Who pays a special assessment when you sell a Summit County condo?
Under Colorado’s standard contract, a special assessment levied before closing goes to whoever you check on the form, buyer or seller. Breckenridge sellers who skip the fine print after that box can still end up owing it.
For example, say you’re under contract on a $750,000 two-bedroom condo in Breckenridge. Three weeks before closing, the HOA board levies a $24,000 per-unit special assessment for a new roof. You assumed the buyer would take it on with the unit. Your buyer assumed the opposite.
The answer sits in one sentence of the Colorado Real Estate Commission’s contract, plus one exception right after it. That exception can put the bill on you even if your buyer agreed to pay.
This post shows who pays under the current contract, what you have to disclose, how a pending assessment can stall your buyer’s loan, and three ways to price it.
Who Pays Under the Colorado Contract
Most Summit County condo sales use the Commission’s Contract to Buy and Sell Real Estate (Residential), form CBS1. The current version on the Colorado Division of Real Estate forms page was adopted August 5, 2025, and has been mandatory since January 1, 2026.
Section 16.2, Association Assessments, splits regular dues at closing. Dues accrued before closing are yours and dues after closing are the buyer’s. Then it says:
“Any special assessment assessed prior to Closing Date by the Association will be the obligation of [ ] Buyer [ ] Seller.”
You and your buyer check one box when you sign. The next sentence is the exception:
“Except however, any special assessment by the Association for improvements that have been installed as of the date of Buyer’s signature hereon, whether assessed prior to or after Closing, will be the obligation of Seller unless otherwise specified in Additional Provisions.”
So if the new boiler is already in when your buyer signs, that bill is yours, even if the HOA levies it after closing, unless Additional Provisions say otherwise.
Section 16.2 also has you represent that there are no unpaid regular or special assessments except the current regular assessments and anything you list in a blank. Fill in that blank with what you know.
When It’s Discussed but Not Yet Levied
The checkbox covers an assessment “assessed prior to Closing Date.” An assessment the board is still debating when you close falls outside it, unless the exception for installed improvements applies.
That gap is where deals go sideways. Your buyer reads the minutes, sees a roof bid and a spring vote, and asks for a credit before anyone knows the final number.
You have two tools here. You can write specific terms into Additional Provisions that say who pays a named assessment if it’s levied by a set date. Or you can settle it through price or a credit now, which closes out the question. A real estate attorney can draft language that fits your situation. This post is general information and isn’t legal advice.
What You Have to Disclose
The Commission’s Seller’s Property Disclosure (Residential), adopted August 5, 2025, asks about the association directly. Line P2 reads: “Special assessments or increases in regular assessments approved by owners’ association but not yet implemented.” Line P3 asks about problems or defects in the common elements.
You answer to your current actual knowledge as of the date you sign. The form also says that if you know of an adverse material fact affecting the property, it must be disclosed. If you sat in on the vote approving a siding project, it goes on the form.
Your buyer will see the HOA’s own records too. Under CBS1 Section 7.2, you provide the Association Documents at your expense by the Association Documents Deadline in the contract’s Section 3. Section 7.3 lists what counts, including:
- Minutes of the annual owners’ meeting and any executive board meetings
- A list by unit type of the association’s assessments, both regular and special
- The operating budget and the reserve study, if one exists
Under Section 7.4, your buyer can terminate by the Association Documents Termination Deadline for any unsatisfactory provision in those documents, in the buyer’s sole subjective discretion. If the documents arrive late, the buyer gets ten days after receipt to terminate.
Section 15.3 adds that at least fourteen days before closing, you request a current Status Letter from the closing company or the association. You pay the Status Letter fee. That letter shows the assessments on your unit.
How a Pending Assessment Hits Your Buyer’s Loan
Many Summit County buyers finance with a conventional loan, and that means the lender reviews the condo project. Fannie Mae’s Selling Guide section B4-2.1-03, Ineligible Projects, dated November 4, 2026, says special assessments “may be current or planned.” For each one, the lender reviews:
- The purpose of the assessment
- When it was approved, and whether it’s planned or already being collected
- The original amount and the amount still to be collected
- The expected payoff date
The key line: “If the special assessment is associated with a critical repair and the issue is not remediated, the project is ineligible.” Critical repairs are those that significantly affect safety, soundness, structural integrity, habitability, or the project’s financial viability or marketability.
