No matter whether you’re in the process of drafting your homeowners’ association’s (HOA) bylaws or you’re looking to have a vote regarding updates, you might have thought about one matter that you can include in those covenants: You can make it a requirement to have a current resident notify your HOA before selling their home.
Why might you want this requirement added to your HOA’s bylaws? There are various reasons why that are detailed below.
Reasons to have your homeowners contact you pre-sale
Some benefits associated with having a covenant included in your bylaws requiring all residents within the HOA to contact you before putting their home up for sale include the opportunity to:
- Inquire if you require a pre-closing inspection (as many HOAs insist on) before they relocate
- Confirm whether there are any outstanding or upcoming costs due related to their HOA fees
- Facilitate the forwarding of the HOA resale package to their prospective buyer within the statutory period required so that they can adequately review the bylaws and covenants before closing on the property
- Arrange to pre-pay any association dues on the new buyer’s behalf (if necessary)
- Facilitate the transfer of HOA dues or paperwork (which often equates to either a flat fee or a percentage of the home’s sales price)
The HOA agreement is a legally binding one. You need to be cautious when adding such covenants to your agreement to ensure that they are enforceable in your local jurisdiction. This is the only way to ensure the protection of your interests.