How do I get HOA documents earlier?

[Olga Kostrova]

Hi guys, could you please help me with the newbies challenge?

So, I am comparing 2 shortlisted properties. One condo is in a range of $250K, it has $295 HOA, another around $200K with $495 HOA.

It's obvious that I want to evaluate what each HOA will actually cover, to see if the higher HOA is justified, and then calculate a total cost of property. Let's for now forget about comparing income potentials.

So, the challenge I am having is that my real estate agent says I cannot receive HOA documents until I complete inspection. Comparing to Canadian home buying process where you can see documents before even making an offer, it makes no sense whatsoever to me.

Basically, I need to make an offer blindly, then spend money on inspection, only to find out that I am paying $495 for hardly any benefits, and that their financials are weak etc... So now if I want to drop the deal, I wasted inspection money that i wouldn't need to do if i was able to start my due diligence process with free step of HOA docs revision.

So, is there a way around it? Is there a place where HOA restrictions, financials and all their rules and policies are disclosed publicly or can be requested prior to offer, or at least prior to investing in general inspection?

Thank you.