• How can I make my association assessment payments?
• If you are a local property management company, why do my payments go to Phoenix, AZ?
• Can I send my payments directly to your office instead of the P.O. Box in Phoenix, AZ?
• My bank says my payment cleared on a certain date but your records reflect a different date or don’t show the payment as received. Why?
• Is it possible to set up automatic electronic payments without using an online Resident Center account?
• How much of my assessments are profit for A. Jenning Properties versus how much is spent by A. Jenning Properties providing services?
• How are my assessment amounts decided?
• When are payments considered late, and what is the late fee?
• I received a late notice in the mail, but my records show my payment was received. Why did I receive a late notice?
• I’m on autopay but my payment didn’t withdraw. Why?
• I’m on autopay but I have an outstanding balance on my account. Why?
• When setting up autopay, what is the difference between choosing a fixed amount and “Entire balance”, and which do you recommend?
• I’m the new buyer of a property. How do I get set up with your company to make payments?

• What are the differences between the property management, the association and the board of directors?
• What are your office hours?
• Is your office open to visitors?
• I called or emailed your office but haven’t heard back yet. How long will it be before I hear from you?
• If the board members are the true decision-makers and not management, how can I contact the board members directly?

• How do I submit a maintenance request?
• I submitted a maintenance request, but there’s been no progress, or it’s taking a long time to complete. Why?
• What am I responsible to maintain and what is the association responsible to maintain?
• I am in need of a contractor/vendor for something that is my responsibility to address as a homeowner. Do you have any recommendations?
• I’m making a change to the exterior of my property. Do I need approval to do this?
• I’m making a change to the interior of my property. Do I need approval to do this?

• My Realtor says I need to obtain a resale certificate from your office. How do I do that?
• I was told to obtain a trustee letter or demand letter from your office. How do I do that?
• Why do I have to pay to obtain resale documents? Shouldn’t these be free?
• If I obtain all of the required documents from the Resident Center, do I still need the full resale certificate package, or can I just order the form without the package to save the $30?
• I’m selling my property. How is proration of the final month’s assessment payment handled?
• I’m on autopay and I’m selling my property with a closing date before the next payment is due. Do I need to cancel my autopay or will it stop automatically?

• What does the association insure and what is my responsibility to insure?
• My mortgage company is requesting proof of the association’s insurance. How can I obtain this?
• My insurance agent has questions about the association’s insurance master policy to make sure I’m properly covered. Who should they contact?

How can I make my association assessment payments?

There are several ways to pay. Click here to learn about all of your options to make payments. If writing a check or sending a payment via your bank’s online bill pay platform, the payee should read Villas at Walden Pond Owners Association , not A. Jenning Properties.

If you are a local property management company, why do my payments go to Phoenix, AZ?

We are entirely local and only practice on the Missouri side of St. Louis Metropolitan Area. Banking services tailored specifically for homeowners and condominium associations are very specialized, and no such bank exists locally. While we believe in banking locally and supporting our local economy, and we worked with a local business bank for several years on that basis, eventually our company’s needs outgrew what the local bank could accommodate given our accounting processes.

Your community’s operating checking account, where your assessment payments are deposited to, is held by First Citizens Bank, and they are based in Phoenix, AZ.

Can I send my payments directly to your office instead of the P.O. Box in Phoenix, AZ?

You can, but it’s not advisable unless we specifically instruct you to do so.

First, it doesn’t necessarily save transit time to do so. We work in a managed office building where the front desk sorts the mail for all of the business tenants here. That adds a one-day delay to all mail we receive here.

Second, from a security standpoint, it means your payment will first pass through the hands of our landlord’s staff. While we believe them to be trustworthy people, they are not employees of our company, and if a mistake happens it’s not possible for us to hold anyone accountable.

Third, from a security and accuracy perspective, it is better payments go to the Phoenix P.O. Box. That P.O. Box is retrieved daily by a bonded armored car service employed by the bank. Checks are taken straight to the bank where they are scanned in by machines immediately upon arrival. Checks that come to us locally aren’t as secure and are entered by hand, thus being more prone to error.

