Common-interest development

Common-interest development (CID) is the fastest growing form of housing in the world today.^[1][2] They are commonly known as condominiums, timeshares, and planned developments. The ownership benefits of a CID are having rights to an undivided interest in common areas and amenities which might prove to be too expensive to be solely owned. For example, an owner would like to have a pool but cannot afford one. When buying a condominium with a pool in a CID of one hundred units, an owner would have use of that pool for basically one-hundredth the cost due to sharing the cost with the other 99 owners. Timeshare, or vacation ownership, is the same concept. Where buying a second home for vacation purposes might not be financially possible, buying a week or two can be when sharing the overall costs with other participants.

Within the United States, when a CID is developed, the developer is required to incorporate (in form) a homeowner association (HOA) prior to any property sales. The role of the HOA is to manage the CID once control is transferred from the developer. The HOA governs the CID based upon the incorporated covenants, conditions, and restrictions (CC&Rs) which were recorded when the property was subdivided. The CC&Rs will outline the financial budgeting guideline for the HOA in determining the dollar amount in maintenance fees for assessing the owners. In a wholly owned CID, maintenance fees would normally be assessed on a monthly basis.

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