Getting Your Association Documents Ready Before You List

A guide for condo and loft owners on gathering the association paperwork buyers and their lenders will ask for.

Selling a condo or loft usually involves more paperwork than selling a house, and most of it comes from the association rather than from you. If you start gathering it early, the sale moves faster and buyers feel more confident in what they are looking at.

Start with the governing documents: bylaws, rules and regulations, and any amendments. Buyers who have looked at more than one building will ask about rental caps, pet policies, and whether short term leasing is allowed. Have current copies, not ones from years ago that may have been revised.

Next, request a copy of the most recent budget and reserve study if the association has one. Lenders often want this, and buyers who are paying attention will want it too. It shows whether the building is planning for major repairs or deferring them.

Ask your association for a statement of any pending litigation or special assessments. This is one of those things that deserves a second look before you list, not after an offer comes in and the buyer's attorney asks the same question. If there is something to disclose, it is better to know the full story yourself first.

Check on parking and storage assignments in writing. In many urban buildings these are separate from the unit deed, and confusion here can stall a closing. If your spot or storage unit is documented somewhere specific, know where that document lives.

I would rather spend time now organizing these papers than discover a gap after a buyer is already emotionally invested. A complete file tells a buyer that the building, and the seller, are straightforward. That reputation is worth building before you ever put up a sign.