Home Owner's Association: Fine Print

Life happens. Flood damage, snow damage, ect. If you are part of a Home Owner’s Association, who is it that pays the price of repair?

Determine the cause of the damage or loss do weed out if there were neglectful parties involved (for then it is their maintenance issue). Be sure to document exact damage as soon as possible after the damage is done to give the most accurate estimates for repair requests.  Take pictures.

Review legal documents affiliated with your HOA bylaws. This may offer you easy guidance. Key words to focus on are “unit, common element, limited common element, maintenance responsibilities of owners, maintenance responsibilities of home owners association, insurance responsibilities, and enforcement procedures” (www.realtytimes.com)

         

Inform you HOA so they know what is going on.

Generally, owners are responsible for things within the boundaries of their unit and HOA takes care of shared or common spaces. But note: maintaining a component does not imply that repair is included if that component fails. In the instance of owner negligence, the owner is always responsible. Your HOA policies should be consistent and very clear. This is for your protection as well as theirs. If you have questions, step up and ask!