What Is a Condo Special Assessment, and How Can You Check for One Before You Offer?

A special assessment is a one-time bill an HOA charges unit owners to cover a major expense the reserve fund can't absorb, things like a new roof, elevator replacement, or garage repair. In Texas, you can check for pending or planned assessments by reviewing the building's resale certificate and recent HOA board meeting minutes before you write an offer. Texas law requires the reserve balance to be disclosed, but it doesn't require a minimum reserve amount, so a building can legally report little or nothing set aside.

By Matt Watson, Broker, REALTOR® | August 19, 2026

Most buyers don't find out about a special assessment until after they've already closed. It shows up in the mailbox a few months later: a letter from the HOA board explaining that the roof needs replacing, the garage deck is failing, or the elevators are being modernized, and every owner's share is due within 30 to 90 days.

Bills like this have run anywhere from a few thousand dollars to well over $50,000 per unit in buildings that let their reserves fall too far behind. If you're shopping condos in Uptown or Oak Lawn, this is one of the most important things to check before you offer, not after you close.

Here's what you need to know.

Why Uptown and Oak Lawn's Condo Stock Is Especially Exposed

Uptown's defining high-rises, buildings like The Meridian, The Worthington, and Cityplace, were built in the 1980s and early 1990s. Mansion Residences followed in the mid-1990s. Oak Lawn's boutique mid-rises skew a similar age or older.

That matters because major building systems have a shelf life. Roofs typically last 20 to 30 years. Elevators need modernization on a similar timeline. Parking structures, plumbing risers, and facades all eventually need capital work that regular monthly dues were never designed to cover in full.

A building doesn't have to be falling apart to need a special assessment. It just has to be old enough that a big-ticket system is coming due, and underfunded enough that the reserve account can't absorb the cost on its own.

What to Actually Check Before You Offer

You have real tools here. Texas Property Code §82.157 requires the HOA to provide a resale certificate before closing, and that certificate has to disclose the current reserve balance. For condos specifically, you also get a 5-day right to cancel after receiving it, something I've walked buyers through in detail before.

Before you write an offer, or at minimum during your option period, ask your agent to help you pull:

  • The resale certificate — shows the current reserve balance and any assessments already approved or pending
  • The last 12 to 24 months of board meeting minutes — this is where deferred maintenance, capital project discussions, and assessment planning actually surface, often well before a formal notice goes out
  • The reserve study, if one exists — Texas doesn't require associations to commission one, so not every building will have it
  • The percent-funded figure — industry guidance generally treats reserves funded below 30% as a high risk for a near-term special assessment, while funding above 70% is considered low risk

Here's the part that surprises a lot of buyers: Texas has no state law requiring a minimum reserve level. The resale certificate has to disclose "the amount of reserves, if any." That "if any" language is doing a lot of work. A building can legally show a reserve balance of zero and still be in full compliance with Texas law.

That's different from how HOA fees themselves get evaluated, where a low monthly number can look appealing on paper but actually signal a building that's underfunding its reserves to keep dues artificially low. A thin reserve account today often means a bigger bill tomorrow.

The Financing Wrinkle Coming in 2026 and 2027

There's a second reason this matters right now, beyond the risk of an unexpected bill. Fannie Mae eliminated its Limited Review process for condos as of August 3, 2026, and Freddie Mac dropped its comparable Streamlined Review at the same time. Both agencies are also raising the reserve funding requirement from 10% to 15% of the annual budget, with lenders treating July 1, 2026 as the practical start date and full enforcement arriving by January 4, 2027.

In plain terms: buildings that were financeable under the old, lighter review process may not clear the bar under the new one. An underfunded building doesn't just carry assessment risk for you personally, it can also affect whether your lender will approve the loan at all, or whether the next buyer down the road will have an easier or harder time financing your unit when you go to sell.

This connects directly to something I've covered before on warrantable versus non-warrantable condo financing. Reserve funding is one of the exact factors that pushes a building from warrantable to non-warrantable, and it's worth checking alongside insurance costs, since rising premiums are already putting pressure on HOA budgets across Dallas in ways that can make an already-thin reserve account even harder to rebuild.

None of this means you should avoid an older Uptown or Oak Lawn building. Plenty of them are well managed, with boards that fund reserves properly and plan capital projects years in advance. It means you check before you offer instead of finding out after you close.

Your specific situation, the building, its age, its reserve history, and how it's likely to be treated under the new lending rules, is exactly the kind of thing worth walking through with someone who does this regularly before you get attached to a unit.

If you're shopping condos in Uptown, Oak Lawn, or anywhere else in Dallas's urban core and want a second set of eyes on a building's financials before you write an offer, I'm happy to help. Reach out at mattwatson.com or schedule a quick call, and we'll pull the resale certificate and meeting minutes together before you're locked into anything.

Frequently Asked Questions

Does Texas require condo HOAs to keep a minimum reserve fund?

No. Texas Property Code §82.157 requires the resale certificate to disclose the reserve balance "if any," but there's no statutory minimum reserve level or required reserve study. Any obligation to save comes from the building's own declaration and bylaws, not state law.

How do I find out if a special assessment is coming before I close?

Request the resale certificate, which discloses the current reserve balance and any assessments already approved, and ask your agent to pull the last 12 to 24 months of HOA board meeting minutes. Deferred maintenance and capital project discussions usually show up there well before a formal assessment notice goes out.

How much can a special assessment cost?

It depends entirely on the project and how underfunded the reserve account is. Smaller assessments can run a few thousand dollars per unit, while major capital projects like elevator replacement or structural repairs in severely underfunded buildings have run tens of thousands of dollars or more per owner.

What changed with Fannie Mae's condo rules in 2026?

Fannie Mae eliminated its Limited Review process for condos on August 3, 2026, and both Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac are raising the required reserve budget allocation from 10% to 15%, phasing in through January 4, 2027. Underfunded buildings may face new financing eligibility issues on top of assessment risk.

Can I back out of buying a condo if I find out about a bad reserve situation?

In Texas, condo buyers get a 5-day right to cancel after receiving the resale certificate, without penalty, under Texas Property Code §82.156. That's your window to review the reserve balance and meeting minutes and walk away if what you find concerns you.

About Matt Watson, Broker, REALTOR®
Matt Watson is a Dallas-based real estate broker and REALTOR® with over 25 years of experience in the city's urban core neighborhoods. He specializes in condos, townhomes, and single-family homes in Uptown, Oak Lawn, East Dallas, and North Oak Cliff. Whether you're buying your first condo or selling a longtime home, Matt brings deep local knowledge and straightforward guidance to every transaction. Connect with Matt at mattwatson.com.