Rev. Stat. §§76-825 to 76-894), a clean, UCIOA-derived statute that sets out resale disclosures, insurance requirements, lien rules, and declarant-transition rules. But there is no omnibus HOA statute, no state condo or HOA regulator, no reserve-study mandate, no structural-inspection law, and — contrary to a widespread myth — no six-month super-priority lien ahead of a first mortgage. The dominant Nebraska risk is insurance: despite having no coast and no hurricanes, Nebraska now carries some of the most expensive homeowners insurance in the country, driven almost entirely by hail, severe-thunderstorm wind, and tornadoes. Because the statutory floor is thin and the resale packet excludes minutes and reserve studies, a Nebraska document review is fundamentally about the buyer's own reading of the declaration, budget, balance sheet, and master policy.
Hail and tornado insurance — the defining Nebraska risk
Nebraska sits in the core of "hail alley" and now ranks near the top of the nation for homeowners insurance cost despite no coastal exposure. Rates rose roughly 22–23% in 2024 and about 25% in 2025, driven by hail, severe-thunderstorm wind, and tornadoes such as the April 26, 2024 EF4 through the Elkhorn/Bennington area. Condo master policies increasingly carry percentage-based wind/hail deductibles (commonly 1–2% of building value, sometimes higher), which can become five- and six-figure special assessments after a storm. Read the master-policy declarations page for the wind/hail deductible, roof valuation, and cosmetic exclusions before you assume the building is adequately covered.
No reserve-study mandate — read the balance sheet directly
Nebraska law does not require a reserve study, any minimum reserve balance, or any reserve funding level. The Condominium Act lets a board adopt budgets "for revenue, expenditures, and reserves" (§76-860(a)(2)) but does not compel any particular funding, and surplus funds are returned or credited to owners unless the declaration says otherwise (§76-872) — which can actively discourage reserve building. In a state with this much storm exposure, a thin reserve plus a high wind/hail deductible is a compounding hazard. Because no study is required and none appears in the resale packet, the buyer must infer reserve health from the balance sheet and ask directly.
No statutory resale certificate and no rescission right on resales
Nebraska does not have a resale-certificate regime with a statutory cancellation period. For a resale, §76-884 requires the seller to furnish the declaration, bylaws, rules, an assessment/fee statement, the most recent balance sheet and budget "if any," an insurance-availability statement, and a disclosure of threatened or pending litigation — but the buyer gets the documents with no right to cancel afterward. Any escape must come from the purchase contract's contingencies. (Only new-construction sales with a public-offering statement carry the 15-day cancellation right under §76-883.)
No condo super-lien — the six-month myth
Contrary to common belief, Nebraska does not give associations a six-month super-priority lien ahead of a first mortgage. Under §76-874(b) (condos) and §52-2001 (HOAs), the association lien is subordinate to a first mortgage recorded before the association's notice of lien. The "six months" figure refers to a separate purchaser escrow-account mechanism (§76-874.01), not lien priority. The practical effect: a foreclosing first mortgagee can wipe out the association's lien, leaving unpaid assessments to be socialized among remaining owners — so high delinquency in a small association is a real budget red flag.
The condo-vs-HOA protection gap
Nebraska enacted a modern Condominium Act but never adopted a planned-community or HOA statute. True condominiums get a meaningful statutory floor — insurance requirements, resale disclosures, lien rules, declarant-transition rules. Planned-community "homeowners' associations" (fee-simple subdivisions, common in Sarpy County suburbs) are governed almost entirely by their own declaration plus the Nebraska Nonprofit Corporation Act and a single HOA-lien statute (§52-2001). Confirm whether a property is a true condominium or an HOA, because the legal protections differ sharply.
