9 Steps to Obtain HOA Documents (for Escrow Officers)

One of the most important steps in the closing process is obtaining the necessary documents from the homeowner’s association (HOA). 

By ordering and reviewing the HOA documents, the Escrow Officer verifies that the Seller’s account is in good standing so that no balances transfer to the Buyer. This helps to prevent any surprises (the bad kind), such as a large balance owed, after the sale is complete.

The process for acquiring documents can be wildly different from HOA to HOA. For Escrow teams, the process involves manual and repetitive tasks, multiple follow-ups, back-and-forth communication, and documents with a myriad of scanned and hard-to-read pages. Because of these difficulties, dealing with HOAs is one of the most bothersome and time-consuming parts of Escrow.

We created this article to help you better navigate the HOA document-obtaining process.

Obtaining HOA Documents for Closing

1. Identify the HOA. 
   1. Research the legal description of your property by searching the property address on the local county’s Assessor’s website.
   2. Find if there is a governing HOA and property management company and identify the name(s). Homewisedocs.com is one of the websites that can help you find this information, but, beware, you’ll have to double-check everything. Some realtors’ websites such as Zillow, Trulia, or Realtor.com may also have the needed information. Watch out for any additional community associations or Master HOAs that might be related to the property. 
   3. Identify whether HOA is self- or professionally managed. If you already know that the HOA is professionally managed, you can check with some of the management companies in town to find out if they manage it or if they may know who does. And many of them have a list of managed HOAs on their website.
   4. Find the HOA contact information.
      Some resources to find HOA contacts are the Library of Country records related to the property, city maps, and CC&R documentation.
2. Contact the HOA or Property Manager and request the needed documents. Provide the necessary details, such as the property address, Seller info, and Buyer info, to request the HOA documents. Find out what you need to do; how to order docs, timeframes, etc.
3. HOA Document Request. This typically includes a written request specifying the documents needed, such as bylaws, financial statements, meeting minutes, rules and regulations, and any special assessments or pending litigation.
4. Cost Assessment: The HOA or PM provides the Escrow Officer with the costs associated with obtaining the HOA documents. This may include fees for document production, processing, or rush orders. Then you need to communicate these costs to the listing agent and Seller since it is the Seller who ultimately pays the fees.
5. Ask the Seller to approve and pay for obtaining the HOA documents. Fees can be exorbitant, so be prepared for some pushback. We collected expert tips to help you explain HOA and other closing costs to clients.
6. Collect payments from the Seller. This could be done through wire transfer, certified check, or other agreed-upon payment methods. 
7. Make the payment to the HOA. This could be done through wire transfer, certified check, or other agreed-upon payment methods.
8. Verify your ordering requirements. Make sure to check the order details and turnaround time ETA, which are state-specific. Ask for a copy of the application if Buyer Approval is required.
9. Track, Receive, and Review the documents. 

It is best to order the HOA documents as early as possible in the transaction, as it can take several days or even weeks to obtain them. This will help to avoid delays in closing.

Specific steps and the timeline may vary depending on the HOA, the management company, and local regulations. 

Or, you can just let InspectHOA take care of everything for you. 

InspectHOA Transforms the Process of Obtaining HOA Documents

A strong combination of operations, technology, and customer service makes us the ideal extension of your team. Here are some highlights:

Operations 

HOA operations team of 200+ service-obsessed problem-solvers who meet your deadlines, no matter what obstacles arise. You get a designated team of highly-trained professionals who find, contact, order, pay for, track, receive, and process your HOA docs. Our Ops Team will save you hours of time chasing HOAs. 

Technology

Our proprietary technology analyzes and simplifies large sets of lengthy HOA documents, and delivers key insights in an easy-to-read format, saving you hours of sifting through scattered data. We pull data and serve up everything you need for closing.

Customer Service

We understand your world. The urgency. The perfectionism. We guarantee an under-30-minutes initial response to all your inquiries, under-2-hour resolution timelines, and full transparency.

How InspectHOA Works

Simply send us a property address and a closing date/deadline, and we’ll take it from there. Here is our exact process:

1. Within 2 hours, we’ll identify the HOA(s) for your subject property and reach out to the HOA manager
2. We’ll determine what needs to be done and how much it will cost the Seller
3. We’ll order all needed HOA documents
4. We’ll front HOA fees and settle everything at closing
5. We’ll retrieve the documents, analyze them, double-check everything, and send them to you
6. We’ll deliver receipts for all fees so that you can easily reconcile them at closing

With InspectHOA, you never have to deal with HOAs again. You can offload the entire process to us, which will allow you to concentrate on other essential aspects of the closing process.

Get your time back. Cut the stress – for you and your customers. Let InspectHOA take care of all your HOA documents. Contact us at [email protected].