How do I find out which HOA a property belongs to?

Start with the listing or seller disclosure, then confirm with the recorded declaration at the county recorder, which names the governing association, and the state corporation registry for its legal status. On a Zillow, Redfin, Realtor.com or Trulia listing, Common Elements Brain does the matching for you and shows the association's record.

Is there a free homeowners association lookup tool?

Yes. Common Elements Brain is a free browser extension for lookups from listing pages, and you can search associations directly on Common Elements without installing anything.

Can I look up an association without a listing?

Yes, on commonelements.com: search the association directory by name, address or county. The extension adds the same record to pages you are already on; association websites and public-record pages are coming.

Where does the information come from?

Mostly public records: state corporation registries, licensing boards and county records, plus what associations and companies publish on their own Common Elements profiles. Each fact shows its source.

Community association research

Find the association behind a property, then read its record.

Every condominium and most planned communities are governed by an association, and its public record says a lot about the property. Here is how to find and read it, and where a free extension saves you the legwork.

Add to Chrome Create a free account

Free for Chrome and Edge. Listed in the Chrome Web Store as Common Elements Insight while Brain features roll out; it updates in place.

Step one

Identify the association

Four steps from an address to the legal entity that governs it.

1
Start from the property
How to check: A listing or a seller disclosure usually names the community. The county property appraiser's parcel record may show a subdivision or condominium name, and the legal description points to the plat or declaration.
Where Brain helps: Available today on Zillow, Redfin, Realtor.com and Trulia: Brain matches the listing to the association, or shows likely candidates when it is not certain.
2
Find the recorded declaration
How to check: Search the county recorder's official records for the declaration of covenants or of condominium for that subdivision or building. It names the association that governs the property.
Where Brain helps: Planned: on a county or state record page, Brain links the filing to the association's Common Elements record.
3
Confirm the legal entity
How to check: Search the state corporation registry for the association's legal name. Note the document number, status, registered agent and annual report history.
Where Brain helps: Available today on listing pages: registration status from the state record, with its source and date.
4
Watch for layers
How to check: Many communities have a master association and one or more sub-associations, each with its own fees and rules. The declaration and the estoppel or resale certificate list every association a property belongs to.
Where Brain helps: When a listing could belong to more than one, Brain shows candidates rather than picking one for you.

Step two

Read its public record

What to look at once you know which association it is.

1
Who runs it
How to check: Officers and directors appear in annual reports; the management company, if any, is usually on the association's website or in its filings. Where managers are licensed (Florida, for example), check the firm's license.
Where Brain helps: Available today on listing pages: management firm of record. Coming in Brain: the full record on the association's own website.
2
How big and how old
How to check: Unit count and year built, from the county appraiser, frame almost every other question: reserve exposure, insurance, how soon major components come due.
Where Brain helps: Available today on listing pages: unit count and year built where the record has them.
3
Structural safety, where the law requires it
How to check: In Florida, condominium buildings three stories or taller need milestone inspections and structural integrity reserve studies on statutory schedules.
Where Brain helps: Available today on listing pages: milestone inspection status where Florida law requires one.
4
The rules that bind it
How to check: Read the declaration, bylaws, articles and amendments, and your state's community association statutes.
Where Brain helps: Our statute reference covers the state laws. Coming in Brain: the documents Common Elements holds, on the association's own website.

Search associations directly in the association directory, and read the state laws in the statute reference. Owners can start on the owners page.

Status

What Brain does today, and next

Available today

What works today

Works on property listings on Zillow, Redfin, Realtor.com and Trulia.
Finds the association behind the listing, or offers likely matches to choose from.
Shows registration status, management firm of record, milestone inspection status where Florida law requires one, unit count and year built.
Links to the association's full Common Elements record.
Looks nothing up until you open the panel. Your first 10 lookups need no account; a free account continues.

Coming in Brain

On an association's own website: its full Common Elements record.
Later: state registry, licensing and county record pages linked to the association they belong to.
A side panel beside the page, and site-by-site permission for where Brain runs.

Not available yet. This page will say so when each one ships.

Privacy

What Brain reads and sends

Recognized on your device
Brain works out what a page is about inside your browser. It does not send page text, page HTML, images or form contents anywhere.
Only the minimum leaves it
For a listing, the address, ZIP, state, the property's approximate map position, and an association name if the listing shows one. That is what is needed to find the match, and we do not keep it in our database.
It runs where you say
Today the panel looks nothing up until you open it. Brain will ask no site access at install: you click the icon on a page, or allow it site by site.

Full detail on the Common Elements Brain overview and in our privacy policy.

Questions

Common questions

How do I find out which HOA a property belongs to?: Start with the listing or seller disclosure, then confirm with the recorded declaration at the county recorder, which names the governing association, and the state corporation registry for its legal status. On a Zillow, Redfin, Realtor.com or Trulia listing, Common Elements Brain does the matching for you and shows the association's record.
Is there a free homeowners association lookup tool?: Yes. Common Elements Brain is a free browser extension for lookups from listing pages, and you can search associations directly on Common Elements without installing anything.
Can I look up an association without a listing?: Yes, on commonelements.com: search the association directory by name, address or county. The extension adds the same record to pages you are already on; association websites and public-record pages are coming.
Where does the information come from?: Mostly public records: state corporation registries, licensing boards and county records, plus what associations and companies publish on their own Common Elements profiles. Each fact shows its source.

Other ways people use Brain

Skip the first three steps.

Install it free, open a listing, and Brain finds the association for you. Your first lookups need no account.

Add to Chrome

Find the association behind a property, then read its record.

Identify the association

Start from the property

Find the recorded declaration

Confirm the legal entity

Watch for layers

Read its public record

Who runs it

How big and how old

Structural safety, where the law requires it

The rules that bind it