Fannie Mae’s Condominium Project Questionnaire, Form 1076, asks in Question 10 whether there are current special assessments, with total, terms, and purpose. Question 11 asks the same about planned ones.
So a board vote on a structural repair can change your buyer’s loan approval mid-contract. For the buyer-side view of project eligibility, see how condo project eligibility works for Summit County conventional loans.
Three Ways to Price It
Once you know the number, you have three common options. Here’s how each looks on the example from the top of this post: a $750,000 Breckenridge condo with a $24,000 per-unit assessment. These figures are examples only.
| Option | What happens | Example effect on you |
|---|---|---|
| Pay it off | You pay the full assessment before or at closing | $24,000 out of your proceeds |
| Credit at closing | You credit the buyer and the buyer pays the HOA | $24,000 credit, subject to lender limits |
| Price adjustment | You lower the price and the buyer takes the assessment | Price drops to $726,000 |
Paying it off leaves less for the buyer’s lender to track. A credit keeps your list price intact, but Fannie Mae caps seller-paid financing concessions under B3-4.1-02, Interested Party Contributions, dated May 7, 2025. The cap is 6% for a second home at 75.01% to 90% LTV and 2% for an investment property. Your buyer’s lender decides how a credit for an assessment gets treated.
A price cut lowers the recorded sale price. Each option changes your net, so run all three with your CPA.
Working Through It With a Local Agent
Jamie Bridges, a REALTOR® with Keller Williams Realty DTC, holds the Resort and Second-Home Property Specialist (RSPS) and Seller Representative Specialist (SRS) designations and lists condos across Summit County, from Breckenridge and Frisco to Keystone, Silverthorne, and Copper Mountain. Before your condo goes live, he pulls the last year of board minutes and the reserve study so you know about any assessment before a buyer does. Then the checkbox in Section 16.2 becomes a choice you make on purpose.
Buyers will read the same documents. If you want their view, see what to check before you make an offer on a Summit County condo with a special assessment.
Frequently Asked Questions
Does the seller always pay a special assessment in Colorado? No. Under CBS1 Section 16.2, an assessment levied before the closing date goes to whichever party is checked. The exception is an assessment for improvements already installed when the buyer signs, which falls to the seller unless Additional Provisions say otherwise.
Do I have to disclose an assessment the board hasn’t levied yet? The Seller’s Property Disclosure asks about assessments approved but not yet implemented, and about any adverse material fact you know of. Board minutes in the Association Documents will often show the discussion anyway. A real estate attorney can tell you what applies to your facts.
Can a special assessment stop my buyer’s loan? It can. Fannie Mae says a project is ineligible when a special assessment is tied to a critical repair that hasn’t been remediated. The lender reviews the purpose, amount, and payoff date of each current or planned assessment.
Knowing the assessment before you list keeps you in control of who pays for it. Jamie Bridges is a REALTOR® with Keller Williams Realty DTC serving the Denver Metro Area and Summit County, Colorado. Call or text Jamie at 720-397-7555 to talk about your next move.
Sources: Colorado Real Estate Commission, CBS1 Contract to Buy and Sell Real Estate (Residential), adoption date August 5, 2025, mandatory use date January 1, 2026, Sections 3, 7.2 to 7.4, 15.3, and 16.2, accessed November 6, 2026; Colorado Real Estate Commission, Seller’s Property Disclosure (Residential), adoption date August 5, 2025, mandatory use date January 1, 2026, Section P, accessed November 6, 2026; Colorado Division of Real Estate, Real Estate Broker Contracts and Forms, accessed November 6, 2026; Fannie Mae Selling Guide B4-2.1-03, Ineligible Projects (11/04/2026), accessed November 6, 2026; Fannie Mae Selling Guide B3-4.1-02, Interested Party Contributions (05/07/2025), accessed November 6, 2026; Fannie Mae Form 1076 / Freddie Mac Form 476, Condominium Project Questionnaire, March 2016 (addendum added December 2021), accessed November 6, 2026. Data deemed reliable but not guaranteed. General information only. This isn’t legal, tax, or lending advice. Talk with a real estate attorney, a CPA, or a lender about your situation. Dollar figures are examples only.