There may be circumstances where it is more advantageous for your check to come to our office, and we certainly won’t refuse any such payments, but it is wiser to send your payment to the Phoenix P.O. Box unless otherwise instructed. If mailing time is a concern you can make true electronic payments using the Resident Center. There is no fee to process a payment if the payment method is the routing and account number from a bank account. You can log into your account or request one if you don’t have one by clicking here.

My bank says my payment cleared on a certain date but your records reflect a different date or don’t show the payment as received. Why?

This can occur if you send an online bill pay payment from a bank who posts the payment when they mail it or when they anticipate it will be received instead of when it actually clears. We see this commonly with Bank of America, US Bank and Regions Bank, among others. The date our records reflect your payment was received is 100% accurate. If our records show we haven’t received your payment, we have not.

When you send a check through online bill pay with your bank, this is not a true electronic payment. The bank is mailing a check on your behalf, and those checks are subject to the same delays or losses as anything else sent through USPS. We have inquired about true electronic processing with the bank, and expressed willingness to pay for this service. We are told our company doesn’t do a significant enough volume of payments to qualify. This isn’t only because we are a small management company. According to them, only the largest management companies qualify, none of which operate in St. Louis.

The only way to make true electronic payments is through the Resident Center. There is no fee to process a payment if the payment method is the routing and account number from a bank account. You can log into your account or request one if you don’t have one by clicking here.

Is it possible to set up automatic electronic payments without using an online Resident Center account?

Yes. Please click here to download a copy of the form. Please print this out, complete it and mail it into us at the address on the form. Do not mail this form to the Phoenix P.O. Box, as that is for payments only. Please don’t fax or email this form. It will contain your sensitive bank data once complete, and these are not secure submission methods.

Please note the form is designed to accommodate automatic payments for both credit cards and bank accounts. You do not need to fill out sections that aren’t relevant to your payment method. It is recommended that you use a bank account’s routing and account number, as there is no additional fee for this payment method. If you are at all unsure which information is being requested, please simply send a voided check in with the form.

How much of my assessments are profit for A. Jenning Properties versus how much is spent by A. Jenning Properties providing services?

This arrangement doesn’t work this way, and this is a very common misconception.

A. Jenning Properties is a contracted property management company, much in the sense that your community contracts for lawn care. And just as the lawn care company can be hired, fired and renewed when its contract ends, the same applies to our company. We do handle collecting your assessments, but that’s not “our money”. We are paid a contracted fee for our services, just like the lawn care company.

Likewise, we don’t provide any physical maintenance services, and with only minimal exceptions of the lowest, non-recurring costs, we don’t choose which companies provide services at your community. These decisions are made by the Board of Directors. Our job is to oversee those contractors, make sure they are performing to their contract specifications and address any issues that may arise. But their contracts are with your association, not with our management company.

The entity you are paying is your community association, not our company. The association is a non-profit entity, and it does not require homeowners to pay any assessments beyond what is needed to fund the community’s expenses and make contributions to its long-term reserves. Of course, part of your money goes towards paying our management contract fee, but that’s not a direct payment. You pay your association, and your association pays us, among its other bills.

How are my assessment amounts decided?

Assessments are decided by the budget, which is approved by the Board of Directors each year . Your association’s known, contracted and reasonably anticipated expenses are totaled each year, the amount of income needed to pay those expenses is totaled, and each owner is assessed their proportional share of the expenses in accordance with the community’s governing documents.

A copy of your association’s budget can’t be shared on this public-facing page, but if you log into the Resident Center, under the Documents menu item and the Budgets & Assessments category, you can download a copy of the current budget. Likewise, under the Financial Reports category in the documents section you can download the monthly financial reports to see how your association’s money is being spent.

When are payments considered late, and what is the late fee?

Your payments are considered due by the first of the month and late if not received by the 10th. If payment is not received by the 10th, a late fee of $25 and 12% interest applies.

