If you are buying a home in a Homeowner Association (HOA), the following article applies to you.
What is a homeowner association?
If you live in a neighborhood with an HOA, a community management company will take care of amenities (like gates, community pools, common landscaping, gyms, etc.) and make sure all the homes are kept to a certain standard, so the neighborhood looks well taken care of.
How much does it cost?
To make sure the community is taken care of and everyone pays their fair share, homeowners in the neighborhood will pay a monthly fee, on average anywhere between $15 per month and can range up to over $500 per month for fancy guard gated golf course communities.
In Vegas, the average HOA fee ranges from $20-$60 per month depending on the neighborhood.
How do I know what the HOA rules and fees will be like before I buy a home?
The rules and structuring of each homeowner association will be different. If you’re buying a home in an HOA, you’ll be given documents during the purchase process explaining what’s going on with the association, and you will be given a chance to cancel the purchase if you don’t like the HOA’s rules and regulations, etc.
If you will not be buying a home in a neighborhood with an homeowner’s association, just skip to the next step 🙂
When buying a home with an HOA, normally the seller orders and provides the following items:
- HOA Demand – This is a document that shows the monthly HOA payment you will be paying, as well as how much the seller owes (if anything). The title/escrow company will make sure that the owner pays off anything they owe before the sale is completed.
- HOA Resale Package – This is a set of documents showing the rules, budget, founding documents, etc. of your homeowner association.
The seller must provide the resale package within 15 days of accepting the offer or you may cancel the purchase without penalty.
If you are not okay with any part of the resale package (HOA rules, the financial stability of the association, history, or litigation), you may cancel the purchase within 5 days of receiving the resale package.
Besides the time during diligence, not approving the HOA documents is one way to cancel the sale and get your earnest money deposit back.
Ready for the next step? Click here: Step 8: Getting Your Loan Approved
Need to go back a step? Click here: Step 6: Due Diligence and Inspections
If you are buying a home with cash, you can skip to: Step 9: Home Warranty
Want to start from the beginning? Click Here: Step 1: Setting Up Your Wallet
Thanks for reading! If you think this information is useful, please share it with a friend!
Leng Lim
Las Vegas Real Estate Specialists
702-343-2670