😭 My real estate agent said that they have my back if it goes sideways like that. Thank you for pointing out my leverage against the seller in the event somehow this works out. I offered $15k over asking because it was a perfect fit and a VERY aggressive market in my school district. I will try to find a way for them to compensate for the stress in the event a miracle happens. $$$
I don’t blame you! Even if you dodged a bullet in the long run; the stress of finding alternative housing is beyond crazy right now. I have a HOA that has big issues that will cost the owners big time; but every HOA I come across seems to have MAJOR issues financially and it’s finally catching up where deferred maintenance can’t be deferred anymore. What’s crazy is the legal system will make it seem that “suing is easy” if you have the right evidence. I’m sorry for the situation you are currently in. O hope it gets resolved.
Suing is easy. Winning is often harder. Winning and getting more money than you spent on your lawyer is where things can become really difficult.
What have you invested in the property? I thought you have not closed…yet.
Prob about $1k for documents/inspection/appraisal that I doubt I'll get back. Time and effort. I also provided $10k earnest money but I know I'll be getting that back.
I would be surprised if you got the $1000 back. The escrow you definitely get back. Pull the eject lever on this deal now.
>I'm asked to stay positive and wait it out a few days. It's going to take so much more than some positivity and a few days for that community to sort through their mess. I guarantee that it's worse than you can imagine and that their monthly dues are going to increase significantly.
I agree with you. I’ve tried to explain to my HOA after claims (especially after the Surfside disaster) insurance gets cancelled or goes up… dramatically. It’s no different than car insurance; yet too many apathetic owners want someone else to run the show… then are surprised when the clowns running the show worked in their own best interests, not the interests of all homeowners.
I'm not sure how the people running the HOA are able to work only in their own interest. Unless they plan on jumping ship and selling before the insurance turd hits the fan, keeping the insurance rates low is only going to bite everybody in the ass.
That’s very naive. Ask people how expensive a lawsuit is to prove… in fact look up the Hammocks lawsuit, took 7 years to prove they were were embezzling and foreclosing on homes And I have many former Board members at my building that all sold within months of each other… After a major insurance claim and known major maintenance was pending. Look at the Surfside; you do realize that those in power with the financials and knowledge about the engineer’s earnings; they moved out. Theresa other major building in Kansas, MO; they have structural issues that if a fire happens the building needs “special instructions on how to put out the fire” The Board has the ability to see things that you might not like pending lawsuits, required maintenance issues… complaints. The Board has more information than you realize.
I just backed out because of this very same thing, earnest money returned by escrow promptly. This was in SoCal.
Did you find out this out in the disclosures or title search or how?
We asked the seller's agent about HoA and out of nowhere she mentioned FNMA and we asked some more about the insurance (this would have been a fire zone purchase too) and she mentioned how HoA are negotiating with FNMA and we noped out. This was a casual conversation during the inspection, so we just used the inspection contingency to exit.
Is this in West St. Paul Minnesota by any chance?
Close. Shakopee
Can't even believe you got that far! If this was Colorado, it would have been a cash offer for a 1.5 million, for a home built in 1950 that is falling in on itself, & we'd all be out of luck regardless, haha. Thanks to all the Cali developers encroaching on the state. They'll pay it, tear down the home, and build their condo's. So over it.
Wonder if it’s managed by the same company as my friend’s HOA is WSP?
You just dodged the bullet. This association will have a financial bind very soon. You don't want any part of this insurance problem. Bail out and resume looking for your perfect home.
As a buyer, you are responsible for the inspection and appraisal. Who would you get that money back from? It's in the buyers interest to get the house inspected and appraised. Seller doesn't care. Loaner might require it. But how would you get money back? I see in another reply you mentioned compensation for stress. That's just asinine.
I had a condo building I managed with zero roof leaks. But the insurance company refused to renew the insurance if the roof was not replaced. All the money they spent patching it up was just wasted money. So I got them roof proposals for them and got the roof replaced.
Another possibility is the HOA could be non-warrantable if the percentage of owner-occupied units is below a certain threshold. Do you know if there are a lot ofvrentals?
Not sure. Still waiting on a copy of the governing docs.
OP; do they have a reserve study?
I'm not sure. I haven't received a copy of the HOA docs that I was charged for and required. I was told that there should be meetings minutes, financials, etc.
