Monday, December 23, 2013

Homeowners group targets HOA transfer fees in Colorado - The Denver Post

Homeowners group targets HOA transfer fees in Colorado - The Denver Post: "Community managers have never justified this fee," said Stan Hrincevich, president of the Colorado HOA Forum, who calls the charges "costly" and "unwarranted."

Hrincevich said he has seen transfer fees ranging from $50 to $500 or more and estimates they average about $200 per sale.

He argues that transfers should be handled as part of existing administrative costs, given that they usually involve nothing more than a form letter drafted from existing HOA records.

Hrincevich said his group is working with state Rep. Jeanne Labuda, D-Denver, and state Sen. John Kefalas, D- Fort Collins, on a bill that would either eliminate the transfer fees or cap them at $50.

1 comment:

IC_deLight said...

Watch CAI come out of the woodwork. This is a windfall fee that the management companies expect to collect when you sell YOUR property.

They do not represent you, they are not acting in your interest, and you did not contract with them. The "service" provided is one they are already obligated to perform for their client. In addition, the management companies are charging:

"resale certificate" fees
"certificate of compliance" fees
"two months assessments" fees
"transfer" fees
"subdivision/condo information" fees
"administrative/supply transfer fee"


#1, 2, 4 are windfall fees.
#1 is sometimes called an estoppel certificate
#2 is similar to #1 but mgmt companies charge both
#3 lets the management company profit off of advance collections. They rarely hold monies in accounts owned by the HOA. Instead the funds are held in management company accounts.
#4 is a pure windfall. They claim all sorts of things associated with that fee but in reality they charge separately for those too.
#5 they might provide documents, however, the documents are not worth the charge and the charge is an impediment to buyers being able to effectively examine the information. Nowadays the info is put on CD and should be available freely (like a prospectus) or provided for nominal charge, i.e., $1 instead of the $300-$1,000 typically charged
#6 this is a fee for remotes, keys, etc. plus handling. This is charged separately from "transfer fees" and other fees.