Indiana guide
Indiana condo buying checklist
Buying an Indiana condo or HOA unit means doing your own due diligence, because the state's mandatory disclosure is thin. Indiana has no statutory resale certificate, no reserve study mandate, no structural-inspection law, and no super-lien, and there is no state regulator to lean on — so the records that protect you exist, but you must request them through the purchase contract.
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Start by confirming which statute governs: condominiums fall under the Indiana Condominium Act (IC 32-25) and HOAs and planned communities under the Homeowners Associations Act (IC 32-25.5), with the Nonprofit Corporation Act (IC 23-17) filling gaps. Then work through the reserve fund and budget, the storm-driven master policy and its wind/hail deductible, the special-assessment and loan history, the delinquency report (which matters more here because of the no-super-lien rule), governance compliance with the 2026 HB 1115 reforms, and a pending-litigation summary that no statute forces the seller to provide. This checklist sequences that diligence so cost and risk surface before you are committed.
Confirm the statute and get the required disclosures
First determine whether the property is a condominium under IC 32-25 or an HOA under IC 32-25.5, because lien, insurance, and disclosure mechanics differ. Obtain the IC 32-21-5-10 Residential Real Estate Sales Disclosure Form before the offer is accepted — it covers property condition, not association finances — and, for HOA-governed property, confirm the seller delivered the IC 32-21-5-8.5 package (recorded governing documents, assessment statement, and management contact) at least 10 days before closing. Because Indiana has no binding resale certificate, build a document-delivery requirement and a review-and-disapproval window into the purchase contract so the rest of the records arrive with time to read them.
Reserves, budget, and special assessments
Request the replacement reserve fund balance and a percent-funded estimate — for condos this fund is required by IC 32-25-4-4 but with no funding standard, and HOAs have no reserve mandate at all, so a thin reserve is legal but a real red flag. Read the balance against the building's age and major components: roofs and parking decks on older Indianapolis-metro stock are the largest source of special-assessment risk. Request the current budget and budget-to-actual, the special-assessment and loan history, and any pending special, and review any HOA loan for the IC 32-25.5-3-5 borrowing cap (greater of $5,000 or 10 percent of the prior budget) and paper-ballot requirement. No statute forces disclosure of a pending special, so ask the board directly.
Insurance, delinquency, and the no-super-lien risk
Pull the master-policy declarations page and confirm the casualty policy is consonant with full replacement value (IC 32-25-8-9), then read the all-perils deductible and any separate percentage wind/hail deductible — above roughly 5 percent of replacement cost it can exceed Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac limits and jeopardize financing. Indiana's third-most U.S. hail events in 2024 and tornado surge make a storm-driven special assessment a recurring pattern (IC 32-25-8-11 contemplates insufficient proceeds). Then request the delinquency report: because Indiana has no super-lien, a first-mortgage foreclosure wipes pre-foreclosure assessments (IC 32-25-6-3), so a high delinquency rate is a real financial-distress signal that lands on paying owners.
Governance, the 2026 reforms, and litigation
Confirm the governing documents have been conformed to the 2026 HB 1115 reforms — an adopted Schedule of Fines before any fining, a four-day board-meeting notice with agenda, barred records-production fees, and owner-consent thresholds capped at two-thirds — because outdated super-majorities and missing fining schedules are the most common findings. Confirm the payoff or resale letter fee did not exceed $50 and the account-balance statement was free. Request a written pending-litigation summary and check the county docket at mycase.in.gov, since no statute compels litigation disclosure. For older or recently converted buildings, request any engineering, roof, or parking-deck reports and confirm a clean developer transition.
Indiana legal references
- IC 32-25 — Indiana Condominium Act (reserve fund IC 32-25-4-4; master insurance)
- IC 32-25-6-3 — Unpaid assessments; lien priority; no super-lien
- IC 32-25.5-3-5 — HOA borrowing; member approval; paper ballot
- KSN Law — 2026 Legislative Updates (HB 1115 reforms; $50 payoff/resale-letter cap)
Informational only. Not legal advice. Always confirm against current statute and counsel.
Need help applying these Indiana statutes to your specific situation? We can connect you with state-licensed counsel and specialists familiar with this exact regulatory environment.
