What to Request From a Montebello Condo or Owners Association Before You Offer

Yes. The Commission proposed amending the Condominium Resale Certificate so the language in its Paragraphs K and L conforms with section 82.157 of the Texas Property Code. Its announcement says the Broker-Lawyer Committee recommended the changes, and the Commission adopted them at its November 4 meeting. The changes took effect January 3, 2025. The updated certificate, TREC No. 32-5, is a voluntary-use form.

For a buyer at Montebello, the useful check is the version and the date. Ask which form number the association used for the home you are considering. Then look at the date the certificate was prepared. If the version or the date looks wrong, raise it in writing with the selling owner's agent before you sign.

The Texas Real Estate Commission's owners association resale certificate, form 37-5, complies with Chapter 207 of the Texas Property Code. It reports assessments, judgments, any right of first refusal on resale and other information about the association. The form covers property subject to mandatory membership in a property owners' association. A condominium sale, such as one at Montebello, has its own certificate, form 32-5, which the condominium association prepares.

Two of those items are worth raising early: a judgment against the association and a right of first refusal on resale. Both can change how a purchase proceeds, so ask about them before your option period closes. If a home on your shortlist carries mandatory membership in a property owners' association, ask for form 37-5 by its number.

Ten business days. The Texas Real Estate Research Center says a property owners' association must deliver the subdivision information within 10 business days of the request. That rule belongs to Chapter 207 associations. A condominium such as Montebello prepares its certificate on a separate Texas Real Estate Commission form, so ask its association directly how long it takes.

The Center reads Section 207.003 as requiring three items: the subdivision restrictions, the bylaws and rules, and a resale certificate. The clock starts with the request itself. Keep a dated copy of that request, and count business days rather than calendar days.

Yes, inside a set window. The Texas Real Estate Research Center says that under Chapter 207, an updated resale certificate, if one is necessary, must be requested within 180 days of the original certificate's issuance. The association must then provide it within seven business days after the new request. That window is a Chapter 207 rule for subdivision owners associations, separate from the condominium certificate at Montebello.

Each clock has its own starting point. The 180 days run from the date the original certificate was issued. The seven business days run from the date of the new request. A condominium certificate answers to Section 82.157 of the Texas Property Code instead, so read the Montebello certificate on its own terms.

Yes. The Texas Real Estate Research Center notes that the Seller's Disclosure Notice, form 55-0, also has a disclosure of property owners' association maintenance fees and assessments. Read that disclosure beside the association's own resale certificate. The certificate is prepared by the association, while the disclosure notice is the seller's own statement, so the two documents come from different hands.

Where the two documents disagree on a fee or an assessment, send the question to the association in writing. Ask for a dated answer, and keep it with the rest of your file.