Condo Purchase - high special assessment

[Maegan Erb]

My husband and I are knee deep in our first REI condo purchase and the HOA is a mess. They let their buildings creep into major water damage over the years and then struggled to pass a special assessment back in 2016. They finally got all the necessary owner signatures for the repairs in 2019. Now in 2020 the repairs are being done. New flashing and siding, windows, roofs and gutters. The seller of the condo we are looking at will pay the lien of $51,000 special assessment from the proceeds of the sale.

I'm wondering if there is anything that I should be looking for as I read the over 400 pages of HOA data and reserve studies?