I get this question pretty often. How do I find the recorded documents for a Home Owners Association (HOA)? First, if you really want to have a FULL and up to date copy of these then call the association management company as they almost always have a copy they will sell you for +/- $100. Many associations now have these posted on the public area of their websites well. This is done based upon a title search and will (should be anyway) accurate. They typically have these on hand, in the case of a condominium, as Florida law requires a Buyer of a Condo to be provided with these, should they be requested.
The links below are for properties locating in Palm Beach County but you use a similar throughout the state. Start by looking up the specific property, or even any house in the same HOA, at the county property appraiser’s website. Scroll down and click on the Book/Page of the last Warranty Deed. This will link to the clerk of courts website and open up a deed. Now download the image and look at the legal description. It will say some like ‘Lot 23 of the Plat recorded in Book XXX Page YYYY.’ Now we have the book and page of the original recorded Plat for the community. Next, stay at the Clerk of Courts web site and click on new search. The last tab is a search by “book and page.” Note that one can also search for a recorded plat at this screen for properties in a Home Owners Association. And note the format of the search is Book/Page. Now you have the official ORIGIONAL recorded Plat for the community. What good is it? It shows your house and the easements and community common area ect but most importantly it also has the official name of the association so you can search for any recorded documents. To find all the recorded documents you will again search Clerk of courts web site but this time use the THE SAME LEGAL NAME AS THE PLAT. Any amendments to the association will show as RES (restrictions) or RES A (restrictions amended) for a Home Owners Association. That’s it!
BTW, if you’re an egent reading this and your Broker never told you how to do this, you need a new Broker. If you’re a customer reading this and your agent did not do this for you, you need a new Broker. Call me Chris Ryder@ 561.626.8550.