I received a late notice in the mail, but my records show my payment was received. Why did I receive a late notice?

This could be for a few reasons.

First, please double-check the date on the late notice versus the date your payment cleared. Very often late notices and payments cross each other in the mail.

Second, please review the statement attachment to the late notice, and log into the Resident Center and click Payments if you need to see more of your account history. It’s possible you have an outstanding balance from previously and your payment didn’t sufficiently cover it.

Third, if you paid via online banking, please be advised these are not true electronic transactions. A check is sent on your behalf from your bank, which does make it subject to the same potential issues with USPS had you mailed a paper check yourself. Please also be advised, some banks will show the payment as “cleared” on your end either as soon as they send the check or when they believe the check will arrive. The only way to pay from truly electronic means is through the Resident Center, and payments made using a bank account’s routing and account number carry no convenience fees and are instantly credited to the account.

If after reading this you still don’t understand the reason for your balance, you can dispute or inquire further about your balance by clicking here and completing the form.

I’m on autopay but my payment didn’t withdraw. Why?

This could be for a few reasons.

First, please double-check your email. If your payment was rejected by your bank, you should have received an email with the reason your bank refused the payment.

The next most common reason is that your autopay is set to “Entire Balance” instead of a fixed amount and the date you chose your payment to withdraw is too early. Our software can only see charges 5 days into the future. Especially if you picked a date like the 25th or 26th, this may be close enough to the end of the month in some months but not in 31 day months. If you choose the 27th, you will always be within 5 days of the end of the month and you shouldn’t have this problem.

Lastly, very rarely, it sometimes just doesn’t work. In our experience, out of all of the communities and individual homes under our management, we see this occur once or twice a year. To know if the problem is on our end, when you log into your account click “Payments” in the menu and look at “Scheduled payments” at the top of the page. If the date is in the past, the failure was on our end. You can fix this yourself by clicking “Edit” on that payment and changing the date to the next date you want it to pull a payment to a future date. If you aren’t comfortable doing this, we are happy to help if you contact us via email at service[AT]ajenning.com. Please change the [AT] to the “@” symbol when emailing. We don’t publish email addresses verbatim to prevent bots and spam. Please email for help on this issue; don’t call. In order to make changes to your account for you, we need evidence of your permission in writing.

Regardless of the reason your autopay didn’t pull, it may be necessary to make a one-time payment to correct the error. You can do this by clicking the “Make a payment” button. You will be warned that you already have a scheduled autopay. Proceeding by clicking the “Yes, make payment” button will not interfere with your existing autopay going forward.

I’m on autopay but I have an outstanding balance on my account. Why?

This could be for a few reasons.

You may have your autopay set to a fixed amount or you have a cap on the “Entire balance” setting that is less than the assessment amount. You need to adjust this to make sure your autopay is capturing the full amount.

From the main screen in the Resident Center, click Payments in the menu, then click “Edit” on your scheduled payment to make the changes. We advise choosing the “Entire balance” setting without a maximum amount. That will ensure your autopay changes as the years go on and the assessments increase or decrease over time.

The “Entire balance” option was introduced by our software provider in late 2023. If you’ve been with us longer than that, you probably set up your autopay with the fixed amount setting because it was all that was available at the time. We recommend switching so you don’t have to remember to adjust it every year anymore as assessments change.

The other potential reason is that you are paying your assessments early, and it’s too early for the software to see the upcoming charges. Our software can only see charges 5 days into the future. Especially if you picked a date like the 25th or 26th, this may be close enough to the end of the month in some months but not in 31 day months. If you choose the 27th, you will always be within 5 days of the end of the month and you shouldn’t have this problem. If your payment seems to be pulling every other month, which may also be causing you to incur late fees on the unpaid balance, this is almost certainly the reason. Just change your withdrawal date to the 27th. If you incurred late fees as a result of an issue like this, please enter a balance dispute with us by clicking here. This is an understandable mistake, and we can waive your late fees.