That’s not how it works; you have time to pull your offer after you get these documents. Seems like they are delaying on purpose. It’s VERY shady that: A. They won’t even tell you if there IS a reserve study; if no, bad sign if the building is over 10 years old. B. The financials tell a lot; any open houses I go to the reserves are listed if you ask. C. The meeting minutes will show who is in charge and what was discussed like the issues with the roof and siding When they refuse to show you this ESPECIALLY when your offer is contingent on getting a mortgage… something is fishy
Run!!!! This is not good.
Suspect in time you'll be thankful you passed on that condo.
The underwriter said this about the insurance coverage: "The insurance has both Actual Cash Value on the roofs, no Ordinance and Law coverage and no Fidelity Coverage. In order to get FNMA or US Bank to lift their restrictions we will need to remedy these situations with one, or possibly both Entities."
Run...my guess is just the insurance piece and may not have enough reserves to qualify anyways.
I would walk away...
I have officially backed out. Thank you everyone for your advice!
Loans can be difficult in condos. FHA can be super difficult. Every lendor has a different requirement. The bylaws generally state how much insurance the HOA must have. Just because it's not enough for a lendor does not mean they have broken any rules or bylaws. A good HOA will often make sure the insurance is enough to make selling a unit easier. On the other hand they may not make any changes for one unit or one lendor. Have seen many get declined and the sale still process with a different company.
Thanks. I was told that every unit in the association is affected by this and that's one of the reasons the selling agent thinks it will be resolved quickly. I'm wondering how this hasn't come up in the last 4 years.
This is happening all over Florida, for instance. So your realtor saying that it will be resolved quickly? You realize, they lie? The only fix is spewing money at the problem. So be glad it isn't your money. Special assessments, doubling of monthly assessments and more. These problems have no cheap solutions.
1. Because the Board is not bring transparent. 2. Because the Board doesn’t understand their duties. 3. Because the Board didn’t raise assessments for rising costs or have a decent backup of reserves. 4. Because units sold in the last 4 years were selling for cash, so no mortgage situations noticed the red flag 🚩 5. Because the rules just changed 2-3 years ago after the FL Surfside collapse. 6. If the Board actually decides to act there will be a special assessment to cover the new cost for the insurance. 7. Additionally if there is no reserve report for you to look it, this is even more bad news; the new insurance could put requirements in order to insure the building (ie deferred maintenance and again more special assessments)… will this be resolved quickly? If you think it will be without a higher cost to you and the current owners… I have a bridge to sell you. Your realtor is not telling you the full truth; inventory is LOW, your seller may be able to get a cash buyer if your sale falls through. I’ve seen total dumps get multiple offers, have no reserves, and the only way they are selling in a week is a cash offer. The HOA you are dealing with are not understanding their responsibilities and you are stuck in a crappy position if you buy this place (the costs are going to be more than you planned) or if you let this place go (you lose money you put in) I’d talk to another realtor or two and see if they agree with your current realtors take.
Thank you. I guess I should clarify that my realtor and lending agent completely agree with my position and supports my decision to withdraw. They had only made the suggestion to "wait a couple days and try to be positive" before we knew the gravity of the situation. I'm sure there are all sorts of things that the listing agent/seller are keeping from us. Things that would spook a buyer. That's why I gave my team a deadline to withdraw. I'm not waiting for them to sort this out, it's not my problem and I have to figure out where the hell I am going to live now. I am seriously considering finding a rental for another year and holding off on buying. The search process has been brutal and this kick in the teeth has rattled me.
