5 red flags hide in developer-controlled new condos: reserves near zero, a defect clock that never starts, and loans that fail Fannie's project review.
5 HOA budget red flags that hide a reserve crisis, including the Fannie reserve floor rising from 10% to 15% on January 4, 2027. What buyers must check.
HOA transfer fees, capital contributions, and move-in fees can stack to $1,000-$2,000 at closing. Who pays, and where 7 states cap them, before you buy.
10% to 15%: Fannie Mae's condo reserve minimum rises Jan 4, 2027 (LL-2026-03). Miss it and owners can't sell or refinance. What your board must do now.
Only 2 states (California and Arizona) cap HOA dues increases, at 20% a year. Most have no limit at all. What your CC&Rs allow before you buy in 2026.
FL estoppel cert is $299 with 10-day delivery; VA buyers get 3 days to cancel. The 15 documents inside a condo resale package that decide your closing.
Palm Bay Yacht Club owners won $6.3M (Dec 2025) and still owe $44M. 8 ways to surface HOA litigation before Fannie B4-2.1-03 kills your mortgage approval.
$50K HO-6 coverage paid out $1,000. KRDO Mar 2026 exposed the loss assessment loophole leaving condo owners exposed to six-figure HOA assessments today.
$6.3M jury verdict Dec 2025: condo owners won against a fake-emergency assessment. What you can refuse, what you can't, based on 1,900+ HOA documents.
$134K per owner. The difference between a fee hike and a special assessment matters before you close in 2026 (based on 1,900+ HOA documents).
200+ page HOA packets, 3-7 day cancellation windows. Compare AI, attorney review, ChatGPT, and DIY for HOA document analysis (1,900+ docs analyzed).
$30M assessments hide in plain sight. Learn the 8 lines condo buyers read in HOA financials before the 2027 Fannie cap (based on 1,900+ HOA docs).
74% of HOAs are underfunded. Meeting minutes reveal special assessment risk months early. 5 patterns to scan, based on 1,900+ HOA documents.
Champlain Towers was 6.9% funded before collapse. Harbor Towers hit owners with $75.6M. When HOA reserves hit 0%, every repair is a special assessment.
BC Bill 44 voided rental + sub-55+ age bylaws Nov 24, 2022. 22 of 24 strata fines struck down in 2024. What buyers must scrutinize (1,900+ docs analyzed).
10-day delivery required in WA, CA, FL, TX, NV, AZ, MA, and GA. Most states give buyers a statutory right to HOA docs pre-offer (1,900+ docs analyzed).
Florida's biggest HOA reform bill died in Senate Rules on March 13, 2026. No dissolution process, no community court, no Kaufman mandate. What buyers do now.
Condo master policy premiums up 102% in 3 years. Over 1,400 FL buildings blacklisted by Fannie Mae. How insurance now decides whether you get a mortgage.
Median condo HOA fees hit $420/month in 2026, up 29% since 2019. Every $100/month removes $16K in purchasing power. What buyers must check before closing.
74% of HOAs are underfunded per Association Reserves. $5K–$400K per unit at risk. Five document patterns predict special assessments before they're announced.
10,850+ WA communities must comply with WUCIOA by Jan 2028. Buyers get 26-item resale certificates and 5-day cancel rights (1,900+ HOA docs analyzed).
900,000 FL condo units face milestone inspections. Failures trigger $134K-$400K assessments per unit. Deadlines and what buyers must check (1,900+ docs).
SB 326 balcony inspections are triggering $40K-$175K assessments per unit across California condos. What buyers must check before closing (based on 1,900+ HOA documents).
93.5% of US condos lack FHA approval. 8 red flags in HOA documents that block government-backed condo loans. What to check and workarounds (1,900+ documents analyzed).
74% of HOAs are underfunded. 5 numbers predict trouble: percent funded, delinquency, assessments, insurance, single-entity ownership (1,900+ HOA docs).
Over 70% of HOAs are underfunded. New 15% reserve rule hits Jan 2027. Low fees hide deferred maintenance and six-figure assessments (1,900+ docs).
