What Should You Know Before Buying a Condo or Townhome in Maricopa County, AZ?

People use these words interchangeably, but the ownership structure is different, and it changes what you're responsible for. With a condominium, you own the airspace inside your unit, walls in, essentially, while the HOA owns and maintains the building structure, roof, exterior walls, and common areas. Your monthly dues fund the upkeep of everything you don't directly own.

With a townhome, you typically own the structure itself and, often, the small patch of land it sits on (this is sometimes called "fee simple" ownership), even though it shares walls with the unit next door. The HOA usually maintains only shared amenities and common areas like the clubhouse, front landscaping, or a shared roofline in some communities, but not always the roof itself.

That detail varies a lot by community, so don't assume. Why does this matter? Because it determines who's on the hook when the roof leaks, whether you need to worry about your neighbor's plumbing affecting your unit, and how your homeowners insurance needs to be structured. You want to know the answer before closing, not after a repair bill shows up.

There are good reasons this segment of the market stays popular here. Snowbirds and part-time residents like the lock-and-leave lifestyle, no yard to worry about while they're gone for the summer. First-time buyers use condos and townhomes as a lower-maintenance, often lower-cost entry point into areas like Tempe, Chandler, or north central Phoenix where standalone homes have gotten pricier.

Retirees downsizing out of a larger house often want the security and simplicity of an attached home with amenities like a pool or fitness center already built in. And buyers who travel for work appreciate not having to hire someone to manage a yard while they're gone. Popular pockets across the county include Old Town Scottsdale and North Scottsdale for condos near dining and nightlife, Tempe near ASU for both investment and owner-occupant buyers, Ahwatukee and Chandler for townhome communities, and age-restricted communities in the East Valley for buyers wanting a low-maintenance retirement lifestyle.

Each of these markets has its own HOA culture and price dynamics, which is part of why working with someone who knows the specific complex, not just the general area, matters.

When you buy a single-family home with no HOA, you're mostly evaluating the house. When you buy a condo or townhome, you're buying into an organization, and that organization's health matters just as much as the unit's condition. Request and Read the CC&Rs and Bylaws The Covenants, Conditions & Restrictions (CC&Rs) spell out what you can and can't do, parking rules, pet limits, exterior modifications, short-term rental restrictions, and more.

Read them before you're emotionally attached to the unit. Under Arizona law (ARS 33-1806 for planned communities and the equivalent ARS 33-1260 for condominiums), the association is required to deliver a disclosure package, including the CC&Rs, bylaws, current budget, most recent financial report, and reserve study if one exists, within ten days of receiving written notice that a sale is pending.

Arizona also caps what an HOA can charge for these disclosure documents at $400 total. If the seller or association doesn't comply with these disclosure requirements, you may have grounds to rescind the contract, so don't let this step get skipped in the rush to close. Check the HOA's Financial Health Ask for the reserve study and the most recent financial statement.

A healthy association keeps a reserve fund that's reasonably funded relative to the age and expected repair needs of the property, think roofs, pools, elevators, paint, and paving. An underfunded reserve is a red flag: it often means a special assessment is coming, where every owner gets hit with a one-time bill (sometimes thousands of dollars) to cover a shortfall.

Low HOA dues can actually be a warning sign rather than a selling point if the association isn't setting aside enough for future repairs. Understand the Rental Restrictions If there's any chance you'll want to rent the unit out someday, even a few years down the road, check the rental cap and any minimum lease term now. Many Maricopa County HOAs cap the percentage of units that can be rented at any given time, and some prohibit short-term or vacation rentals entirely.

If you're buying with a future rental plan in mind, verify this in writing before you're under contract, not after. Look for Pending Litigation The disclosure statement required by Arizona law should note any pending litigation involving the association. Lawsuits over construction defects, insurance disputes, or HOA governance can affect both your financing (see below) and your future dues, so don't skip this section of the paperwork.

This is the part buyers are most often caught off guard by. Lenders don't just underwrite you, for a condo, they also underwrite the building or complex itself. This is called warrantability. Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac (the agencies behind most conventional loans) have rules about the project as a whole: the percentage of units that are owner-occupied versus rented, how much commercial space is in the building, whether the HOA has adequate reserves, and whether more than a small percentage of owners are behind on dues.

If a project doesn't meet these standards, it's considered "non-warrantable," and conventional financing either isn't available or comes with a much higher down payment and interest rate through a portfolio or non-QM lender. FHA and VA loans have their own separate condo approval process, the project has to appear on HUD's approved condo list for FHA financing, or meet VA's project eligibility requirements.

Townhomes are usually easier to finance than condos because many are treated more like single-family homes for lending purposes (especially if the land underneath is fee-simple owned), but it's still worth confirming with your lender early, not after you've fallen in love with a specific unit. My advice: before you start touring, tell your loan officer you're specifically looking at condos or townhomes so they can check project warrantability as soon as you have an address, not after you're already under contract with a deadline looming.

In a single-family home, one policy covers everything. In a condo or townhome, coverage is typically split between the HOA's master policy and your own individual policy, and the split depends on how the declaration is written. Most master policies are "walls-in" or "walls-out," referring to how much of the physical structure the association's insurance covers.

