A CondoCerts charge on your credit card is almost always payment for HOA paperwork ordered during a real estate closing — most often a resale disclosure package, a lender questionnaire, or a dues letter tied to a condo or HOA-governed property changing hands.1CondoCerts. CondoCerts Home The platform sits between property management companies and the buyers, sellers, title companies, and lenders who need those documents to close.2CAMCO Nevada. A Purchaser’s Guide to CondoCerts
Why the Charge Showed Up
Someone involved in a transaction ordered documents through CondoCerts and your card paid for them. The usual orderer is a seller, a title company, or a real estate agent, and the usual items are resale disclosure packages containing the association’s governing documents, financial statements, and account histories that a buyer and lender need before closing.
You may not be the person who placed the order. CondoCerts lets one party place an order and route the bill to someone else using a reference code, so a title company or agent can direct the charge to your card as part of a closing.2CAMCO Nevada. A Purchaser’s Guide to CondoCerts If the charge doesn’t ring a bell, check with the title company or agent handling your sale or purchase before assuming fraud. A second or larger-than-expected charge often reflects add-ons: rush delivery, hard copies, or CDs tacked onto an existing order.
What These Documents Usually Cost
Prices are set by each property management company, not by CondoCerts, so amounts vary. Published fee schedules from management firms using the platform give a workable range:
- Standard resale disclosure package: roughly $165 to $205, with turnaround of about 6 to 10 business days.3Victory Management. Resale Packages4New Concepts Management Group. Resales
- Rush delivery: an added $65 for a 3-day turnaround, pushing a rush package to around $270.4New Concepts Management Group. Resales
- Dues letter: $75 standard, or $140 rushed.4New Concepts Management Group. Resales
- Presale inspection fee (where the association requires one): $200 on top of the package.4New Concepts Management Group. Resales
- Updates: free within 30 days, $25 after that up to the 90-day expiration.4New Concepts Management Group. Resales
Higher amounts do get reported. One Better Business Bureau complaint described paying about $350 for a resale certificate and another $350 for a closing demand in the same transaction.5Better Business Bureau. CondoCerts BBB Business Profile
Whether You Should Be Paying at All
Which side of the deal pays for HOA resale documents depends on the purchase contract and state law. The seller usually covers the resale disclosure package, since providing current association information to the buyer is the seller’s obligation.6FirstService Residential. Who Pays Closing Costs Post-closing fees to register the new owner with the association can fall on the buyer.
Virginia is explicit about this split: state law places the cost of resale certificates and financial updates on the seller and allows a post-closing fee to be charged to the purchaser.7Virginia Code Commission. Virginia Resale Disclosure Act – Title 55.1, Chapter 23.1 Title companies and settlement agents often front these fees and reconcile them at closing, which is one reason the charge on your statement may not match the timing you expected.
State Caps That May Apply
A handful of states limit what associations and their document platforms can bill:
- Nevada caps resale certificate fees at $213.84, with up to $100 more for expedited 3-day delivery. Statement of demand fees are capped at $404.58.8Nevada Real Estate Division. What to Include in a Resale Package
- Washington caps resale certificates at $275, with an added $100 allowed for updates within six months.9Condo Connection. Resale Certificates
- Florida caps transfer fees at $150 per applicant, adjusted periodically to the Consumer Price Index; estoppel letter fees are also set by statute.9Condo Connection. Resale Certificates
- Virginia’s Common Interest Community Board sets maximum “commercially reasonable” fees, adjusted every five years to the CPI.7Virginia Code Commission. Virginia Resale Disclosure Act – Title 55.1, Chapter 23.1
- Illinois requires fees to be “reasonable” and tied to the “direct out-of-pocket cost” under Section 22.1 of the Condominium Property Act, though that standard has proven hard to enforce in court.10Community Associations Institute. Amicus Curiae Briefs
Most states don’t cap these fees at all, leaving pricing to the association and its management firm.9Condo Connection. Resale Certificates If you live in a capped state and your charge exceeds the limit, that’s worth raising with the management company and, if needed, your state regulator.
Disputing or Canceling the Charge
Start with CondoCerts directly. Customer service is 1-800-310-6552, and email is info@condocerts.com.11CAMCO Nevada. CondoCerts Common Questions and Helpful Tips If you have an account and the order is still pending, you can cancel it by opening “Review Orders,” choosing the “Completed or In Process” tab, selecting a cancellation reason, and confirming.2CAMCO Nevada. A Purchaser’s Guide to CondoCerts
CondoCerts does not publish a formal refund policy, and its BBB profile carries an F rating tied to a failure to respond to complaints filed with the bureau.5Better Business Bureau. CondoCerts BBB Business Profile If the company won’t resolve the issue, dispute the charge with your credit card issuer. That route is strongest when the charge was unauthorized, the documents were never delivered, or the amount exceeds a state cap that applies to your transaction.