Find a Indiana specialist →Reviewer's checklist
- Confirm whether the property is a condominium (IC 32-25) or an HOA (IC 32-25.5)
- Obtain the IC 32-21-5-10 sales-disclosure form before the offer is accepted
- For HOA property, confirm IC 32-21-5-8.5 documents were delivered 10 days before closing
- Build a document-delivery requirement and review window into the purchase contract
- Request the replacement reserve fund balance and a percent-funded estimate (IC 32-25-4-4)
- Request the current budget, budget-to-actual, and special-assessment and loan history
- Review any HOA loan for the IC 32-25.5-3-5 borrowing cap and paper-ballot requirement
- Pull the master-policy declarations page and check the wind/hail deductible against 5 percent
- Request the delinquency report given Indiana's lack of a super-lien (IC 32-25-6-3)
- Confirm the governing documents are conformed to the 2026 HB 1115 reforms
- Confirm the payoff/resale-letter fee did not exceed $50 and the balance statement was free
- Request a pending-litigation summary and check mycase.in.gov (no statutory disclosure duty)
Want this same review on your actual documents? We do it free, with page citations you can verify.
Get My Free Risk Report →Source documents
- Declaration & bylawsthe rules
- Budget & financialsthe money
- Reserve studythe big repairs
- Meeting minuteswhat the board fears
Cross-reference
The risk lives in the contradiction between documents.
An assessment in the minutes but not the estoppel; a reserve the budget never funds.
Risk report
Severity-graded across 8 categories.
Every finding cites the document, page number, and quoted text.
How CondoSignal reviews this
We read the reserve study, operating budget, and 24 months of meeting minutes together — indiana condo buying checklist risk usually lives in the contradiction between documents, not in any single one of them. Every finding cites the source document, the page number, and the quoted text behind it.
See our 8-category framework →Risk Intelligence
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Most buyers get 7–14 days to review condo documents. Upload the packet — we read the reserve study, budget, minutes, and insurance summary and flag the risks, every finding linked to the exact page. Free.
Expert Matching
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We can connect you with vetted real estate lawyers, mortgage brokers, and insurance brokers familiar with the specifics of condo and HOA transactions.
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Related risk areas
Read these next to round out your due diligence
Condo document review
A condo document review is the structured analysis of every disclosure document your seller or association has provided — declaration, bylaws, rules, reserve study, budgets, financials, meeting minutes, insurance summary, estoppel or resale certificate, and any pending special assessment notices.
Reserve studies
A reserve study tells you what the association expects to spend on long-term capital repairs and replacements, and whether it is funding those obligations adequately.
Insurance risk
The association's master insurance policy determines what your personal HO-6 policy needs to cover — and what it does not.
Related reading
Guides for Indiana buyers and owners
The Complete Condo Buying Checklist (2026)
A four-phase due diligence framework — pre-offer through post-closing — covering documents, fees, reserves, insurance, lender requirements, and governance risk.
What to Look for in Condo Documents: A Buyer's Complete Guide
A resale package contains roughly a dozen documents. Learn what each one discloses, what most buyers overlook, and which sections to read closely before you close.
Special Assessment Red Flags: How to Spot One Before You Buy
A special assessment rarely arrives without warning. The clues show up in the reserve study, budget, and meeting minutes months before the vote — here are the red flags to check before you buy.
Already own in Indiana?
Owner guides for the notice you just got
Already dealing with a specific Indiana situation? Start here instead of the buyer flow:
Reviewed by Kirk Hasley, Founder. Every claim here is checked against current Indiana statute and primary sources, using the same documented review framework we run on every file. Last reviewed June 13, 2026.
FAQ
Frequently asked questions
Risk Intelligence
Review the documents before your contingency ends
Most buyers get 7–14 days to review condo documents. Upload the packet — we read the reserve study, budget, minutes, and insurance summary and flag the risks, every finding linked to the exact page. Free.
Expert Matching
Need a real estate lawyer or mortgage specialist?
We can connect you with vetted real estate lawyers, mortgage brokers, and insurance brokers familiar with the specifics of condo and HOA transactions.
- HOA lawyer
- Mortgage broker
- Insurance broker