It may be necessary to make a one-time payment to correct the amount your payments have been short. You can do this by clicking the “Make a payment” button. You will be warned that you already have a scheduled autopay. Proceeding by clicking the “Yes, make payment” button will not interfere with your existing autopay going forward. When you make the one-time payment, please manually enter the amount to not pay the late fees and then enter a balance dispute by clicking here so we can remove them. If you pay them and we remove them, we don’t have the ability to electronically reverse the payment back to you. You will have to wait for a paper refund check in the mail. This is more easily avoided by just not paying the late fees and entering the balance dispute for us to fix it.

When setting up autopay, what is the difference between choosing a fixed amount and “Entire balance”, and which do you recommend?

If you choose a fixed amount, the software will always withdraw that amount and that amount only on the day of your choosing. If that amount is too little, too much, no longer matches the assessments as the years go by and the amounts change, it will still just pull the same amount on the same day each month.

We recommend using the “Entire balance” setting with no maximum. This will give you the ability to set it and forget it. If you are ever underpaid for any reason, it will pull the extra amount outstanding. If you’re ever overpaid, it will reduce your payment by the amount of the overpayment. As assessments change over the years, you will not need to readjust it.

The one warning we offer is for early payers: When you use the “Entire balance” setting, the software can only see 5 days into the future. If you set your payment date too early, especially on 31-day months, it may not be able to see the future charges on the date you chose and thus won’t pull any amount out. We recommend choosing the 27th as your withdrawal date to prevent this from happening.

I’m the new buyer of a property. How do I get set up with your company to make payments?

First, congratulations on the purchase of your new home, and welcome to the community!

At closing, the title company should have collected the first full month’s assessment from you, so you shouldn’t owe any assessments out-of-pocket until your second full month. Sometimes the title companies don’t follow our instructions on this, but most often they do.

Once we receive that first full month the title company collected from you at closing, we will set up an account for you and mail out a welcome letter. That letter will include your account number and how to get set up with the Resident Center, if you choose to. There is nothing you need to do until you receive that letter, and since your first full month has already been paid, there should be sufficient time for the title company to send your closing proceeds to us and for us to send our welcome letter to you.

What are the differences between the property management, the association and the board of directors?

The association is made up of all homeowners in the community and is the governing entity of the community.

The association takes actions based on the direction of and decisions made by the board of directors. The board is composed of homeowners who volunteer their time and are either elected to their positions by the homeowners or appointed to fill vacancies by other board members. The board members are the true decision makers for your community.

Property management, which is our company, is hired by the board to handle the day-to-day administration of the association, carry out the decisions made by the board of directors and act as an advisor to the board. We are not the decision makers for your community except for powers delegated to us by the board, the governing documents or our management contract with your association.

What are your office hours?

Our office hours are 9am to 5pm Monday through Friday, except for federal and major holidays. We are closed on the following holidays:

• New Year’s Day
• Martin Luther King Day
• Presidents Day
• Memorial Day
• Juneteenth
• Independence Day
• Labor Day
• Columbus Day
• Veterans Day
• Thanksgiving
• Black Friday
• Christmas Eve
• Christmas
• New Year’s Eve

In the event Independence Day, Christmas or New Year’s Day fall on a Thursday, we will also be closed the day after.

Is your office open to visitors?

Yes, but only with an appointment. We contract for a receptionist service to ensure someone is always able to take your calls, but those workers are remote. None of our staff members are “administrative assistants” or “office managers”, and thus no one is assigned to be in the office full-time. Most of our staff are property managers, and they are often away from their desks visiting communities, attending meetings, etc. Most of the time there is at least one person in the office during office hours, but it may not be the person you need to talk to.

If you contact us in advance for an appointment, we can ensure the staff member you need to speak with is here when you come.

I called / emailed your office but haven’t heard back yet. How long will it be before I hear from you?

