Incomplete Condominium Documents Do Not Suffice!

Those pesky condo docs! Do you know what I'm talking about? In some cases the paperwork in those docs if placed from end to end could reach Mars and back. Why on earth are they so important and why on earth are we required by Florida law to deliver them to the buyer before closing?

The Answer: Who cares why...we ARE required by law to deliver them to the buyer and the buyer has 3 days (or 15 days for new condominiums) to review them.

Well, who reads those stupid documents anyway? I must admit. I don't think everybody reads them but I do know that the smart people I work with DO read them or at least have their attorneys review them to makes sure the association is running the way it should and that they're making an intelligent purchase.

It's also the documentation to review to make sure you have the ability to use the property the way you intend. For example: Those documents explain how many pets you can have on the property, whether or not you can grill from your balcony, how often you can rent your unit and lots of other important facts.

So why is delivering a complete set of documents such a trying task if it's the law? Shall we consider who's in charge of getting the documents to the buyer? First there's the association....the people working the desk...do you think they really...really care if a few pages are missing. I'll give you one guess.

Then there's the agents involved in the transaction. Do you think they really, I mean REALLY care if the whole set is there? Many do, some don't because who reads those things anyway right? WRONG!

It's not uncommon to find out that there are incomplete pages. It's sad but true.

In my experience there has only been one time when a buyer backed out after discovering the association had been mishandling funds and proved to be in complete disarray. Specifically, my buyer had discovered that there was a great sum of money missing and due to the problem, condo owners were being greatly assessed to make up for the money that had been "misplaced" because there were repairs needed and of course, no money to complete them.

It just so happened the buyer was also a great friend of mine. Thanks to those docs., he was able to uncover the issue and back all the way out of that mess without being required to close and without losing his earnest money. Talk about dodging a bullet!

There was another time when I duked it out with a very LARGE homeowners association because they had not given me a full set of documents. I'll never forget that day because several members from the association kept insisting that they had given me everything I "needed" and that I was the only one who disagreed and they had closed several hundreds of transactions that same year and I was basically the only agent protesting and I was crazy for continuing the conversation.

I FELT SO STUPID! But, I stood my ground and basically said, I will not leave this building until I have all of the documents so you can find them or not but when it comes time for you to go home tonight, I will still be here waiting.

ALL OF THOSE PEOPLE WERE SO MAD AT ME! They took turns coming up to the front and pleading with me that I had everything I needed.

I held firm.

While sitting there I thought about all of the properties I knew that had closed recently in that development and the agents who were involved in those transaction many of which I knew were very successful and reputable. I started to question if I was causing a lot of unnecessary drama and what repercussions there would be for creating such a sour taste in everyone's mouth at the association. My reputation for being a great agent and someone any of those people would want to deal with was going down the drain.

Finally, an hour and a half later one of those people came forward with the remaining documents I needed to deliver to the buyer. I still wondered if I had done more damage than necessary. After-all, my seller would've wanted me to do a good job for them but they also would've frowned on making enemies for unnecessary reasons. After-all, the buyer LOVED the house and they were "most definitely" buying the house anyway....or so it seemed at the time.

Funny thing is, a couple of weeks passed and signs of a cooling market had started to take place. That along with hurricane threats are possibly what spurred the next turn of events. The buyers wanted out of the contract.

They sent a letter from their attorney stating they wanted to extend closing 60 days or they would back out of the deal. After speaking with my seller, we said no.

Then the buyer's said they had an "out" if we didn't allow them to extend. The seller's attorney called me and reinstated the fact that they "probably had an out". Again, I stayed firm. No, they don't have an out, I confirmed.

After explaining my position with the seller's attorney and the drama that had gone on that day at the association, he told the seller on the other end of the conference call that the buyer in fact, had "no out" and if they wanted out, we would have rights to the $100,000 deposit.

Closing took place 2 days before a hurricane hit our area.

Needless to say, those pesky condo and homeowner documents are in fact required by law and with that, you will receive them. Even if the other agent doesn't want to assist and even if the homeowners association wants to make me feel like a moron. It's what smart agents do to keep the deal going in the appropriate direction regardless of whether they're working for the buyer or the seller.