What should I know about an HOA in Florida before I buy?

It tells you that you will have to pay the association's assessments, that they can change, and that not paying them can put a lien on the house. If you did not get it before signing, you can cancel the contract in writing within 3 days of receiving it, or before closing, whichever comes first. You also take on the last owner's unpaid assessments: the law makes a buyer liable with the seller for everything due up to the day title passes, so have them paid at closing. The association can fine up to $100 a violation, and $1,000 in all for one that continues, unless its own documents allow more. It must first give you 14 days' written notice and a hearing before a committee of at least three owners who are not directors, officers or employees of the association, and a fine under $1,000 cannot become a lien. Its documents cannot stop you from using Florida-friendly landscaping, flying up to two portable flags, or parking your own car or pickup in your driveway. Owners may see the association's records within 10 business days of a written request, and an association of 100 or more homes must post its main documents on a website or app. No state agency oversees homeowners associations the way one oversees condos; the state's part is mainly election and recall disputes and mediation.

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