New Jersey requires one document in a townhouse or condo resale to be printed in 20-point bold type. It is a notice from the homeowners association saying the board has chosen to fund its capital reserve at 85 percent of what its own engineers or reserve specialists recommended. The notice has to give the year the board expects a special assessment or loan because of that choice, and how much it expects it to be. Before the buyer signs a purchase contract, the seller has to hand over a copy of the most recent one.
That notice is the only reserve-related document state law requires a resale seller to give the buyer. It applies only when the association has taken the 85 percent option. In the documents reviewed for this post, nothing else requires the full reserve study, the 30-year funding plan, or a list of planned special assessments to land in a resale buyer's hands before signing. That gap matters more now that Somerset County's townhouse and condo market has slowed and buyers have time to ask.
The Slowdown Comes From Closings
In September 2026, New Jersey REALTORS® counted 215 townhouses and condos for sale in Somerset County. A year earlier the count was 133, so inventory rose 61.7%. Months of supply went from 1.6 to 2.9. Single-family inventory rose 12.3% over the same period.
The supply of sellers barely changed. Through September 2026, townhouse and condo new listings were up 4.6% year to date, from 941 to 984. Closed sales fell 7.0%, from 742 to 690. Units are coming to market at about last year's pace and leaving more slowly, so the count builds up.
The rest of the September 2026 townhouse and condo numbers fit that picture:
| Somerset County townhouse/condo | September 2025 | September 2026 |
|---|---|---|
| Median sales price | $495,000 | $465,000 |
| Days on market until sale | 30 | 39 |
| Percent of list price received | 102.0% | 100.0% |
| Months supply | 1.6 | 2.9 |
The report says its figures don't account for seller concessions, and that small samples can make percent changes look extreme. The county data doesn't explain why closings slowed, and it would be a stretch to blame any single cause. What the numbers do show is that buyers have more time and more leverage than they did a year ago. The association's finances are one of the places to put that time.
Why the Monthly Fee Has Become a Moving Number
The reserve rules come from two laws. S2760, signed in January 2024 after the Surfside, Florida condominium collapse, added structural inspection and maintenance requirements for certain residential buildings. According to the Department of Community Affairs FAQ, the reserve study requirement covers planned real estate development associations broadly, whether or not their buildings need structural inspections. Associations with less than $25,000 in common-area capital assets are exempt.
The study has to look at the reserve balance, income and expenses, the condition of the common areas, and what repairs and replacements will cost. It includes a 30-year funding plan, must be prepared or overseen by a credentialed reserve specialist or a licensed engineer or architect, and has to be reviewed at least every five years.
The second law, P.L.2025, c.132, was approved August 21, 2025. It defines adequate reserves as keeping the projected 30-year balance from going below zero. It lets existing associations either follow the study's funding plan or fund 85 percent of it for up to five fiscal years. It also deleted the original phased-in language that had limited increases to around 10 percent a year. A Department of Community Affairs spokeswoman confirmed to NJ.com that the cap is gone. An NJ.com article from May 2026 still described a 10 percent cap. The statute and the later reporting both say otherwise.
NJ.com has reported what this looks like inside an association. A board member at a 24-unit townhouse condominium in Middletown told NJ.com that monthly dues rose from $400 to $675 after 2022. The same association charged annual capital assessments of more than $4,000 in each of the past two years. In Mays Landing, NJ.com reported that the Village at Hardings Run planned to raise monthly dues from $350 to $624.77. The management company tied the increase to compliance with the new laws. The board described years of deferred maintenance and underfunding.
Neither association is in Somerset County, and we found no reporting on a Somerset association's dues or assessments. The rules are statewide, though. Two units with the same list price can come with very different future monthly costs depending on how well each association funded its reserves before the law took effect.