A difference between our company and other larger property management companies is that we don’t “departmentalize” our work for your community. Our competitors usually have duties divided between administrative, management and accounting staff. The problem this creates is that there isn’t one person capable of answering all of their clients’ questions. By comparison, all of our employees are property managers. For the most part, this means there is usually one person capable of answering all of your questions instead of just some. The downside to this arrangement is that property managers are not at their desks 100% of the time. They have to visit communities, meet with board members, contactors and homeowners, etc. Because of this, they may not always be available immediately.

For the most part, you should expect to hear back from us the same business day or the next business day. Exceptions are possible if our managers are very busy, your need is complicated or your request is actually multiple requests, but that is generally the standard we try to keep. The majority of the time we do.

If you contacted our office, it’s been longer than the next business day, and you still haven’t heard back, you are welcome to contact the owner, Adam Jenning. Adam can be reached at his direct line at (314) 380-3101 or adam[AT]ajenning.com. Please replace [AT] with the “@” symbol. We don’t publish email addresses on this website verbatim to prevent bots from scraping email addresses and sending spam. Adam will investigate the reason for the delay and either get it resolved or ensure the person who needs to does so.

If the board members are the true decision-makers and not management, how can I contact the board members directly?

We can disclose the names of the board members, but we are not allowed to share their personal contact information. Please remember they are homeowners, like you. They are not paid for their work, and they have lives outside of their obligations to the association. One of our functions as management is to act as a communications liaison for the board. Additionally, by communicating through us, it ensures the message reaches all board members. Remember that a majority of the board makes decisions; not a single member.

We do not filter or edit communications to the board. Any message sent to us with instructions to send to the board will be sent verbatim. Even if the nature of your communication is to lodge a complaint about our company, we are obligated to and will deliver that message. The board will then decide upon the response and instruct us to send it back to you.

You can send correspondence to the board via mailed letter to our office, fax to (314) 380-3100 or email to service[AT]ajenning.com. Please remove [AT] and replace it with the “@” symbol when emailing. We don’t publish email addresses directly to the website to prevent bots and spam. Please be clear in your communication that it is directed to the board, not to management, and we will deliver that message and follow-up with a response.

How do I submit a maintenance request?

Aside from contacting our office, you can log into your Resident Center account and click on Requests in the menu. You can also do so without an account by clicking here.

I submitted a maintenance request, but there’s been no progress, or it’s taking a long time to complete. Why?

Different types of requests may take different timeframes to complete. Some types of contractors are quick to respond, while others may be scheduled out for a couple of weeks. Some items are seasonal and must be done at an appropriate time of year.

The primary reason for delays, however, are when costs exceed what we as management are allowed to spend without board approval or if your need is relatively common and will be combined with other similar needs to save the association money and keep your association assessments as low as possible. A frequent example of this is tree trimming and removal, as it is very expensive to trim or remove one tree and it’s far more cost effective if we handle several at once.

You are welcome to inquire with us about your specific issue, but these are the most common reasons delays may occur.

What am I responsible to maintain and what is the association responsible to maintain?

While it’s impossible to provide an all-inclusive list, a partial list is below. If your answer isn’t here, please ask us and we’ll get it published for the next person who may be wondering.

Roof: The association is responsible for roof repairs and replacement, but this is subject to change if the proposed amendment is approved.

Interior Damage from Roof Leak: Homeowners are responsible for repairing interior damage from roof leaks.

Gutters & Downspouts: The association is responsible for repairs and replacement of gutters and downspouts, but this is subject to change if the proposed amendment is approved.

Plumbing: Plumbing is a homeowner responsibility to maintain, and there are no plumbing systems common to the association.

Sewer Back-Up: Sewer back-ups are a homeowner responsibility to clear or repair, as there are no shared sewer lines before the main.

Siding: The association is responsible for repairs and replacement of siding, but this is subject to change if the proposed amendment is approved.

Exterior Doors & Doorframes: Homeowners are responsible for repair and replacement of exterior doors.

Windows & Screens: Windows and window screens are homeowner responsibility to maintain and repair. If windows are replaced, they must be aesthetically identical to the original windows.

Light Fixtures: Homeowners are responsible to repair and replace light fixtures.