GPT-4 hallucinates on 58% of legal questions (Stanford, 2024). No page citations, no coverage tracking. Why purpose-built tools beat chatbots for HOA docs.
Georgia SB 406 affects 2.3M residents in 11,200+ HOA communities. Registration, foreclosure limits, 10-year records. What buyers must check before Jan 1, 2027.
15% delinquency = no conventional mortgage. 1,438 FL buildings already ineligible. How to check before you buy (based on 1,900+ HOA documents).
Special assessments of $20K-$100K+ are hitting buyers at closing. Who pays depends on your state and contract. State-by-state rules (based on 1,900+ HOA documents).
Condo prices down 6% while houses rise. 90%+ of South FL condos sell below asking. How to tell if a discount is a deal or a trap (based on 1,900+ HOA documents).
HOAs can change rental rules after you buy. FL and CA now protect existing owners. 5 things to check in CC&Rs before closing (free analysis tool).
6 things in HOA documents that kill condo financing. Reserve funding, delinquency, litigation. What lenders check and how to verify before you make an offer.
New Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac condo rules: reserve minimum jumps to 15%, Limited Review eliminated (Aug 2026), insurance relief for roofs. What changes for buyers closing on a condo.
Non-warrantable condos can't get conventional financing. Buyer pool shrinks to cash buyers only. 6 triggers that kill warrantability—and how to check before it's too late.
70%+ funded is considered healthy, but roughly half of HOAs fall short. How to interpret percent funded, what it signals about special assessment risk, and where to find it.
After analyzing 1,900+ HOA documents, these 5 red flags predict special assessments before they hit. Underfunded reserves, deferred maintenance, budget gaps, litigation patterns.
Florida condo values down 19% since 2023. 62% missed SIRS deadline. Smart buyers find opportunity in the chaos. How to tell risk from reward (based on 1,900+ HOA docs).
First-time condo buyers face $5K-$50K+ surprise assessments. 5 things to check in HOA documents before closing (based on 1,900+ HOA documents analyzed).
SIRS disclosure deadlines, 7-day buyer review, $400K assessments, lender blacklists. The 2026 playbook for FL buyer-agents (1,900+ HOA docs analyzed).
SIRS reports cover 8 structural components Florida condos must fund by 2026. Check percent funded, RUL=0 items, and assessment risk (based on 1,900+ HOA docs).
26% of Florida condos underfunded below 50%. SIRS assessments reaching $100K-$400K per unit. 6 options from payment plans to county assistance (based on 38 SIRS reports).
300+ pages, 3 calendar days, zero guidance. Why most buyers waive HOA review—and what it costs them. Based on 1,900+ HOA documents analyzed.
A Virginia court ruled HOAs must specify assessment amounts and purpose to collect. The new 'textual anchor' standard and what it means for HOA homeowners.
Board minutes leak trouble before the financials do. 7 warning signs: deferred maintenance, litigation threats, reserve waivers, manager turnover (1,900+ HOA docs).
FL court blocked a developer's attempt to lower the 80% termination threshold. How to check your declaration for forced-sale risk (1,900+ HOA docs analyzed).
56% of FL condos miss the 2026 SIRS deadline. Prices down 9.9%, assessments hit $400K per unit. The buyer's guide to what's still safe (1,900+ HOA docs).
300+ pages, 3 days to decide. Most buyers miss the red flags buried in CC&Rs, reserve studies, and meeting minutes. What we found after analyzing 1,900+ HOA documents.
HOA special assessments hit $5K to $400K per unit. 70% of associations are underfunded. How to spot them in reserve studies and CC&Rs before you close (from 1,900+ HOA docs analyzed).
Super-liens can override your mortgage. Arbitration clauses strip your right to sue. Transfer fees hit at closing. 5 HOA legal risks most buyers discover too late.
Rental caps, lease minimums, and Airbnb bans hide in CC&Rs and bylaws. Where to find them, what they mean for your investment, and a free tool to extract them in minutes.
70% of HOAs are underfunded. 3 numbers in the reserve study predict your special assessment risk. Here's how to find them fast (based on 1,900+ HOA docs).