What a Resale Buyer Receives, and What Requires Asking
That brings back the 20-point notice. The law gives buyers a guaranteed look at reserve funding in one case: when the association chose to underfund. An association that follows its full funding plan, including one that is raising dues sharply to catch up, does not trigger that delivery requirement. For an association in that position, the law does not require the seller to give the buyer anything about the catch-up before contract.
| Document | Required to reach a resale buyer before contract? | Where the rule sits |
|---|---|---|
| 85% funding notice with anticipated special assessment or loan | Yes, from the seller, if the association elected 85% funding | N.J.S.A. 45:22A-44.3(e) |
| Full reserve study and 30-year funding plan | No general resale requirement found | Not addressed for resales in the provisions reviewed |
| Structural inspection report for a covered building | Goes to the building owner and is available to any resident on request; no automatic delivery to a buyer | P.L.2023, c.214 |
| Public offering statement and inspection or preventive-maintenance documents | Yes, but only when a developer is selling | P.L.2023, c.214 |
| Certificate of unpaid assessments | On request; the association has 10 days to provide it | N.J.S.A. 46:8B-21(d) |
The unpaid-assessments certificate is often taken for a full financial picture. It states what is owed now. It does not show what the board expects to charge next year.
New construction works differently. A developer selling new units has to make the public offering statement and any structural inspection or preventive-maintenance documents available before contract. In Bridgewater, a proposed age-restricted project on Route 202/206 with 51 townhomes and 13 affordable units in a separate building was still going through board review as of TAPinto's August 2025 report. If projects like that are built and sold by the developer, their first buyers will get more required paperwork than a buyer of a 20-year-old resale unit a few miles away.
The Lender Reads the Same Reserve Numbers
Reserve funding affects financing, too. Fannie Mae says a condo project that fails its Selling Guide requirements can't be used for loans sold to Fannie Mae until the problem is fixed. Its common disqualifiers include critical repairs, inadequate master insurance, and significant litigation. As of August 2025, Fannie Mae reported that 3.6% of projects were ineligible. The leading reasons were inadequate master insurance and critical repairs, which include failing state or local inspection requirements.
Under changes Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac announced in March 2026, the reserve benchmark for Full Review rises from 10% to 15% starting January 2027. When a reserve study is used, lenders have to use its highest recommended funding amount. The National Association of REALTORS® summary also notes that the agencies cited rising premiums and limited insurance availability. The new rules allow per-unit master-policy deductibles of up to $50,000 if unit owners carry supplemental coverage. These are national rules. We found no reporting on Somerset-specific loan denials. Still, an association's reserve position can affect both the buyer's future monthly cost and whether the unit qualifies for a conventional loan.
For sellers in a slower Somerset market, a well-funded association with a recent study is something a listing can show buyers. If the reserves are behind, it will come up in negotiation sooner or later, either from the buyer's questions or from the lender's review.
The Bills That Could Change This Are Still Pending
In June 2026, Sen. Vince Polistina and Assemblyman Don Guardian announced plans for a structured five-year phase-in to reach adequate reserve funding. The bill that was filed, S4508, was introduced June 24, 2026. An identical Assembly bill, A5306, was introduced the day before, June 23. As introduced, S4508 would allow a 35-year reserve plan in place of the 30-year plan and keep the 85% option for up to five fiscal years. It does not include the equal-step phase-in from the June announcement. The official bill histories list both bills as introduced only, with no committee vote.
A separate bill, S3348, would require sellers to give buyers a community-association guide before signing. It would also list the latest reserve study among the records a prospective purchaser can request in writing. It is also listed as introduced only. As of October 2026, the disclosure rules for a Somerset townhouse resale are the ones in the table above.
This is general information, not legal, tax, or financial advice. Association documents and loan eligibility vary from one community to the next, so confirm your own situation with a New Jersey real estate attorney, your lender, or your association's management.
If you own a Somerset County townhouse or condo and your association's dues or assessments have changed what selling looks like, BQUEST Realty can help you put the reserve study, the funding plan, and the price together into a listing buyers can trust, in English, Spanish, or Portuguese. Request your free home valuation.
