I own a condo in a 4 unit condo complex. The front 4 units are exactly the same. We have two sets of CC&R's in place. The CC&R's reference an HOA name for each complex but states that it is not active. It states that the homeowners are responsible for their own maintenance on their home and the surrounding area. The builder decided to not activate the HOA probably to save money on fees.

All of us as owners would like to have a property mgmt company and a blanket insurance policy for the complex. That means we would have this blanket policy for the exterior and get individual condo policies. Right now we have homeowners policies. We want the blanket policy to cover common areas.

My question is:
We spoke to the insurance agent and he is not sure how to reference the complex because the HOA is not activated. That means we need some kind of entity to reference which is usually the HOA. Can we use the two HOA names listed in the CC&R's as the entity?

Thanks

You have to find out exactly how "inactive" the HOA's are and then completely activate them. If they were incorporated then you just have to follow the by-laws for electing officers and preparing a budget. If they were never incorporated then you have to incorporate them before proceeding. Once they're active you can go ahead with insurance.

Nice, that makes sense. That was the missing link. The HOA needs to be activated, be incorporated, and needs by laws. We are trying to avoid that route. I know your not an insurance expert, or maybe you are, but do you think we can get the blanket isnurance without it just with the HOA named listed in the CC&R's? Or should we just keep our homeowners policies?

Definitely keep your homeowners' policies until the HOA is activated. Trying to get insurance without an active HOA will be a problem. If you get it and there's a claim I can easily see the insurance company getting out of paying because it wasn't a valid entity.

This was very good info. Do you or anyone know how I get the HOA activated? We have the HOA name reference in CC&R's. Friends are telling me that we need to have docs for an unicorporated HOA. So do I need an attorney to draw the docs up or is there a templete out there we can use? I know of legalzoom, but that's it. Thanks

I realized I should have start a new thread.. so here goes:

Does anyone know how I get the HOA activated? We have the HOA name reference in CC&R's. Friends are telling me that we need to have docs for an unicorporated HOA. So do I need an attorney to draw the docs up or is there a templete out there we can use? I know of legalzoom, but that's it.

We have a condo complex with no HOA. It was set up as a cloud condo which means it has CC&R's that are created and reference an HOA name, but not activated. The complex has been running without one for 6 years!
Thanks

I know that the condo is small but I still think you'll need an attorney for this. In NJ any condo of any size requires a registration application with the state, a master deed, by-laws, budget and tons of exhibits. Then it gets reviewed by a state agency and it can take months for review and revisions. There are templates available but I doubt you'll find anything like that to be easily accessible.

At least get yourself a free consultation with an attorney who specializes in community association law. You'll get an idea of what your state's requirements are and what it might cost you.