Foundation: Homeowners are responsible for the foundation.

Garage Doors: Homeowners are responsible for repair and replacement of garage doors.

Patios: Homeowners are responsible for repairs and replacement of patios.

Decks: Homeowners are responsible for repairs and replacement of decks and deck materials.

Lawn Care: The association provides lawn care.

Snow Removal: Snow removal is provided by the association for driveways and the walkways up to porches. The city plows the public streets. Unless snow accumulation is greater than 3 inches the Board will decide whether snow should be removed or not. Homeowners should be prepared to remove lesser snowfall from their own property if desired.

Tree Maintenance: The association provides tree maintenance, except for trees which are not original to development and were planted by a homeowner.

Landscaping: The association is responsible for the maintenance and removal, when needed, of original landscaping. Any landscaping installed by a homeowner, which includes all landscaping that isn’t in the front of the property, is a homeowner responsibility to maintain.

Exterior Pest Control: : Homeowners are responsible for exterior pest control as needed.

Exterior Hose Spigots:: Homeowners are responsible for repair and replacement of exterior spigots.

Mailboxes: Homeowners are responsible for mailbox repairs and replacements.

Driveways: Homeowners are responsible for repairs and replacement of driveways.

Sidewalks & Walkways: The city is responsible for sidewalks. The walkways up to front porches from the driveway are homeowner responsibility to repair and replace.

Streets: The streets are public and maintained by the city.

Street Lights: Street lights are the responsibility of the city. You can report a street light outage by calling the city at (636) 379-3807 or sending an email to streets[AT]ofallonmo.gov. Replace [AT] with the @ symbol when sending an email.

Did we miss something? Click here to submit your question so we can both answer it and publish the answer for those who may want to know in the future.

I am in need of a contractor/vendor for something that is my responsibility to address as a homeowner. Do you have any recommendations?

We provide recommendations based on contractors and vendors we work with and their consent to being included on this list. We do not receive any “kickbacks” or other incentives for sharing their information, and we do so strictly as a courtesy to the homeowners we serve and because we believe in the quality and price of their work. None of the contractors below are affiliated directly or indirectly with A. Jenning Properties nor any of its staff members. As these are simply recommendations, we also cannot accept any liability for conflicts and issues that may arise later with these contractors.

Please note the “@” symbol has been removed to prevent our preferred contractors’ email addresses from being picked up by bots nefariously. Please replace the [AT] in the email address with “@” to send an email.

General Contractors
YF Solutions – (636) 428-8090 – yfsolutions2022[AT]gmail.com
Pride Master, Inc. – (636) 532-0708 – office[AT]pridemasterinc.com
Big N’z Handyman Service – (636) 463-6023 – bignz34[AT]yahoo.com

Plumbers
Superior Sewer Company – (314) 437-0522 – info[AT]superiorsewerco.com
Cast Iron King – (314) 319-4610 – castironking[AT]currently.com

Electricians
Reinhold Electric – (314) 631-1158 – katie[AT]reinholdelectric.com
Down to the Wire Electric – (636) 699-5498 – office[AT]dttwelectric.com

Roofing & Siding
Tesson Roofing & Exteriors – (314) 616-9071 – kwolff[AT]tessonroofing.com
Builders Direct – (636) 336-2376 – support[AT]buildersdirectconnect.com
Wagner Roofing – (866) 864-9463 – gregc[AT]trustwagner.com

Painting & Drywall
Certa Pro Painters – (636) 922-2917 – awiggins[AT]certapro.com
Pride Master, Inc. – (636) 532-0708 – office[AT]pridemasterinc.com
Superior Touch – (314) 805-2041 – superiortouch4u[AT]gmail.com

Concrete Flatwork
A-1 Concrete Leveling – (636) 529-0635 – stlouis[AT]a1concrete.com
Crowder Construction – (636) 861-9095 – office[AT]pridemasterinc.com
Superior Touch – (314) 805-2041 – superiortouch4u[AT]gmail.com

