Is a Condo Seller liable to pay down all existing Special Assessments, at the closing

[srikanth_condo3]

What is the name of your state? California

Hello,

I bought a condo 1 year ago. When the unit was first shown to me, the Seller's agent, the realtor, said "The HOA is $250 and there is a special assessment, but we can get the seller to pay that off". Now, this was my very first real estate transaction.. So I was (and still am) unclear if the Seller has to pay down all the special assessments, that were levied long time ago, that were being paid monthly.

The minutes of the condo, must have had that detail somewhere in one of the meeting notes, but to be frank, I could not read each of them.

After the first reference of the assessment by the Seller's Agent (who happens to be both my agent and the Sellers' -- Why do I get the feeling that this is my first mistake?), neither the seller nor the agent mentioned it again, and I too forgot.

I got stuck with $250 HOA and $55 per month in Special Assessments.

A couple of months after we moved in, the same seller sold another condo to one of our current neighbors. When we discussed with them on the what the price was, and how everything went with seller, they happened to mention that the Seller paid the assessment on their Unit. Now... Is this legal?

Would this Assessment condition be mentioned in any of the contracts that I signed?

My main questions are:
1. Is the seller legally obligated to pay down all assessments (that were levied years prior to sale) at the time of the closing?
2. If the seller is legally obligated, what recourse do I have now to pursue to either get the money from the seller OR to get my assessment paid down by the seller?

I am a newbie to the Real Estate transactions... please advise. Thanks for taking interest..

 

[PghREA]

My main questions are:
1. Is the seller legally obligated to pay down all assessments (that were levied years prior to sale) at the time of the closing?

** No

2. If the seller is legally obligated, what recourse do I have now to pursue to either get the money from the seller OR to get my assessment paid down by the seller?

** None


The special assessments is a negotiable item which should be addressed on the purchase agreement.

The Seller's responsibility is to disclose the fact that there is a special assessment, which he did. It is up to the Buyer to decide what he wants to do with it.

Your offer to purchase should have been contingent upon the Seller paying the special assessment in full if that is what you wanted him to do. Keep in mind that the Seller most likely would have countered your offer with an amount that would cover his payoff on the special assessment. So, in the long run you would have ended up paying for it anyway if you chose to buy the condo.

 

[nextwife]

Have you reviewed your closing statement? Often these matters will be handled, if paid by seller, as a CREDIT to the buyer. The buyer is, in essence, given the money by the seller on the closing tsatement to pay when the bill comes.