How to Get Condo Documents: Questionnaires, Master Insurance, Budgets and HOA Disclosures (California)

Documents for a prospective purchaser: Civil Code 4525 and 4530

Civil Code 4525 requires the owner of a unit in a common interest development to give a prospective purchaser specified documents as soon as practicable before transfer of title. The list includes the governing documents, the most recent annual budget report and other documents distributed under Article 7 (beginning with section 5300), a written statement of current regular and special assessments and any unpaid amounts, unresolved violation notices, board-approved assessment changes not yet due, any rental restriction, and the most recent exterior elevated element inspection report; board minutes from the previous 12 months are included if the buyer asks.^[1]

Civil Code 4530 puts the association's duty in the owner's hands: on the owner's written request, the association must provide copies to the owner or to any recipient the owner authorizes within 10 days of the request's mailing or delivery. The association may charge the seller a reasonable fee based on its actual cost, must give a written estimate on the section 4528 form when asked, must state and bill the fee separately from other transfer fees, may not charge more for electronic delivery, and may not withhold delivery for anything except payment of that fee.^[2] A lender or escrow officer therefore orders as a recipient the owner authorizes.

The annual budget report: Civil Code 5300

Associations must distribute an annual budget report 30 to 90 days before the end of the fiscal year. It includes a pro forma operating budget, a summary of reserves and the reserve funding plan, statements about deferred repairs, expected special assessments and outstanding loans, and, for condominium projects, statements about FHA and VA approval status.^[4] For a lender, the budget report can answer a questionnaire's budget and reserve questions.

Master insurance and the unit owner's HO-6 policy

The budget report must summarize the association's property, general liability, earthquake, flood and fidelity insurance, listing for each policy the insurer, the type of coverage, the policy limit and any deductible. The association may meet part of that duty with copies of the declarations pages. A required notice warns members that the association's policies may not cover their own property and that they may be responsible for part of a deductible.^[4]

That warning is the reason for the owner's HO-6 policy: what the master policy covers depends on the CC&Rs and the policy itself. Ask the managing agent for current declarations pages and the association's insurance broker for a certificate naming the borrower and lender.

Lender questionnaires and Fannie Mae project review

A condo questionnaire is the lender's form, not a document the association is obliged to create. Fannie Mae's Selling Guide describes its Condominium Project Questionnaire (Form 1076) as optional: lenders are encouraged to use it, and a substantially similar form may be used instead.^[3] That is why associations and managers receive many different lender-branded versions.

The current Selling Guide lists these review methods for condo units: a Full Review, Fannie Mae's Project Eligibility Review Service (PERS), FHA project approval, and a waiver of project review for certain projects and transactions.^[3][5] We did not find a method called "limited review" in the August 5, 2026 version of that section, so a request labeled that way may follow an older guide or a lender's own overlay. Ask the lender which guide version its form follows.

In a full review the lender examines the HOA's projected budget, including whether it sets aside at least 10% for replacement reserves (or relies on a qualifying reserve study), checks delinquent common-expense and special assessments against a 15% limit, and verifies the project's insurance against the Selling Guide's insurance chapters. The guide states that Fannie Mae does not itself review insurance policies in this process.^[6] Those facts come from the association's budget, ledgers and insurance documents, which is why the request goes to the manager.

Find the HOA and its managing agent

California associations file a Statement by Common Interest Development Association with the Secretary of State under Civil Code 5405. It lists the association's name and addresses, the name, street address and daytime phone number of any managing agent, the development's location, type and number of units, and must be updated within 60 days when the managing agent or onsite office changes. Apart from the president's contact details, the information is open to public inspection under the California Public Records Act.^[7]

Search the association's name in the Secretary of State's bizfile Online business search to find its entity record. Because the filed information is open to public inspection, the Secretary of State is the place to ask for it if it is not shown online. Our Los Angeles condo directory links each building we track to its profile, which helps match a street address to a building name.

• California Secretary of State bizfile OnlineThe association's entity record and filings
• Our condo association directoryBuildings we track, linked to their profiles

How long it takes

Civil Code 4530 sets one deadline: 10 days from the mailing or delivery of the owner's written request for the section 4525 documents.^[2] We found no statutory deadline for lender questionnaires or insurance certificates. Their timing varies by manager and broker, so ask when you order.