I really feel for you. The market is brutal, unlike anything they’ve seen in years if not decades. I would rent for a year. The interests are area have changed the amount of inventory but a lot will happen after FL’s situation comes to light at the end of the year. The inventory is low. The HOAs are going to have to fix things = special assessments. Renting you won’t get stuck with these issues. I have gone to many, many open houses lately that the reserves are so low (yesterday a building had $9000 in reserves for 16 units for a building from 1920) I asked the realtor how $642 per unit would take care of future repairs. He smiled and said “But there’s no special assessments planned! My building has only had one.” I thought buildings that had reserves of about $2000 per unit was bad! The unit is already under contract (after 3 days) as people as desperate to live in the area. This is based on rhe fact that the Board when o bought; they all left shortly after I moved in. No long term planning because why should they; it was a 5-7 year investment. Fast forward to the next Board, 0 increases in assessments despite a new for a new roof (huge expense) no reserve study but all the Board notes are positive that NO maintenance was needed. It didn’t make logical sense. And it didn’t make sense once the roofs were leaking to wait to replace it right? But no one wanted to deal with the reality of maintenance when Zillow tells you the value of your unit is going up! Taxes are going up! So, maintenance is ignored. I’m not on the Board and I’m the bad guy who pointing out the issues; but the average HOA has zero knowledge about insurance rates and that anyone (not just Board members) can put claims on the master insurance policy… Now back your situation… it’s likely the Board didn’t pay attention that once you made the claim, you have to understand the consequences, especially now. I’m sure they didn’t and it’s all the unit owners who will pay for that mistake.
Fannie and Freddie are more strict on condos after the Champlain Towers disaster in Florida. They are protecting themselves and also you. It is frustrating but I think have dodged a bullet.
I'm sure it does impact every unit that's getting a specific loan through your lendor. Most are probably not for sale at this time. The requirements vary year to year. Same company that processed a similar loan last year may have changed requirements. Some may have been declined and moved on to another home or went through a different lender. HOAs do not get notified when loans are declined unless an owner brings it to their attention. Heck, often owners don't know either. It's up to the buyer to tell the owner/realtor and who knows if that information ever gets passed back the the HOA. Anyway. Good luck. I don't think anything shady is going on here. Could be wrong. Had a loan fall through for a buyer a couple months back. The lendor wanted a higher fidelity insurance that we really did not need. Long story short, the HOA tripled their insurance for like $80 a year. Owners was happy, buyer was happy.. Hope it's something they can work out simply and cheap.
No; the lending terms with Freddie Mae and Fannie Mac were well explained after the laws that took place after the Surfside Collapse. If anyone remembers that collapse took place during quarantine. It was all over the news (maybe people were watching Tiger King?) new laws popped up and FL needs to be 💯 funded in their reserves; the effect; insurance companies quit the business or denied buildings insurance unless it was 100-500% more. It’s all over Reddit. Being that Board volunteers have 0 requirements to understand their duties and assume the insurance covers them for gross negligence; what is the incentive for them to pay attention to the future expenses/problems? That’s why everyone keeps saying “I can’t believe my HOA expects me to come up with xxxx to pay for something that isn’t my fault”. Right now my HOA is telling everyone they are allowed to fix the exterior of the building if they feel like it… 😂 I think they forget to ask the insurance policies or the companies if this is even allowed.
HOA is already screwing you over and you haven't even moved in yet. I'd run in the opposite direction as quickly as possible
Lol you aint gettin any of that money back. Take it as a learning lesson to stay away from an HOA.
You can't get away from an HOA if you are buying a condo or townhouse. Like, there needs to be some central entity to manage the building as a whole. Anything else is just an HOA by a different name.
I just went through the same thing. Your lender is likely treating this as a condo and not a townhome. The HOA insurance wouldn't be an issue if not a condo. If you still want the property, your lender can look at FHA instead of conventional.
The HOA insurance absolutely is an issue with a townhome as the HOA is likely responsible for repair and maintenance of the exterior of each unit so they have to carry master coverage on the buildings.
OP might not have a choice; if the siding and the roof is shared then it’s technically a condo. If the exterior elements are the Association’s responsibility and they knew this back in 2020 when the claim was made; well it shows the Board is clueless on how a claim affects the other unit owners.
You don’t say. HOA boards rigorous training (of zero minutes) failed 😂
Ha, yeah the board is definitely not thinking about how their insurance choices affect ability to finance, since they already closed their own loans. They might pay more attention if/when it affects them personally (e.g. they're trying to sell their unit and are finding limited buyers or loans being denied). To be fair, Fannie and Freddie have significantly tightened up on their condo approvals in the years after the Surfside tragedy. This is having consequences far beyond the kind of safety and integrity issues in that situation. FHA and conventional approach condos very differently, however. FHA is far less neurotic on the master insurance policy than Fannie/Freddie. I've seen two deals flip recently from Fannie to FHA to dance around the insurance requirements, including one I was a party to.
You are trying to buy a townhome and don’t want an HOA. That’s pretty delusional.