What a buyer should know before buying into a HOA community

Attorney Tom Olsen: If you were buying a home or a condo in an HOA, if you were simply a buyer, what would be your advice to somebody as a buyer of a home or a condo in HOA as far as reviewing what the budget is and what the reserve is?

Attorney Jim Olsen: All of that information is available. It's official records. Now, depending on the size of the condo, it's required to be online in many cases. But I would want to know the reserves. If you move into a really nice gated community, that gate has more than one small effect, which is now, your streets are private, they're not public. Who's going to maintain them? Who's going to pave them? Who's going to fix potholes? Who's going to fix curbs that break or get broken when the delivery vans drive over? What about the roots pushing up the sidewalks? All of those things come into play. I would want to know is there money in the budget, is there money in reserves to pay for those kinds of repairs.

Attorney Tom Olsen: Again, if you want to get your HOA question in to attorney Jim Olsen, he's standing by to lend us his expertise.