As the buyer, you'll usually need what's called an HO-6 policy, which covers your unit's interior finishes, personal belongings, liability, and, importantly, "loss assessment" coverage, which protects you if the HOA levies a special assessment after a covered loss like a fire or major storm and the master policy doesn't cover the whole cost.

Before you close, ask the HOA or management company for the declarations page of the master policy and get a quote for your own HO-6 coverage. Don't assume the HOA dues include "insurance" in the way you might think, read exactly what's covered.

The biggest one is skipping the HOA document review entirely because the buyer is excited about the unit and doesn't want to slow things down. Those documents exist to protect you, and Arizona law gives you a real right to review them. Another common mistake is assuming low dues automatically mean a good deal. Sometimes it means the reserve fund is underfunded and a big bill is coming.

Buyers also frequently forget to check rental restrictions until after they've already purchased and want to rent the place out, by then, it's too late to negotiate around it. And more than a few buyers get to the closing table only to discover their loan program requires the building to be on an approved list it isn't on, forcing a scramble for alternative financing or, worse, a fallen-through deal.

A retired couple relocating from out of state wanted a lock-and-leave townhome in a golf community in the East Valley so they could travel several months a year without worrying about upkeep. Their main concern wasn't the unit itself, it was whether the HOA's monthly fee actually covered exterior maintenance and landscaping the way they'd been told.

Pulling the reserve study and asking direct questions of the HOA management company before writing an offer confirmed the association was well-funded and the fee structure matched what they expected, which gave them confidence to move forward. A young professional buyer looking near Old Town Scottsdale had her eye on a condo she loved, but the building turned out to be non-warrantable for conventional financing because too high a percentage of units were investor-owned and rented out.

Rather than walking away, she worked with her lender to explore a portfolio loan option and adjusted her offer terms accordingly. Knowing about the warrantability issue before removing her financing contingency saved her from a much more stressful situation days before closing.

Start by getting pre-approved and telling your lender specifically that you're looking at attached housing, so they can flag warrantability concerns early rather than at the eleventh hour. Work with an agent who knows the specific complex or building you're interested in, not just the general neighborhood, HOA culture varies enormously even between communities a mile apart.

Once you're under contract, request the full HOA disclosure package right away and actually read it, including the reserve study and financial statement. Order your inspection, and if the complex has shared systems like a roof, elevator, or pool, ask whether those were included in the inspection scope or need a separate look. Get a firm HO-6 insurance quote before your financing contingency deadline so you're not surprised by cost.

Then close escrow with a clear picture of what you own, what the HOA owns, and what you're responsible for either way.

Is buying a condo a good investment in Maricopa County? It depends on the specific building's warrantability, HOA health, and rental rules, as much as on the broader market. A well-run association in a desirable location can be a solid long-term hold; a poorly funded one with pending litigation can turn into a costly headache regardless of location.

How much are HOA fees for condos and townhomes in Maricopa County? Fees vary widely based on amenities, building age, and what the association covers, a townhome community with minimal shared amenities will run much lower than a high-rise condo with a pool, gym, concierge, and full exterior maintenance. Ask for the specific complex's fee schedule and what it includes rather than relying on a general number.

Can I use an FHA loan to buy a condo in Arizona? Yes, but only if the specific project is on HUD's approved condo list, or in some cases through a spot-approval process. Your lender can check this once you have a specific building in mind. What's the difference between HOA dues and a special assessment? Dues are the regular monthly or quarterly payment that funds ongoing operations and reserves.

A special assessment is a one-time additional charge, often unplanned, levied when the reserve fund can't cover a needed repair or unexpected expense. Do townhomes require less maintenance responsibility than condos? Usually, but not always, it depends on the specific declaration. Some townhome HOAs cover roofs and exterior painting; others leave that entirely to the owner.

Always confirm what's covered rather than assuming based on the property type. Can I rent out my condo or townhome after I buy it? Only if the HOA's rules allow it. Check the rental cap, minimum lease term, and any short-term rental restrictions in the CC&Rs before you buy if a future rental plan matters to you. What happens if the HOA doesn't provide the required disclosure documents?

Under Arizona law, associations are required to provide specific disclosure documents within ten days of notice of a pending sale. If they fail to comply, you may have the right to rescind the purchase contract, so involve your agent and, if needed, a real estate attorney if documents aren't provided on time.

Condos and townhomes can be a genuinely smart move in Maricopa County, but the details that matter most are usually buried in HOA paperwork most buyers never fully read. I help buyers work through the HOA documents, financing warrantability, and insurance questions before they're locked into a contract, not after. If you're considering a condo or townhome purchase anywhere in Maricopa County and want someone who'll walk through the fine print with you, in English or Spanish, reach out through yourhomecomesfirst.com and let's talk about what fits your situation.

Stephanie Pondevie is a licensed real estate agent with eXp Realty, holding ABR® and SRS® designations and serving Chandler, Gilbert, Scottsdale and the greater Maricopa County area.

With 12+ years of experience and over 100 homes sold, she specializes in move-up buyers and sellers who need the sale and the purchase coordinated as one plan. She speaks English, Spanish and French.