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I'm Sandi Warner with Warner Realty Group. This post is about the set of Documents that are part of the "Condo Docs" that a Buyer or Seller will receive and review when purchasing or selling a Condominium. The first section is called the Declaration of Condominium. Under Rhode Island law the condominium's "declaration" is the document recorded in a municipality's land evidence records in order to create the condominium. The "Declaration" contains all the minute details of the association from a physical point of view. The declaration describes:
- Physical Boundaries of the units
- Common Areas, Limited Common Areas and Unit
- The Land description
- Any allowable restrictions on ownership
This document is public record, it's recorded in the Land Evidence records of the town where it's located and you can find this document by searching public records or going to your property records office.
In Rhode Island, you can usually find this full document by searching uslandrecords.com and entering the name of the Association.
The second piece is the Bylaws. The by-laws contain the rules for the governing body. That could be a Homeowner's Association, a Board or some other permissible form of oversight.
The By-Laws contain things like:
- Structure and type of governing body
- Number of meetings required annually
- Notice requirements for meetings
- Voting rights for owners
The third part of the documents is the Rules & Regs. Rules and Regs can generally be updated fairly easily by the Board of Directors, HOA or governing Body. There are often held in a separate location than the original set, so be sure and ask for the most up to date Rules & Regs.
Rhode Island's an old state. We've got condominiums dating back to the '70s, organized under the older version of Rhode Island's Condominium Act. You want to ensure you are not giving your client or operating off the original rules and regs if they have been updated. They may not have been, but do some work on that and make sure you get the complete set of the new ones.
The Rules & Regs contain information about living in the association. That means things like:
- Renting the Unit to others
- Pets
- Parking
- Trash
- Decoration of doors and outdoor spaces
The request from the Agent to the Listing Agent is usually "Can you please send over the condo docs", and that refers to this packet of three sets of docs, in addition to any budgets, planning and minutes from meetings that can impact a new owner.
The Buyer and/or the Buyer's attorney will review the documents and make sure they understand what the association requires by it's formation documents. The Buyer may learn that the association will not allow pets, and that can scuttle the deal, so be thorough!
That was your tip for today. Hopefully, that helps you if you're an agent and you can represent your buyer better or your seller better.
And if you're looking to purchase a condo, that's how you want to review those documents. Call us at 401-236-8685 if we can help you Sell or Buy a condo.