What should you check before buying a condo in Scottsdale?

Check six things: what the association covers and what you own, the association's documents, any special assessments, the insurance on your unit, what the declaration says about renting, and which parking space and storage actually come with the unit. A condo comes with a second set of rules and a second set of finances, because you're buying into an association as well as buying a home, and all of it is on paper you can ask for.

I'm Jen Keene, a REALTOR® with eXp Luxury in Scottsdale, AZ, and I'm the agent people call at every stage of their life. When a buyer is looking at a condo, I go through this list with them, so here it is in the order I'd use it, with the source named next to each fact.

This is general information, not legal or insurance advice, and I'm not an attorney. I read the statutes on azleg.gov and the other sources below on November 7, 2026. Laws and guidelines change, and the declaration for the building you're looking at is what controls, so check the current text for yours.

Start here, because it changes what you budget for. In a condominium the association usually takes care of the shared parts of the building and you take care of your own unit, but the recorded declaration can move that line, so the answer is different from one building to the next. I wrote out how that split works, who insures what and what to read first in what the association covers in a Scottsdale condo or townhome, so I won't repeat it here.

What I'd add for this checklist is to go through the maintenance section of the declaration with a pencil and mark each item as the association's, yours or unclear: the roof, the exterior, the windows and doors, a balcony or patio, the garage or carport, and any pool. Whatever is unclear, ask the association in writing.

The Arizona Department of Real Estate's Buyer Advisory (January 2025) tells buyers to read the association's governing documents, which it lists as the covenants, conditions and restrictions (CC&Rs), the articles of incorporation, the bylaws, the rules and regulations, and often the architectural control standards, and to be aware that some associations charge fees when a property is sold. It says that by buying in a condominium or planned community you agree to be bound by the CC&Rs, which is why it calls reading them essential.

For a resale condo, Arizona law also sets out a package of documents. A.R.S. 33-1260 lists the current bylaws and rules, the recorded declaration and final plat, the board-approved minutes from the previous three open board meetings, the current operating budget, the most recent annual audit, review or compilation report, and the most recent reserve study, if there is one. It also lists a dated statement from the association, a summary of any pending lawsuits against the association, and whether the association's insurance covers any part of the unit, with insurance certificates showing the coverage limits and deductibles. The Buyer Advisory says the seller delivers this if the community has fewer than fifty units and the association delivers it if there are fifty or more.

The words "if there is one" on the reserve study matter, because the statute doesn't say every association has to have a study. Read the budget next to it, and read the meeting minutes for what the board has been discussing, such as repairs, disputes or a vote on a charge to owners. The package arrives after you have a contract, so if you're serious about a unit, I can ask the listing agent for the declaration and budget before you write an offer. Here's what's in the HOA resale package and who pays the transfer fee.

Ask whether any special assessment has been approved, charged or discussed, and whether any part of it is still unpaid. The statutory dated statement in the resale package has to list the remaining installments on any special assessment already approved and charged, and any special assessment approved but not yet charged (A.R.S. 33-1260). The minutes are the place to look for one the board is only talking about. I wrote a separate post on how a special assessment works in Arizona.

Two other places this shows up are worth checking. Fannie Mae's Selling Guide, which sets the rules for loans it buys, says a lender doing a full review of a condo project looks at the association's budget, its reserves and whether owners are behind on special assessments. And condo insurance has a coverage built for it: the Washington State Office of the Insurance Commissioner describes loss assessment coverage as helping pay a special assessment the association charges after a loss that is bigger than the building's policy, and the Insurance Information Institute (Triple-I) describes the same thing under the name unit assessment. Ask your insurance agent whether the policy you're quoted includes it and at what limit.

You'll need your own policy on the unit, in addition to the association's. Triple-I says a condo owner needs an individual policy, similar to a standard homeowners policy, and that the building's master policy covers the common areas and is paid for out of your association dues. The Washington regulator calls the owner's policy an HO-6.

What the master policy covers on the inside of your unit is different from building to building, and that decides what your own policy has to cover. Triple-I says that in some buildings the association insures the units as originally built, including standard fixtures, and in others only the bare walls, floor and ceiling, and that the split is usually in the bylaws. The Washington regulator describes three types: one where the master policy covers the exterior and all the interior finishes, one where it covers only the original finishes, and one where it covers up to the drywall and subfloor. It says your share of a deductible depends on which type the building has.

So the questions are these. Ask the association for the current certificate of insurance, which shows the limits and the deductible, and ask which type of master policy it carries. Ask your insurance agent what your policy covers inside the unit, whether it has loss assessment coverage, and whether you need flood or other coverage, since the Washington regulator says a condo policy leaves flood out. I covered that in whether you need flood insurance in Scottsdale. Get a written quote for the specific unit, and I'm not going to guess at what it will cost.

Only if the declaration lets you. A.R.S. 33-1260.01 says a unit owner may use the unit as a rental property unless the declaration prohibits it, and that the owner must follow the declaration's rental time period restrictions. The City of Scottsdale's page on vacation and short-term rentals, last updated July 31, 2026, says state law doesn't preclude homeowner associations from regulating or restricting these uses.

So even where the city allows a short-term rental, the building may not. If you plan to rent the unit out now or later, read the rental section of the declaration and the rules before you write an offer, and look for a minimum rental period, a ban on short stays or a limit on how many units can be rented. If any of it is unclear, ask the association in writing. The city's own license and other requirements are in my post on short-term rental rules in Scottsdale.

On a condo, the lender reviews the building as well as you. Fannie Mae's Selling Guide (the version dated August 5, 2026) says the lender reviewing a condo project must check that the association's budget is adequate, that it has an allocation for replacement reserves, how many owners are behind on special assessments and on regular dues, and that the project meets the insurance requirements. HUD's page on FHA condominiums says a project's approval depends on things including its insurance coverage, its financial condition, the nature of its title and any pending legal action or physical condition.

Those are the rules for those two programs, and a lender can have its own, so ask your loan officer early whether the building is one they can lend on and what they need from the association. A weak budget, a pending lawsuit or a large unpaid assessment can come up in that review, which is one more reason to read the budget and the minutes first. Here's how financing works when buying a home.

Find out exactly which space or storage room belongs to the unit and what kind of right you have to it. The Arizona sections I read don't address parking. A.R.S. 33-1212 says that porches, balconies, patios and similar items designed to serve a single unit are limited common elements, meaning shared property assigned to that one unit, "except as provided by the declaration," and A.R.S. 33-1219 says the plat has to show the location and dimensions of limited common elements. The declaration and the final plat are both in the resale package.

Title companies in other states describe the same question. A Land Title Guarantee guide says a parking or garage space can be a limited common element, a separate unit with its own deed, or a space assigned by the developer, and that the declaration says which. A Federal Title guide says to ask the association to confirm in writing that a limited common element is still assigned to your unit. So I'd compare the space number in the contract with the declaration and the plat, ask whether the space can be sold or leased apart from the unit, and ask the title company how the space will be handled in your title commitment. Do the same for a storage room, and ask whether any fee goes with either.

Ask for the declaration, the budget and the most recent minutes before you write an offer, and use your inspection period to read them. Here's how the inspection period works in Arizona and how buying a home works in Arizona, step by step.

If you have a condo in mind and want help going through its documents, get in touch or call me at (480) 203-6605. For anything that depends on the building's own documents, your lender or an insurance agent is the person to ask.