The Condo HOA Playbook: Questions to Ask Before You Buy
When you buy a condo, you buy into the association. Its budget, reserves, insurance and rules affect your monthly cost, your loan and your resale. Our free Condo HOA Playbook gives you 35 key questions to ask, what good and bad answers sound like, and real rules from recent Greater Cleveland listings.
Get the free The Condo HOA Playbook: Questions to Ask Before You Buy
35 key questions about reserves, special assessments, insurance, rental caps, pets and governance, with what good and bad answers look like, real local examples and a red-flag scorecard. Enter your name and email and the PDF downloads right away.
What’s inside
- Reserves and the budget: percent funded, reserve contributions, loans and delinquencies
- Special assessments and insurance: how to spot one coming and what your HO-6 must cover
- Rental caps and leasing rules: caps, waiting lists, minimum terms, owner-occupancy requirements and short-term rental bans
- Pets, rules, governance and litigation
- A red-flag scorecard to compare associations
Real rules from recent Greater Cleveland listings
- One Rocky River association reported about 56% of units rented against a 50% cap, so no new rentals until the share drops.
- Some Shaker Heights, Cleveland Heights and Euclid associations require owners to live in the unit for one to three years before leasing.
- Many Rocky River, Westlake, North Royalton and Fairview Park ranch and townhouse communities report no leasing at all.
- Most downtown and Lakewood high-rises report a short-term rental ban or a minimum lease of 30 days to 12 months.
Summarized from MLS Now listing remarks, November 2024 to October 2026. Rules change by owner vote; confirm with the association.
Find your association: our Greater Cleveland Condo HOA Directory lists 435 condo associations with their management companies, recent condo fees, and pet and leasing rules.
Frequently Asked Questions
What questions should I ask a condo HOA before buying?
Ask how much is in reserves and what percent funded the association is, when the last reserve study was done, whether any special assessments are planned, what the master insurance covers and its deductible, whether leasing is allowed or capped, what the pet policy is, and whether the association is involved in any lawsuits.
What is a condo rental cap?
A limit on how many units can be rented at once, often 50% or less. If the building is at its cap, new owners may have to join a waiting list before they can lease.
How can I tell if a special assessment is coming?
Read 12 to 24 months of board minutes, the reserve study and the budget. Large projects such as roofs, balconies, elevators or garage decks with too little saved are the warning signs.
What is percent funded in a reserve study?
It compares the money in reserves with what the reserve study says should have been saved by now. About 70% or more is generally considered strong; under 30% means a higher risk of assessments.
Who pays a special assessment when a condo sells?
It depends on the purchase agreement. In Greater Cleveland, buyers and sellers negotiate who pays assessments approved before closing, and the title company collects or credits them on the settlement statement.
More free condo guides
Talk to a Condo Specialist
Call the My Cleveland Condo team at (216) 916-7778 or contact us. For condo financing, call Matt Sheffey, our Condo Financing Specialist, at (440) 668-2942. For title and escrow, call Jennifer Schultz at Trilogy Title Agency, 440-371-4043.