Change my "condo" to a "single family residence"?

[misterdna]

What is the name of your state (only U.S. law)? CALIFORNIA

I live in a line of six freestanding homes, titled as condominiums. When purchasing my unit about six years ago, I received paperwork from escrow stating the HOA had been disbanded. There are no CC&Rs, no association dues, and the only thing that keeps each property from physically seeming 100% like a single family residence is each pair of homes share a driveway from their garage to the street (and it almost seems you could draw a line down the middle to divide the property, though each pair of property owners would need the right to use the other half of the driveway in order to get in and out of the garage). Other than each pair of houses sharing a driveway, there are no arbitrary common areas.

My question is, is it possible to change title on some/all six units to single family residence? If so, what is the procedure? Would it require a ton of work and/or money? Assuming it's possible, are there any downsides I'm not considering (would my mortgage, insurance, etc. all have to be redone because what was initally a condo is now a single family residence?).

My reasons for exploring this idea are: (1) seems like it might be easier to sell for a better price if titles showed the unit as a house instead of a condo (I often see the ads on these units as "house" anyway), and (2) I actually had some problems with a refi because (supposedly) lenders wanted to see an HOA and necessary HOA insurance on any property titled as a condominium.What is the name of your state (only U.S. law)?

[HomeGuru]

Originally Posted by misterdna

What is the name of your state (only U.S. law)? CALIFORNIA

I live in a line of six freestanding homes, titled as condominiums. When purchasing my unit about six years ago, I received paperwork from escrow stating the HOA had been disbanded. There are no CC&Rs, no association dues, and the only thing that keeps each property from physically seeming 100% like a single family residence is each pair of homes share a driveway from their garage to the street (and it almost seems you could draw a line down the middle to divide the property, though each pair of property owners would need the right to use the other half of the driveway in order to get in and out of the garage). Other than each pair of houses sharing a driveway, there are no arbitrary common areas.

My question is, is it possible to change title on some/all six units to single family residence? If so, what is the procedure? Would it require a ton of work and/or money? Assuming it's possible, are there any downsides I'm not considering (would my mortgage, insurance, etc. all have to be redone because what was initally a condo is now a single family residence?).

My reasons for exploring this idea are: (1) seems like it might be easier to sell for a better price if titles showed the unit as a house instead of a condo (I often see the ads on these units as "house" anyway), and (2) I actually had some problems with a refi because (supposedly) lenders wanted to see an HOA and necessary HOA insurance on any property titled as a condominium.What is the name of your state (only U.S. law)?

**A: I suggest you have an attorney review your title report.