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But I'm wondering how I can communicate this to them politely.
Why would you be polite about it? I believe rudeness can be a valuable tool in life occasionally. I also think you should back out of the sale completely. If they're this invasive before the sale, imagine how they will act after, when they've got you bent over a barrel
The thing that bothers me is that this isn't a job interview, or even a rental situation,---I'm buying a condo. I don't feel like I should have to reveal anything personal about myself that isn't legally necessary. Providing personal references? I find that downright insulting.
Also the contract has a tight deadline so if they can't get their stupid interview arranged in time, they had better not screw up my purchase of the condo.
Why would you be polite about it? I believe rudeness can be a valuable tool in life occasionally. I also think you should back out of the sale completely. If they're this invasive before the sale, imagine how they will act after, when they've got you bent over a barrel
Right now I am trying to be polite because they're going to be my neighbours, plus they will be the ones deciding if I am "approved" to live there.
I'd say at least half the complex are snowbirds so they won't be there much of the year anyway...thank goodness.
whats the monthly hoa charge? does the rate have to be voted on to increase or can the hoa board increase the rate at any time,,
also make sure you know what the true taxes are
if taxes are high, and hoa is high,,,this will be a tough resell
you can also ask what the occupancy rate is amongst the condos,,,,,this makes a difference- is it 50% 75% above 90% ...if a low rate,,,then that hoa rate can skyrocket,,
also, go talk to an existing condo owner,,,get some inside scoop on the place,,,take it with a grain of salt,,but never hurts to get some straight talk..
knowledge is power ....and emotions can be weakness... learn all you can
also find out what the last condos of this place sold for..
you may get an eye-opener..
Sounds like the HOA is attempting to take advantage of the demand. That being the case, you should probably just go ahead and close ... and ignore the HOA. (What can they do? ....Come to your closing and stop the proceedings?) -- You might want to involve an attorney to do your closing and inform him of the situation, in the event something comes up.
You have no idea what you are talking about but, worse, you are giving awful advice. It's a condo association, not a HOA, and they aren't trying to take advantage of anything. The title company or attorney doing the closing will need an estoppel letter from the association to close so, obviously, the association will know what is going on. I am a REALTOR and I am on a condo board and I am telling you that asking for this information and doing a background check on new buyers and/or tenants is a common practice. The condo docs contain all the rights, responsibilities, and powers of the board. They can do anything they legally are allowed to do as long as the condo docs support it because it is, to coin a phrase, with the consent of the governed.
I'm buying a condo in Florida, in cash. The seller has already accepted the offer.
The Condominium Association there says that they have to approve the sale, so I have to fill out an application.
On the application they want:
- my social security number
- bank account number
- copy of birth certificate
- copy of driver's license
- previous address etc
- references
- and two more pages of information
And an interview. I don't even live in Florida yet, so I'm assuming a phone interview will suffice. I've already met some of the condo association members when I visited, so it's not like they haven't met me.
I'm paying cash. The previous owner's estate has already accepted my offer. I'm obviously not insolvent. THe monthly condo fee is low and I would be responsible for my own utilities. It's not a rental property. So, much of this information seems unnecessary and also none of their business, and leaving me at risk of identity theft if the information gets in the wrong hands. They seem very casual about their record-keeping and I have no assurances about how they would store this information.
For example, I don't mind if they phone my bank and my bank is allowed to tell them I have a bank acccount and enough money to cover say a year or two of condo fees, but to provide them with my account number?
This is not a professionally managed property management company but a homeowner's association, who do not seem to be very good at record keeping, given that they cannot seem to come up with any of the documents I am supposed to be supplied with. When I asked for a copy of the by-laws and rules they said "can't you get that from the previous owner?" --- it's an estate sale and she's dead.
I had a condo in Kentucky for years, and I never had to go through any of this B.S.
Is this typical, does anyone know? Is it even legal?
Most self managed associations that I have had the unfortunate pleasure to deal with, have no concept of the law whatsoever. Even some professional assoc. management companies stray far beyond what is acceptable in some of their actions. They do not need to give anyone "permission" to buy a property! Yes, they will want some information but that is normally limited to your contact information, proof of insurance, management company if it's a rental, etc. I think I would have my attorney review the document you have there, and write a formal reply on letterhead, and send it to them.
Frankly, I would withdraw my offer and move on. I can't imagine living in such a building where the other owners are of this mindset.
The OP is wanting to close on a co-op, not a condo. I live in a co-op and while one of the questions is inappropriate (bank account number) the others, as I recall, are not. References are very important because they want to know if the resident(s) will be good tenants. It is much more complicated to evict a co-op resident than a renter. For example, we have a tenant who has a piano. We have other pianos in the building with no problem but this guy is also hard of hearing, his piano was in the basement of his former home, and he is being a PITA when we try to manage his 'concerts'. Our board should have done more than a more than preemptory review of his references they may have been able to nip this in the bud.
The other questions go to identity and legal residency in the US, the ability to do a background check and perhaps to do a credit record check.
We had to submit a financial statement demonstrating that we had sufficient income to pay our HOA fees.
If it does turn out that they are legit in asking for all that, I would ask them to provide a privacy statement and something outlining the steps they take to secure your info as well as the people who are allowed to access it. SSN and bank account is Enough for an unscrupulous person to ruin you.
Also, the no reserve is a huge red flag. So what if they have enough to pay the bills each month? Reserves are for periodic large capital expenses like fixing roofs, pools, etc and have nothing to do with ongoing normal expenditures.
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