This blog is intended to be a comprehensive guide to Sun Lakes Homeowner Associations. Sun Lakes is a top choice for those seeking homes in an active adult community. HOA’s carry rules and regulations that are important for any buyer to know and should be reviewed carefully during the inspection period. For some HOA’s imply strict rules and a list of what one can and cannot do with their property. While it is true that homeowner associations are rules and regulations that govern the homeowner association, without them property values can decline. It is important to understand the CC&R’s of a homeowner association when buying a property. CC&R is the Covenants, Conditions and Restrictions within an HOA.
Sun Lakes Homeowner Associations
Sun Lakes Arizona has three separate homeowner associations. Sun Lakes Country Club is the homeowner association that governs the first of the five Sun Lakes communities. Located at 25601 Sun Lakes Blvd in Sun Lakes Arizona this HOA can be reached at 480-895-9270. Cottonwood Palo Verde homeowner association is known as SLHOA2 (Sun Lakes Homeowner Association 2). They are located at 25630 S Brentwood in Sun Lakes AZ and can be reached at 480-895-3550. IronOaks homeowner association or SLHOA3 governs Ironwood and Oakwood Country Clubs and is located at 24218 Oakwood Blvd in Sun Lakes Arizona and they can be reached at 480-895-7275.
Things to know about Sun Lakes Homeowner Associations
When buying a home in Sun Lakes Arizona it is important to know what is in the CC&R’s. Upon opening escrow with earnest money deposit the title company will notify the appropriate homeowner association that there is an offer to purchase on that particular property. The HOA will prepare documents that will be sent to the buyer, normally electronically, by an organization known as Condo Certs, the administrative company that handles the transaction. As a buyer you will receive a statement indicating the annual dues (assessments), transfer fees, any outstanding liens on the property from the homeowner association and other financial information associated with the property being purchased. The buyer will also receive the homeowner association CC&R’s and rules and regulations. It is very important to read over this rather large document as these are the covenants, conditions and restrictions that you will agree to when buying a property in Sun Lakes.
Some things to note:
- Financial stability – review the financial statement and note the reserve fund. In the IronOaks HOA $300.00 of the annual $1750 current dues will go into the reserve fund. That fund is used to fund future capital improvement and unexpected operating expenditures.
- Past assessments – Sun Lakes Country Club and SLHOA2 dues have remained fairly consistent over the past few years. SLHOA3 has had slight increases over the past few years.
- Special assessments – are there any special assessments pending? The seller is required to notify you on the HOA addendum that accompanies the purchase contract if any are known. Some homeowners may not be aware so ask the HOA or review the financial data they sent to find out what assessments may be pending. For example, the SLHOA3 has discussed assessing each homeowner in the neighborhood of up to $200.00 to help fund the Lakes golf course renovation. It has not been proposed or voted on by the Board as of this writing but it is in discussion. Those are things you will want to know when buying a home.
- What are the restrictions? If you own and RV for example, you have a limited amount of time to park it on the street in front of your house for loading and unloading. You cannot park on the street overnight. Cars must be in the driveway. No signage can be on a car overnight (for example a Realtor magnet or any other business magnet). There are a number of restrictions that while protecting home property values, they may also be something you were unaware of and cannot live with.
- What are the rules for expansion? Should you want to add a golf cart garage, casita, pool or remodel an area you will need to know the setbacks and rules for expansion. The time to find out is before you buy.
- According to the Arizona law the buyer has five days to accept the HOA documents. If you find there are things in the documents that you cannot live with you will need to notify your buyer’s agent in plenty of time so that they can prepare a timely cancellation of the purchase contract.
If you are buying property in Sun Lakes Country Club, Cottonwood, Palo Verde, Ironwood or Oakwood Country Clubs you will be governed by one of the Sun Lakes homeowner associations. Take time to review the CC&R’s and rules and regulations during the inspection period to familiarize yourself with what you are agreeing to in the purchase of a home. Phone numbers and addresses above are provided so that you can call or visit the HOA where you are considering a purchase and ask they any specific questions you have. The personnel at the various HOA offices in Sun Lakes are most helpful and will be glad to answer any questions you have before submitting an offer on a home.
Sal Martinez says
We are thinking of purchasing a home and need to know if there are any pet restrictions? Martinez