This book guides the reader through the perils and opportunities of buying a home in a
community association. Condominiums, townhomes, cooperatives, and single-family
homes in community associations share similar financial and governance issues
that may affect your pocketbook or quality of life. Learn how to ask for the right
information, ask the right questions, and decide for yourself the best
home that reflects your values, lifestyle, and budget and of course to help avoid
a major surprise after purchase.
For those already living in community associations, this informative guide will remove a
lot of the confusion and clear up misperceptions about what’s going on in the
association and why. Broaden your understanding of the nature and value of community
association living by reading this book.
ABOUT THE AUTHOR: David T. Schwindt, certified public accountant, consultant, and reserve
study specialist, distills more than thirty years of community association experience
into an easy-to-understand resource that includes tips, best practices, and ways to create
community and harmony within an association.
CONTENTS
Preface
Introduction
1: What Am I Really Buying?
2: Terms Used in This Book
3: Buying a Condominium: Dispelling Myths
4: The Legal Foundation
5: Condominiums and PUDs—Formation and Operations
6: Management vs. Self-Management
7: Covenants, Conditions, and Restrictions (CC&Rs) and Local, State, and Federal Statutes
8: Rules and Regulations
9: Minutes
10: Governance
11: Legal Issues
12: Incorporation
13: Investment Properties
14: Financial Management
15: Financial Audits: Necessary Evil or Source of Valuable Information?
16: Reserve Studies and Funding
17: Property Maintenance and Condition Assessment
18: New Construction and Conversion Issues
19: Insurance
20: Online Banking, Cyber Theft, and Internal Controls
21: FHA Certification
22: Timeshares
23: Cooperatives
24: Manufactured Home Communities
25: Master Community Associations
26: Cohousing and Intentional Communities
27: Assembling the Professional Team When Purchasing a Home within a Community Association
28: The Offer and Documents to Request
29: Analyzing Information
30: The Decision of Buying or Staying within an Association
Epilogue
Acknowledgments
Appendices: Advanced and Supporting Topics
Appendix A: Financial Concepts
Appendix B: Record Retention Policy
Appendix C: Example Documents—Resolutions and Policies and 70-604 Election Letter Recommended Format
Appendix D: Example Chart of Accounts for Homeowners Associations
Appendix E: Reserve Funding and the Risk Mitigation Matrix
Appendix F: Typical Board Meeting Agenda
"Homeowner association boards need all the help they can get to aid them in making good decisions that
benefit the members of the association. The Condo Book is packed full of best practices
that board members and managers can put to use immediately. In addition, buying a home nowadays
requires more than just finding what you can afford, looking at what is on the market,
and, after selecting one, doing a whole home inspection and appraisal. Condominiums and townhomes, and even
single-family homes are now most likely to be part of a homeowners association, and the new buyer needs
someone to unravel and explain the labyrinth which the declaration and bylaws—the governing documents
of ownership—have created. The Condo Book helps buyers ask the right questions to help determine
if the association is the right fit. This book may well be the best investment you make, whether you are in
the process of finding that new home or serving on the board of directors, to help you in making good decisions."
Tim Moore, CMCA
