Q: In a real estate purchase agreement, if the seller knowingly lies about an HOA's existence, what can the buyer do?
We are currently pending in a purchase agreement for a property in Beaverton, OR. The seller disclosed in both the seller disclosure document and RMLS that no HOA exists. However, this is not true. The title report shows that an HOA was established by the developer. The HOA has not been dissolved, and the seller has failed to provide proof otherwise. In fact, the seller seems to be lying, as the title report also shows that they signed a home equity loan which included a signed "planned unit development rider." The HOA seems to be simply "inactive," which from our research of ORS 94.626, means that the HOA is legally still responsible as if it was still active.
Other than simply backing out of the purchase agreement, is there any other possible recourse for the buyer?
A: Title reports are issued so that a buyer can determine whether the condition of title is satisfactory, and gives the buyer a certain amount of time in which to object to the condition of title (including things like CC&R's which create an HOA). If everyone agrees that you can terminate the transaction, it seems like that is the remedy if the existence of an HOA matters that much.
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