A checklist with a score at the end. It asks twelve questions about a homeowners association (HOA), and you answer each one from the association’s own documents.
Who is it for?
A South Bay buyer of a condo, a townhome or any home with an HOA, once the HOA documents arrive during escrow. An owner can use it on their own building the same way.
How do I use it?
Sign up, then keep the HOA documents in front of you. For each question, type the number or pick the answer the documents give. Each question tells you where to look. Your answer fills a circle: full, half or empty. If you cannot find a figure, choose “I can’t find this” and keep going.
When do I get my score?
Right away. The count of full circles updates with every answer, so you can start with what you have and add more as you find it. Once every question has an answer, the scorecard adds one sentence on what a mortgage lender is likely to do next.
What do I do with my score?
Treat each half or empty circle as a question to ask. Take the scorecard to your agent and your lender while your contract still gives you time to review the documents and cancel. Your agent can get any missing answer from the HOA’s property manager. You can also put the five topics in the order that matters to you, and the scorecard gives a second score weighted your way. Both scores count answers from the documents. They do not grade the building, and they do not tell you whether to buy.
None of the figures you enter on the scorecard are saved or sent anywhere.
The scorecard
Twelve questions, answered from your HOA documents
0 full circles0 of 12 answeredYour own score: 0 out of 100
For each question, type the number or pick the answer from your HOA documents. Each question tells you where to look. Nothing is saved or sent.
Full circle: the answer meets the standard for that question.
Half circle: partway.
Empty circle: it does not meet the standard.
Can’t find a figure? Choose “I can’t find this” and keep going. You still get a score, and the scorecard tells you what to ask for.
“Your deadline to cancel” on this scorecard means the days your purchase contract gives you to review these documents and cancel. Your agent can tell you the date.
What this is and how to use it
What is it?
A checklist with a score at the end. It asks twelve questions about a homeowners association (HOA), and you answer each one from the association’s own documents.
Who is it for?
A South Bay buyer of a condo, a townhome or any home with an HOA, once the HOA documents arrive during escrow. An owner can use it on their own building the same way.
How do I use it?
Sign up, then keep the HOA documents in front of you. For each question, type the number or pick the answer the documents give. Each question tells you where to look. Your answer fills a circle: full, half or empty. If you cannot find a figure, choose “I can’t find this” and keep going.
When do I get my score?
Right away. The count of full circles updates with every answer, so you can start with what you have and add more as you find it. Once every question has an answer, the scorecard adds one sentence on what a mortgage lender is likely to do next.
What do I do with my score?
Treat each half or empty circle as a question to ask. Take the scorecard to your agent and your lender while your contract still gives you time to review the documents and cancel. Your agent can get any missing answer from the HOA’s property manager. You can also put the five topics in the order that matters to you, and the scorecard gives a second score weighted your way. Both scores count answers from the documents. They do not grade the building, and they do not tell you whether to buy.
None of the figures you enter on the scorecard are saved or sent anywhere.
1
Reserves, percent funded
Where to find it: Open the one- or two-page form titled “Assessment and Reserve Funding Disclosure Summary.” It comes inside the Annual Budget Report. Look for the words “percent funded.” The summary page of the reserve study shows the same number.
Full at 70 or more. Half at 30 to 69. Empty under 30.
Civil Code 5570. Bands: Association Reserves, April 2026
Not answered yet
2
Reserve contribution
Where to find it: Open the yearly budget inside the Annual Budget Report. The reserve figure is the line named “reserve contribution,” “reserve allocation” or “transfer to reserves.” The income figure is the line named “assessment income” or “dues,” near the top. Use the yearly totals.
Full at 10 percent of assessment income or more. Empty below.
Fannie Mae B4-2.2-02
Not answered yet
3
Reserve study age
Where to find it: Open the reserve study. The cover page or the first summary page gives the date of the last site inspection. You only need the year.
Full if inside three years. Empty if older or missing.
Civil Code 5550
Not answered yet
4
Dues history
Where to find it: This year’s dues are on the HOA’s statement of assessments, which arrives with the documents. For the two earlier years, look at older budgets, or ask your agent to get the monthly dues for those years from the HOA’s property manager.
Full if every yearly increase was under 10 percent. Half if one year was 10 to 19. Empty if a year reached the 20 percent board limit.
Civil Code 5605
Not answered yet
5
Special assessments
Where to find it: On the same Disclosure Summary form as question 1, find the part about “special assessments” that are already scheduled. The HOA’s statement of assessments lists them too.
Full if none. Half if one is scheduled with a purpose and completion date. Empty if one is tied to an unfinished critical repair.
Fannie Mae B4-2.1-03
Not answered yet
6
Delinquencies
Where to find it: This is usually missing from the standard documents. Ask your agent to contact the HOA’s property manager and get it for you. The two numbers to ask for: how many units are 60 days or more behind on dues, and how many units there are in total.
Full if under 15 percent of units are 60 or more days past due. Empty at 15 or above.
Fannie Mae B4-2.2-02
Not answered yet
7
Balcony and elevated-element report
Where to find it: Look for a separate report on balconies, stairs and walkways. It is often titled “Exterior Elevated Elements Inspection” or “SB 326 inspection.” Read the first page or the summary.
Full if present with no immediate safety threats. Half if threats are listed with repairs scheduled. Empty if the building needed one and has none. Not applicable under three attached units or with no wood-framed elevated elements.
Civil Code 5551, 4525
Not answered yet
8
Litigation
Where to find it: Ask your agent to get a written answer from the HOA’s property manager on whether the association is in any lawsuit. The board minutes and the lender’s questionnaire also mention lawsuits.
Full if none. Half if a matter exists outside structure, safety and habitability. Empty if a claim concerns structure, safety, habitability or functional use.
Fannie Mae B4-2.1-03
Not answered yet
9
The minutes
Where to find it: Open the board meeting minutes for the last 12 months. If they did not come with your documents, ask for them. Follow each repair from the month it first comes up.
Full if each repair discussed later appears as bid, funded and closed. Half if one item carries for more than six months. Empty if the same water, roof or plumbing item appears in most months with no funding decision.
Chhabria reading practice, not a published standard
Not answered yet
10
Insurance
Where to find it: Open the insurance summary inside the Annual Budget Report, or ask the HOA for its “certificate of insurance.” Check the policy dates and what it says about the inside of the units.
Full if current with the coverage line stated (walls-in or bare walls). Half if current with a non-renewal notice pending. Empty if no certificate is in the documents.
The certificate
Not answered yet
11
Lender status
Where to find it: No document shows this, so it is a question to ask. Ask your agent to put this question to the HOA’s property manager: has a buyer closed with a regular mortgage here in the last 12 months? Then ask your lender whether Fannie Mae lists the building as “unavailable.”
Full if a conventional loan closed in the building in the last twelve months and the project is not marked unavailable. Half if the property manager does not know. Empty if the project is marked unavailable.
Fannie Mae Condo Project Manager
Not answered yet
12
The rules fit your plan
Where to find it: Open the CC&Rs (the association’s recorded rules) and the “Rules and Regulations.” Search for the words rent, lease, pet, parking, remodel and business.
Full if every intention is allowed. Half if one needs board approval. Empty if one is prohibited. An association cannot cap rentals below 25 percent of units and may ban stays of 30 days or less.
The governing documents; Civil Code 4741
Not answered yet
What matters most to you?
Put these five topics in your own order. The topic you put first counts the most in your own score. You can change the order at any time and watch the score move.
What a lender is likely to do
0full circles so far
Answer the twelve questions and this sentence fills in.
