That is so awful, Reed! What a terrible experience.
I'm an agent who has helped both low-income buyers and rental investors purchase condos in Portland. Looking at a lot of the cheapest condos in the metro area... I've seen a lot.
I don’t know what’s different in Washington, but for anyone else's future reference, the standard OREF Condo Sale Agreement form that Oregon real estate agents use includes a list of all the documents related to the condo association that the seller must provide at their expense and by a certain deadline. Then the buyer has a certain number of days after receiving all the documents to review them. That period is a contingency that protects earnest money. Essentially, if the seller never provides every document on the list even if they've provided some of them, the buyer's review period never begins. It sounds like that's the situation you were in. Most listing agents and sellers are not diligent enough to submit every document, or they are not proactive in communication to say, "This is everything. There is no document pertaining to XYZ."
Reviewing condo documents is a hard part of being an agent especially for people without an absolute abundance of cash sitting around. Those folks should hire a lawyer to review the HOA documents for them. Real estate agents do not take the liability for collecting and reviewing all the documents. I tell my buyers that I will help them organize the documents and glance over them but that it's their responsibility to read them and raise any questions or concerns.
The board meeting minutes can be a good place to begin looking for upcoming litigation and assessments. How did you first come to know or suspect an assessment was coming?
Here is my personal checklist based on the sale agreement list of documents:
A1.The HOA articles of incorporation. [Declaration of Covenants, Conditions and Restrictions (CC&Rs)]
A2. bylaws, including any revisions or amendments thereto.
B. HOA Rules and regulations, including any revisions or amendments thereto.
C .Policies, agreements, notices (not included in the requested items above) relating to: age restrictions, pets, parking, any restrictions on rental of homes.
D. All minutes of meetings for the preceding __ months for the HOA and the board of directors.
E. Documents verifying coverage under the current policies of casualty and liability insurance for the HOA and its directors and officers ("D&O insurance").
F. Documents verifying the current HOA assessments and budget, together with any HOA notices relating to potential increases in the assessments or any potential special assessments.
G. Documents prepared for the HOA or its directors and/or officers acting in their official capacity, such as inspection reports, studies, bids or proposals for repair or replacement of any actual or suspected material defects in the structural integrity or safety of the Property, and its limited or common areas.
H. Documents relating to any demands or claims made by or against the HOA relating to any actual or suspected material defects in the structural integrity or safety of the Property, and its limited or general common areas.
I. Documents showing the latest reserve study conducted by or for the HOA together with current reserve fund figures.
J. The total number of homes/units with assessments over 30 days past due expressed as a percentage of total numbers of homes/units in the community.
K. The total number of homes/units that are not owner occupied, expressed as percentage of total number of homes/units in the community.
Best of luck on your next transaction!
