Dear Forms Committee: What is the best way to determine who is responsible for paying any applicable HOA transfer fee?

In many transactions, the HOA documents (CC&Rs or Bylaws) specify who is responsible for paying any applicable transfer fee.  Links to the CC&Rs and Bylaws are typically included in the Preliminary Title Report, although it may take some hunting through them to find the answer. If there is no apparent answer, a call to the HOA manager may yield quick results.  If the HOA and its documents don’t provide the information, the buyer and seller should allocate that responsibility in an addendum or in the additional provisions of the Sale Agreement.

Follow-up Question: If a party learns that a high HOA transfer fee is their responsibility, can they terminate?

Like so many legal issues, the answer depends.  If the fee is high enough to be “material” (in other words, if it would make a difference in the value of the property or a party’s willingness to buy or sell the property), then Oregon law gives the party the right to terminate within a reasonable time.  Most transfer fees are not high enough to be considered material.

All comments and responses from OREF or its staff, managers, and volunteers are non-legal opinions made for general purposes. Each Forms subscriber must rely solely upon their Principal broker or personal legal counsel for specific advice and instruction. You and your client should independently confirm that the Form(s) you use are legally suitable for the purposes intended and that they are current with respect to all laws and regulations.