About GoverningDocs

What it does

You upload the association's documents as PDFs: the CC&Rs, bylaws, budget, reserve study, meeting minutes, insurance certificates and anything else in the package. GoverningDocs analyzes them and returns a structured report. Most packages are done in 15 to 30 minutes; very large ones (500 pages or more) can take longer.

Each full report includes:

• The GoverningDocs HOA Health Grade, A to F, for the association as a whole
• Five key numbers: percent funded, delinquency rate, reserve contribution, single-entity ownership and insurance sufficiency
• A warrantability checklist against Fannie Mae's six condo financing criteria, so you can see early whether a conventional loan may be harder to get
• Flags for special assessments, rental restrictions, deferred maintenance and pending litigation
• A timeline of meetings, votes and assessments
• Answers to your follow-up questions, each with the page it came from
• A summary you can share with your agent, lender or attorney

Who it is for

Home buyers and the real estate agents who represent them, anywhere in the United States. Buyers use it to decide whether to go ahead, renegotiate or walk away before the contingency deadline. Agents use it to give clients a clear read on the association without spending an evening in the PDFs.

How the citations work

Every finding in the report links to the document and page it came from. If the report says the reserve fund is 32% funded, the link opens the reserve study at the page that says so. You never have to take the report's word for anything, and you can forward the exact page to whoever needs to see it.

What it does not do

GoverningDocs is document analysis, not legal advice. It tells you what the documents say and what to ask about. It does not tell you what your rights are in a dispute or whether to sign.

Treat it as a first step before an attorney, never a replacement for one. A typical attorney review of an HOA package costs $300 to $1,500 (what an HOA document review costs). If the report turns up something serious, such as pending litigation or a large special assessment, that is the moment to bring the report to a local real estate attorney.

Price

• $39 per property, one time. No subscription and no license.
• Your first full report is free when you create an account.
• Three free analyses with no account and no card: CC&R analysis, reserve study analysis and meeting minutes analysis.

See pricing for details, or open a sample report first.

How we built it

We built GoverningDocs on a growing library of real HOA and condo documents: CC&Rs, budgets, reserve studies, meeting minutes and insurance policies from associations across the United States. The report is organized around the problems that cost buyers money after closing, such as an underfunded reserve, a special assessment that shows up in the minutes before anyone mentions it to a buyer, or a rental cap added by amendment, and every finding is tied back to its page so you can check it.

Who built it

GoverningDocs was founded by Alex Lee to give buyers the read on an association that most of them never get before closing. You can reach Alex directly at alex@governingdocs.dev.

Company facts