Disaster Restoration (especially if an insurance claim is filed)
First Onsite – (314) 306-2923 – casey.vaught[AT]firstonsite.com
BluSky Restoration – (314) 330-4149 – angie.hickey[AT]goblusky.com

Insurance Brokers
Martin & Raab Agency – (314) 685-8696 – amartin1[AT]farmersagent.com
O’Connor Insurance – (314) 434-0038 – info[AT]oconnor-ins.com
The Daniel & Henry Co. – (314) 444-1993 – ruebsamj[AT]danielandhenry.com

I’m making a change to the exterior of my property. Do I need approval to do this?

Yes, if the exterior appearance of the property will change. If you are replacing something that was already there with something that doesn’t look any different, this is regarded as maintenance instead of an exterior change, and no approval is needed in this case. For all other purposes, you must first apply for an obtain approval.

Approval, if needed, can take 30-60 days, but most straightforward improvements consistent with the norm in the community, especially when others have already done the same, will usually come faster.
You can learn more about this process and submit your request here.

Please note the association only issues approvals and denials on the basis of aesthetics. Approval of your proposal by the association does not substitute a permit, and we are not qualified to tell you with certainty when permits are necessary or not. ContactO’Fallon Public Works with any questions pertaining to permits. Their phone number is (636) 379-5660.

I’m making a change to the interior of my property. Do I need approval to do this?

Generally, no. If your improvements won’t affect any elements the association is responsible for, approval is not needed. This would include load-bearing walls and, more rarely applicable, plumbing and electrical systems that are common to the building.

Please note the lack of association approval needed does not mean permits from local government aren’t needed, and we are not qualified to say when you will and will not need a permit. Contact O’Fallon Public Works with any questions pertaining to permits. Their phone number is (636) 379-5660.

My Realtor says I need to obtain a resale certificate from your office. How do I do that?

The resale certificate can be obtained by you our your Realtor at HomeWiseDocs.com. If you have any questions about using their website to make your order, please contact them directly. We contract with HomeWiseDocs instead of the more common CondoCerts to complete this process because they have excellent, US-based customer service when you need it.

The document you want to order will be called the Resale Disclosure Package. It is not called the resale certificate because this document has different requirements and different names in other states. The Resale Disclosure Package contains everything you need. Unless specifically instructed, do not order the Resale Disclosure outside of the package. This won’t include the required attachments you need.

You can read more about the resale documents available here. It is worth mentioning, because your association is not a condominium, a resale certificate is not required by state law as it is with a condominium. It is still likely to be a requirement of your sales contract, as this is common practice with any attached living units. However, it is technically only required by state law for condominiums.

I was told to obtain a trustee letter or demand letter from your office. How do I do that?

You can obtain this at HomeWiseDocs.com by ordering the Trustee Letter. If you have any questions about using their website to make your order, please contact them directly. We contract with HomeWiseDocs instead of the more common CondoCerts to complete this process because they have excellent, US-based customer service when you need it. Do not order the Trustee Letter Package unless instructed to do so. The package includes documents you likely already received with the Resale Disclosure Package, and there’s no need to pay more to get the same documents twice.

However, before you do, even if you are following the instructions of your Realtor, please double check with the closer at your title company to make sure they want you to do this. The trustee letter, also called a demand letter, is a time-sensitive document your title company uses to prove there are no balances owed at closing and no unresolved violations. Or, if there is an outstanding balance or violation, the balance can be collected at closing and the buyer can go into their purchase knowing what violations they are inheriting liability for. If this is ordered too early the data will be out of date. If it’s ordered too late, it may not be processed in enough time for closing. Usually, but not always, title companies will order these themselves. You don’t want to waste money double-ordering something already ordered, as once processed it’s non-refundable. You also don’t want to order this with the wrong timing. So please double check with your closer at the title company before you do this.

Why do I have to pay to obtain resale documents? Shouldn’t these be free?

We charge for these documents to offset the amount of time our staff spends processing them, ensuring all of the documents are included and all information is accurate and current. Of course, some of this cost also covers the use of HomeWiseDocs.com to process these documents.

