Every condominium sales contract includes a clause which basically states that you accept the rules/regulations of the condominium association and agree to abide by them and that all appropriate documentation is given to you at the closing. This is because the initial prospectus and later amendments stay with the property - they do not belong to the owner.

Because you are agreeing to accept and abide by the rules/regulations of the condominium association, it is standard practice to deliver the prospectus and subsequent changes/amendments, etc. to your attorney for his/her review before you are irrevocably bound to the transaction.

Condominium deeds are granted by the State of New Jersey and so this is a highly regulated situation. Did you know that if a building is not correctly capitalized and goes into default the State of NJ rescinds the condominium deed and the building becomes immediately a rental building? As a result, you want to be sure that the building is properly capitalized - plainly put, the building must have a large enough capital reserve fund to maintain itself.

Additonally, you'll want to know about any future assessments or changes. You can get all this information by contacting the building management company.

A current owner is under no obligation to give any interested party the initial prospectus and subsequent amendments. Again, this is all reviewed by your attorney during the transaction process and your attorney will protect you in this regard should things be revealed that cause you to cancel the transaction. But, you also need to check the building's financial condition as well as whether or not they're putting on a new roof next year and whether there will be assessments for that.

Truthfully, you're putting the cart before the horse. No owner has to give you any documentation until you're in contract at which time it must be delivered to your attorney to be reviewed. Remember please that this documentation is not owned by the seller - it stays with the unit and is passed on from seller to new owner and on and on. Sometimes it cannot be duplicated or will cost a seller significant sums to do so which is why no one expects this until there is a contract for sale and it's part of the conventional practice.

As for association minutes, these can often be considered confidential and open only to current owners. That's not at all unusual.

Your questions are really best put to your attorney who will explain the process and best advise you. Unless you are an attorney who is expert in residential sales, you may not be able to understand any potential issues in the documentaiton you have. I myself would never do anything other than have my attorney review it all because this is his/her area of expertise. Hopefully this helps.

Newbuyer: Rarely do you see a set of answers so consistent and uniform. My colleagues and I all have the same idea. You should note that the standard contract is NOT geared to homeowner association purchases and Realtors are not allowed to practice law and write contracts. We only "fill in" existing forms that have been generated by attorneys. That's why the suggestion that you have legal counsel has been so consistent.

I'm proud to be a Realtor and feel that this display of knowledge and concern reflects the way this particular group of people, and for that matter, almost every Realtor conducts themselves. I'm sorry that the agent you are working with seems to be so pushy.

Bill

This has happened to me also in the past and I remember that we finally got the requested documents but it was a battle.
I do not understand why the seller would get upset.
It seems to be that they may no longer have a copy and therefore it is more difficult to provide.
You can always make the contract contingent on providing the rules & regulations and bylaws and that may help in providing these documents faster.
Your agent should not pressure you to purchase it is not up to her what the owner will decide once he gets an offer either take it or reject it, maybe a counter.
A lot depends on how much you really want this townhouse, if you really want it make it a point in the contract see an attorney right away and have him deal with it. Good luck.

Hi Newbuyer,

Have your attorney draft and execute a clause in the contract to the following effect: "Buyer reserves the right to review the condominium documents including by-laws, offering plan, master deed, association board meeting minutes, and any other related documents. Buyer may cancel the contract within 10 days of completion of attorney review if there are unacceptable provisions contained therein. " DO NOT use this as written here. I am not a lawyer. This is just a suggestion. So have your attorney put something in to that effect.

You now have a little time to do your due diligence. As far as the actual minutes, you may not be able to get them. However, if you interview the President of the homeowners association, he or she should be able to get you up to speed on recent developments within the HOA.

The management company will have a copy of the offering plan and all amendments. There is usually an amendment each year, so you want the origianl and all the amendments. You will have to pay something for this as noted in the other responses. But it's worth it. You want a complete document set when you purchase a condo/PUD.

Good luck!

-Marc

Marc Paolella
Relocation Director
Member, Worldwide ERC
Licensed Realtor NJ
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Century 21 Joe Tekula Realtors
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Phone (direct): (973) 584-4235
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Hi Newbuyer, Bill nailed it, I will only add, best of luck to you!

Jeannie Feenick
Search and connect at http://www.feenick.com

Newbuyer:

You are altogether right and at the same time a bit wrong.

The association’s rules are, I believe a “must produce” to any buyer by LAW. You should be able to get them before any contract is signed. The problem is that they can be only the original documents and there could have been many changes over the period that you state. The changes may not be collected in a single document or set.

The request for the last meeting’s minutes is a bit unusual and, for the average owner, hard to obtain, since they are not necessarily published to all the homeowners. I'd give up on that one. The last meeting may not have been the one where serious changes were made.

Since you are meeting resistance and you want the property, it may be wise to knuckle under and sign the contract. You should have your legal counsel on standby to immediately reject the contract until ALL the documentation is provided, as possible under the attorney review procedure.

Otherwise, the seller may well decide that you are too hard to deal with and he can sell the place to someone else or not at all. If he doesn't have the information that you want and has to run around to get it, it would be in his best interest to do so but people can be busy or lazy or just not have good access to them. If that's the case, showing a sincere interest and reaching an agreement before the seller is forced to come up with the documents may be in your best interest. That's why I say you are a bit wrong, not on principal but on tactics to get done what you wish to get done.

Bill

New Buyer,

I have run into this a number of times. The bylaws such are usually given to you at closing.
Most deveopments that I have encountered will supply you with a copy for a fee and I have seen these fees from $100 - $250 for copies but, it depends on the development and the management company. I have no idea why they charge so much.. but they do. pretty riduiculous, eh?
( I make and keep my own copies of developments bylaws)

Call the management company or homeowners association and request a copy. Again, be ready to pay a fee to receive it.

Good Luck.

Yes, I would have the contract state it is upon your review and acceptance of the rules and regulations. The seller should have a copy and if not other buyers will want to see them so they should request a new copy from the management company. There is a charge - but that's part of the cost of selling a townhouse. If it is an estate sale or bank sale then maybe you want to call the management company and pay for your own copy. I have never had a client ask for a copy of the minutes from the last association meeting - but, I like it. Good thinking.