HELP - please - Can a title company ask for $450 for HOA docs?

Question

We are in CA. We put a cash offer on a Fannie May Condo about a week ago. It is a FORECLOSURE (Condo is Bank Owned) We signed the offer documents and gave our realtor/broker a $10G check for deposit of the condo *he said he still has the check because if HOAs say no dogs or dog size restrictions that we would have to wait to get that money back a few weeks... We were told we were in ESCROW, and we were waiting for the title company to order the HOA documents because we have a larger dog and want to make sure the CC & Rs and Condo HOA rules allow for dogs.

A few days went by, and then our realtor/broker told us yesterday that when he checked on the title company to see if they had the HOA documents yet, they sent him an addendum with a request to pay a fee of $450 just to get ahold of those HOA documents from them (Whomever has these, I assume it is the condo association people?? Or title co has to order them?)

Can they do this? Is this legal, and is there any way around it or anyone to call, I have a friend who lives there, but her paperwork is old and rules change so I don't want the purchase of our place to be reliant upon old HOA docs...

And we don't want to pay the fee of almost $500 if we can't have our dog we don't want the unit... It makes no sense because any buyer would want to see those CC & Rs before they sign the final paperwork, right?

HELP... any feedback much appreciated, thanks so much.

Homeless in CA

Answer 1

I know in Texas the HOA can pretty much set their charges and fees at whatever level they want. Very common that it is at least $250

Answer 2

We're in a similar situation- Fannie May condo- $10K deposit. That seems to be a Fannie May standard. When our CC&Rs arrived yesterday so did a bill from the condo association for past due HOAs, ownership transfer fees etc. We're digging into the past due HOAs issue- I can't see why Fannie May wouldn't be paying those- however the owner transfer fee is consistent with what I've had at other condo complexes in the past. You should get a break down on what the $450 consists of. If you're not in escrow yet then you wouldn't pay the condo association until you actually close.

Answer 3

I have never heard of the HOA charging for documents. I believe they must provide these to you by law and if they are charging that much to print out some paper on there xerox machine that is absurd! Someone involved in your transaction in being dishonest. I would find out who manages the property and contact them directly asap.



FYI: to the previous answer, I believe the $10,000 is a good faith deposit that is held un-cashed until 3 days after escrow is opened and it is also fully refundable up to 17 days in CA if you find that you do not agree with certain conditions of the property upon further inspection. Buyers DO NOT and SHOULD NOT pay the Realtor fees ever. That comes from the sellers closing check. Realtors do much more then drive you around and show homes. They are there every step of the way through escrow for 30+ days and deal without a lot of different people so you do not have to. If you had a good agent you would not complain about this and move to someone else.

Answer 4

You have signed a Purchase Contract on a Bank Owned property (Foreclosure), given a Earnest Money Deposit of $10,000 but your agent still has the check which means that there has been no escrow opened. The agent might think he is doing you a favor by keeping the check so you don't have to wait for the money in case the HOA does not except dogs or has a restriction. In reality, if he does not deposit your Earnest Money Deposit into his Broker's Trust Fund Account, he is in violation of state law requiring any monies received to be deposited within 3 days of receiving. Your agent and his Broker could have their licenses suspended or lose their licenses altogether because of this. Your agent is not doing his fiduciary duty to you as your agent.



If there was an Escrow open, your agent could request a copy of the CC & R's from the escrow company because they normally have them on file. The Title company who can also handle the escrow has not been given your Earnest Money Deposit so as far as they know, your agent and you are asking for CC & R's as an outside source.



Title is requesting the $450 fee because they have to order them from the Homeowners Association which does charge a fee (and they can charge what they determine is fair) as this is not a Title Charge.



It is legal for the HOA to charge these fees and once you actually move in, they usually send you a copy free of charge. But you actually have to live there and its only a one time deal.



Now, after all this you have other problems such as you will not be able to back out of your transaction simply because the HOA wouldn't allow dogs. You would lose your Earnest Money Deposit and you would still be required to pay the agent's commission.



So you would be considered in a Breach of Contract which the Seller, your agent, the Sellers agent and both their brokers could sue you for not following through with the transaction. You don't have a legal leg to stand on when the only reason you would not buy is because your dog is not allowed.

Answer 5

I'm not sure why the title company is involved. Are they handling the closing for the lender? The lender is the one who would be concerned about the HOA agreement.



Go to the condo office and ask to see the Home Owner Association rules and regulations and ask them about the dog size. They should be happy to tell you. They should give you a copy of the rules without charge and you can send them to the title company. If they will not, or they want to charge you $450 to read a rule book, then I would surely NOT want to live there. God knows what they will charge you once you move in. I got my HOA rule book before I bought my house and I didn't even ask for it. The reason is that you have to agree to join when you buy the property so you have to be allowed time to read over the rules before you decide whether or not to agree to them.



Much of the process of purchasing any kind of home is a scam to suck all the money out of you that they can. Paying a Realtor $10,000 just to drive you around a couple of days and submit some paperwork to the buyer is ridiculous in my opinion. But that's the way it's set up.

Answer 6

A decent realtor would just call the association and ask about the rules on dogs. They wouldn't want to guarantee you that the verbal info was correct but it would certainly give you a clue.