It's been a while since our last post, where we spoke about the new laws enacted by the AZ legislature relating to HOAs. Since then, we have changed our opinion regarding one of those laws. Transfer fees. We thought the changes to A.R.S. 33-1806 were a good thing. Limiting transfer fees seemed like such a good idea. However, upon really analyzing the changes enacted, we believe the legislature may have made a mistake. The way A.R.S. 33-1806 WAS written limited transfer fees to the costs actually incurred by the HOA in preparing paperwork associated with a home purchase. We believe that is fair. A company should be compensated for work it actually performs. What was (and still is) happening, however, is that HOAs and management companies were charging significant fees, sometimes up to $2,000 with every home purchase. People were upset, but nobody wanted to bother with suing. Understandable. Suing is expensive and usually an emotional nightmare. It became an epidemic. The legislature heard about it and decided to take action. Their hearts were in the right place.
Now, with the new law, the HOA has free license to charge up to $400. Plus more in certain situations. $400 for perhaps 15 minutes of work in emailing some documents?? While we may have intended to LIMIT the fees, we ended up giving license to charge even more.
Another wrinkle in the new law. It states it specifically applies to management companies. Does this mean mangement companes are free to charge their own fees? We certainly believe that would be illegal and contrary to the legislature's intent, but what will management companies think when they read and "interpret" the language of the new A.R.S. 33-1806?
We are concerned. We feel that the good intent may be exploited. We believe the limits may ultimately provide justification for charging new owners much more than the actual costs incurred in preparing paperwork.
