Real Prop. §11-101 et seq.) and planned communities under the Homeowners Association Act (§11B-101 et seq.) — two separate statutes with different resale and cancellation rules. The defining development is reserve funding: House Bill 107 (2022) made reserve studies mandatory, and SB 63 / HB 292 (2025, effective October 2025) made funding to the study's recommended level mandatory, with a five-year catch-up window and a board override of any bylaw cap on assessment increases. The practical result — most visible in Ocean City — is a wave of large special assessments as long-underfunded buildings confront deferred maintenance. A Maryland document review is less about confirming a study exists and more about reading the funding plan, the catch-up trajectory, the master-policy deductible, and the resale package against the building's age and its Chesapeake or Atlantic exposure.
Mandatory reserve funding and the five-year catch-up (HB 107 / HB 292)
Maryland is one of the few states that mandate both a reserve study and actual funding of reserves. HB 107 (2022) required every association maintaining common areas (above a $10,000 component threshold) to obtain a professional reserve study, and SB 63 / HB 292 (2025, effective October 2025) require the budget to fund reserves to the study's recommended level, deposited by each fiscal year-end. Associations obtaining a first study get five fiscal years to ramp up. The catch is that HB 107 lets a board raise assessments to fund reserves even where the bylaws cap increases — so a bylaw cap will not protect a buyer. If the building is still in its catch-up window, regular dues are almost certainly rising. Read the funding plan and the chosen funding method, not just whether a study exists.
The $10,000 unit-owner deductible trap
Under §11-114, if damage originates in a unit, that unit's owner is personally responsible for the master-policy deductible up to $10,000 (raised from $5,000 in 2020). Master-policy property deductibles have climbed to $25,000 and higher, so a single covered loss starting in your unit can mean a $10,000 out-of-pocket charge before your own HO-6 even responds. Many buyers do not understand this allocation. Confirm the master deductible, who is responsible for it, and whether your HO-6 carries adequate loss-assessment and dwelling coverage.
Special-assessment shock from deferred maintenance
Maryland imposes no statutory cap on regular assessment increases, and special-assessment approval is governed mainly by the declaration and bylaws. The reserve-funding mandate is forcing long-underfunded buildings to confront decades of deferred work, producing special assessments commonly in the $5,000–$10,000 range and sometimes six figures (Ocean City is the cautionary example). A special assessment approved before settlement generally runs with the unit. Read the minutes and the resale certificate for approved or contemplated assessments, and confirm whether the association is in its reserve catch-up window.
Strong resale disclosure and a buyer right to cancel
Maryland gives buyers real statutory protection — but it differs by community type. For condos, §11-135 requires a resale package plus a Resale Disclosure Certificate, and the buyer may cancel in writing within 7 days after receiving it, no reason required, with deposits returned. For HOA lots, §11B-106 provides a 5-day window (where the package was not delivered at least 5 days before signing) plus a 3-day cancellation right if mandatory fees rise more than 10%. The protection only works if the complete package actually arrives in time, so confirm delivery and preserve the window.
Water risk: Chesapeake tidal flooding, coastal storms, and the flood-coverage gap
Maryland's risk profile is dominated by water — tidal and sea-level-rise flooding on the Chesapeake (Annapolis, the Eastern Shore, the Baltimore waterfront), Atlantic storm surge and salt-air corrosion in Ocean City, and inland flash flooding (Ellicott City). Standard master and HO-6 policies exclude flood; NFIP or private flood coverage is separate, and many coastal and riverine associations are underinsured for it. Salt air also accelerates balcony, rebar, and envelope deterioration in older coastal high-rises — exactly the components reserve studies are now flagging. Confirm the flood zone, whether the association carries flood coverage on the common elements, and the condition of the building envelope.
