Massachusetts condo documents to review before an offer

This is general information, not legal advice. Talk to a Massachusetts real estate attorney before you sign anything.

Condo catches hide in the paperwork. The unit can look perfect on Saturday. The roof vote, the thin reserves, or the rental ban show up in a PDF you receive after your Offer to Purchase is already accepted — and in Massachusetts that acceptance can bind you (McCarthy v. Tobin, 429 Mass. 84).

This guide lists the documents Massachusetts buyers should request before or as conditions of an offer, what each one is for, and copy-ready questions. It is not a substitute for counsel reviewing the packet for your building.

The legal backbone: M.G.L. c. 183A

Massachusetts condominiums are created and run under M.G.L. c. 183A. The statute defines units and common areas, how common expenses are assessed, the association’s lien rights, and many of the papers you will see at closing.

Two ideas matter before you bid:

1. You buy a unit plus an undivided interest in the common areas (see chapter definitions and § 4). Parking, storage, decks, and yards are only as good as the master deed, plans, and any limited-common-area designation.
2. Unpaid common expenses become a lien on the unit (§ 6). Before you take title, you need a clean picture of what is owed.

The 6(d) statement (resale / unpaid common expense certificate)

Under M.G.L. c. 183A, § 6(d), the organization of unit owners must furnish, within ten business days after a written request and upon payment of a reasonable fee, a statement setting forth:

• the amount of unpaid common expenses and other sums assessed against the unit owner; and
• the amount the organization claims is entitled to priority with respect to a mortgage under § 6(c).

When recorded, that statement operates to discharge the unit from other unpaid sums then unpaid, as the statute describes. It is binding on the organization and unit owners once properly issued.

In everyday deal language, agents often call this the 6(d) certificate or condo resale certificate. Whatever the label on the PDF, you want the statutory statement of what is assessed and unpaid — not a casual email that “fees are current.”

Ask early. Closing attorneys routinely need it; buyers who wait until the week of closing discover assessments too late to renegotiate cleanly.

Core packet to request before you rely on the price

Treat this as a working checklist. Your attorney may add building-specific items.

Governing documents

• Master deed — creates the condo; describes units and common areas; sets percentage interests.
• Floor plans / site plans recorded with the master deed — confirm unit boundaries, exclusive-use areas, and parking.
• Declaration of trust / bylaws (or equivalent) — how the board governs, budgets, insurance, and amendments.
• Rules and regulations — pets, renovations, move-ins, smoking, short-term rentals, quiet hours.

Money and risk

• Current annual budget and recent financial statements or treasurer reports.
• Reserve balance and any reserve study the association has (if one exists — many small associations do not).
• Special assessment history and proposals — approved assessments, pending votes, contractor bids for roof, facade, elevator, boiler, or masonry.
• Unit owner delinquency summary (often aggregated) — a stressed association is a shared problem.
• Master insurance declarations page: coverage type, limits, deductible, and whether unit owners need HO-6 coverage large enough for the deductible.
• Litigation list — suits by or against the association that could become future assessments.

Unit-level

• Draft or recent 6(d) / unpaid common expense statement for this unit.
• Parking and storage assignments or deeds/easements.
• Any unit-specific right-of-first-refusal or association approval steps required before closing.

Living rules that change use

• Rental caps, minimum lease terms, Airbnb / short-term bans.
• Pet weight or breed rules.
• Renovation and flooring rules (especially for upstairs units).

Timing: ask before the binding pen

Ideal sequence for a hot Greater Boston condo:

1. Before offer: request the budget, reserves/minutes summary, master insurance declarations, rules, and any known special assessment discussion. Many listing agents will share a “condo questionnaire” or recent packet.
2. In the Offer to Purchase: include a condo document review contingency with enough calendar days to read what you receive, and state what happens to the deposit if you terminate inside that window.
3. After acceptance, still inside contingencies: complete inspection (protected under M.G.L. c. 143, § 101 / 760 CMR 74 for covered residential sales), financing, and full attorney review of the governing docs.
4. Before closing: obtain the formal § 6(d) statement dated for the transaction.

Do not assume “we will review docs after we win.” Winning can be the moment you are already bound.

What public records will not save you

Assessor cards and online permits help with unit basics and renovation history. They rarely show:

• a board discussing a roof special assessment;
• thin reserves;
• a rental ban that kills your house-hack plan;
• master-policy deductibles that make a water claim painful;
• percentage-interest math that raises your share of a capital project.

Those live in association documents. Upload and read them — or have counsel do it — before you treat the list price as the whole story.

Red flags that deserve a pause (not panic)

Missing evidence is not automatic proof of a defect. These patterns usually deserve a written question or a contingency hold:

• Minutes that mention contractor bids for major building work with no funding plan.
• Reserves that look small relative to a known near-term project (your attorney or a condo specialist can help interpret — do not invent a “correct” reserve number from a blog).
• High owner delinquencies.
• Frequent special assessments in recent years.
• Master insurance deductible that is large relative to your cash buffer.
• Rules that forbid the way you planned to use the unit (pets, roommates, rentals, home business).
• Parking that is “usually available” but not assigned in the documents.

Copy-paste questions for the listing side

1. Please provide the master deed, plans, bylaws/trust, and current rules for the condominium.
2. Please provide the current budget, most recent financial statements, and any reserve study or reserve balance summary the trustees use.
3. Are any special assessments approved, proposed, or under discussion? Please share related minutes and bids.
4. Please provide the master insurance declarations page, including deductibles, and state whether unit owners are expected to carry HO-6 coverage for the deductible.
5. Please provide the board's meeting minutes for the last few years, and tell me about any litigation involving the association.
6. Please confirm what parking and storage convey with this unit and cite the document (master deed, plan, deeded space, or license).
7. Please provide a current or draft M.G.L. c. 183A, § 6(d) statement of unpaid common expenses for this unit, and the fee/timeline to obtain a closing-dated statement.
8. Are there rental caps, short-term rental bans, pet restrictions, or renovation rules that would affect a typical owner-occupant?
9. Has the project faced loan-eligibility issues for Fannie Mae, Freddie Mac, or FHA purchasers that you are aware of?
10. Are there open building permits or known common-area defects the association is tracking?

Copy-paste questions for your attorney / buyer’s agent

11. How many days of condo-doc review should we write into the OTP for this building’s packet size?
12. Does anything in the governing documents or minutes change the price, the contingency set, or whether we bid at all?
13. Confirm the 6(d) statement timing and that any amounts shown will be credited or paid as the P&S requires.
14. Any right of first refusal or association approval that can delay closing?

For town-specific walkthroughs of the same packet, see Somerville, Cambridge, Brookline, and Arlington.

How Fyts fits

Fyts is building a pre-offer catch list for Massachusetts buyers. For condos, that means surfacing association and cost questions early — and marking documents still missing — so you are not reading the roof vote after your signature already stuck.

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