These services are intentionally not included in the management contract we have with your community for two reasons. First, there is no way to know how many of these documents we will need to process in a given timeframe to be able to account for it in our management fee. Second, by billing the homeowner who is selling their property it prevents all owners from having to share in the cost burden when there is no benefit to them, and it keeps the costs strictly allocated to the owner who is creating the need.

While our competitors all have their own processes that may differ from ours, we are not aware of any other competitor in our market who doesn’t charge for this process. Some charge at closing instead of upfront, some use different platforms such as CondoCerts or don’t use a third-party platform, but we aren’t aware of anyone who doesn’t charge in some capacity for this service.

We do receive anonymized data from HomeWiseDocs.com and review it once per year. All of our pricing is either in line with or below average for our market.

If I obtain all of the required documents from the Resident Center, do I still need the full resale certificate package, or can I just order the form without the package to save the $30?

You can do this, but we will be forced to add a disclosure to the resale certificate form that any attachments being provided were not provided by us and can’t be guaranteed to be the most current, complete or accurate documents. This disclaimer must be offered because we can’t be certain of which documents you will use.

This is especially important as it pertains to current financial reports. Often we receive resale certificate orders which need a more current financial report that isn’t completed yet. We will then hold the order, not past the due date, until the most current report is completed. This is not a possibility if you exclude the document package.

Another area you may fall short on trying to do things this way are the governing documents. Often only the documents currently in effect are shared to the Resident Center to prevent confusion. For a resale certificate, all governing documents from the formation of the association should be included, including documents that have since been rendered obsolete by newer documents.

For the additional $30 you aren’t just getting the documents themselves; you are also getting our time and coordination to ensure all documents are complete and up-to-date. It is thus recommended to just get the full package. This also shifts the liability to us instead of you if anything is incorrect or inaccurate.

I’m selling my property. How is proration of the final month’s assessment payment handled?

If you will own the property on the first day of the month, you should pay the entire month. When you close, your title company and the buyer’s title company will handle prorating the assessment and crediting you back for the days of the month you will no longer be the owner. Basically, the proration process is handled by the title companies, not on our end.

I’m on autopay and I’m selling my property with a closing date before the next payment is due. Do I need to cancel my autopay or will it stop automatically?

To be safe, you should cancel your autopay. It will stop automatically once we process in the new owner’s information, but that is dependent upon us receiving the closing proceeds from the title company. If you are closing near the end of a month and/or mail runs late, it is possible we will still have you in our systems when the next month starts, and you could be charged.

If this happens, we will issue a refund as soon as the buyer’s closing proceeds are received and processed. And if any charges were allocated to your ledger for a date after your closing, they will be removed retroactively. But it is much easier for you and for us if you cancel your autopay and prevent any mishaps from needing to be corrected later.

What does the association insure and what is my responsibility to insure?

Your association doesn’t provide master insurance policy coverage. Most attached living communities do, but yours does not. You are responsible for fully insuring your home, improvements and lot, just as if you would if you owned a single-family home.

My mortgage company is requesting proof of the association’s insurance. How can I obtain this?

Your association doesn’t provide master insurance policy coverage. Most attached living communities do, but yours does not. You are responsible for fully insuring your home, improvements and lot, just as if you would if you owned a single-family home. Please inform your mortgage company of this. They may you’re your property incorrectly listed as a condominium if they are requesting this.

My insurance agent has questions about the association’s insurance master policy to make sure I’m properly covered. Who should they contact?

Your association doesn’t provide master insurance policy coverage. Most attached living communities do, but yours does not. You are responsible for fully insuring your home, improvements and lot, just as if you would if you owned a single-family home. Your agent should write your policy accordingly.

If you didn’t find the answer to your question, please submit it below. We will respond to your question with an answer. As long as the question isn’t specific to you or your home personally, we’ll also publish the answer here. Not only will you get your question answered, but you will help grow this resource for your community!