Condo resale certificates, contracts and association law in Texas
Buying a Condo in Montebello: The Documents That Differ From a House Purchase
Updated October 2026
What should you know before buying a condo in Montebello instead of a house?
In October 2026, a Montebello resale uses the state's condominium resale contract, with provisions unique to condominium sales, and a resale certificate the association prepares and signs.
Paige Martin, Houston Properties Team, Montebello
Source: Texas Real Estate Commission page for its Residential Condominium Contract (Resale) form, October 2026.
Which contract form does a Montebello resale use?
A Montebello purchase is the resale of a condominium unit. The Texas Real Estate Commission publishes a separate contract form for that sale.
TREC describes its Residential Condominium Contract (Resale) as carrying provisions that relate only to condominium transactions. Those provisions are what set the paperwork apart from a house sale.
TREC also limits who the form fits. A seller who owns fee simple title to the land beneath the unit falls outside it.
At Montebello, the county's certified appraisal roll publishes each home's undivided interest in the common land and elements beside its address. Check that entry for the specific home before an offer.
It is not for use where the seller owns fee simple title to the land beneath the unit.
Who prepares the resale certificate on a Montebello home?
The Montebello condominium association prepares and signs it. TREC publishes a Condominium Resale Certificate form for use in connection with a condominium sale.
Ask the seller for the signed certificate before you sign the contract, and read it alongside the recorded declaration.
Which statute governs the Montebello association?
The Texas State Law Library's guide to property owners' associations names Chapter 82 of the Texas Property Code, the Texas Uniform Condominium Act, as governing condominium associations.
The same guide says most of the laws it covers do not apply to condominiums. A rule written for a property owners' association elsewhere may not reach a home in this tower.
Montebello's own recorded declaration sits beside the statute, under Harris County file number V678674. Seven further condominium instruments follow it, the last recorded as RP-2018-106990 in March 2018.
Who fills in the forms on a Montebello purchase?
A real estate license holder does. TREC's list of its contract forms and addenda says license holders are required to use those forms.
The condominium resale contract is one of those TREC contract forms, and it is the one a Montebello purchase runs on.
Paige Martin of Real Broker, LLC specializes in condo purchases and purchases in an association-governed building. Ask her to go through the condominium contract and the association's certificate with you before you sign.
Questions & answers
Montebello questions, answered
Does the older Texas Condominium Act apply to Montebello?
The State Law Library's guide says associations established before 1994 may be governed by the older Texas Condominium Act, Chapter 81 of the Property Code. Montebello's declaration was recorded with the county clerk on 22 March 2002, after that 1994 line. The same guide places condominium associations generally under Chapter 82, the Uniform Condominium Act.
Two details sit behind that answer. The 2002 date comes from the county's public index, which lists the filing date rather than the date the declaration was signed. The guide's wording on the older Act is permissive: it says pre-1994 associations may be governed by Chapter 81. If a document in your file cites a chapter, note which one. The declaration and its amendments are recorded instruments, so you can order copies from the county before you make an offer.
Is there a state agency that oversees the Montebello association?
The Texas State Law Library's guide to property owners' associations says no Texas state agency oversees property owners' associations. For a buyer, that puts more weight on the association's own recorded documents. It also puts more weight on what the association discloses in writing while the sale is under way.
Montebello's association does leave a public record. It filed its management certificate with the county as RP-2026-58595 on 17 February 2026. Texas also requires that certificate to be filed electronically with the Texas Real Estate Commission. The commission collects those filings to make the data accessible to the public. Order the recorded instruments by file number before you write an offer. Then read them alongside the resale certificate.
Does the Montebello association have to use TREC's resale certificate form?
TREC's notice on its contract form changes calls the updated Condominium Resale Certificate, TREC No. 32-5, a voluntary-use form. The remaining contract forms adopted by reference became mandatory on January 3, 2025, according to the same notice. Ask which form the Montebello association's certificate is on. Then read it against the contents Texas law requires.
The difference shows up when you compare paperwork. Your purchase contract sits on a form a license holder must use. The certificate may arrive on TREC's version or on another layout. Whichever layout it uses, Section 82.157 sets what the certificate must state. Check each required item against the copy in your hands, and ask the association about any blank.
What can go wrong if a form is filled in incorrectly on a Montebello purchase?
TREC warns that mistakes in the use of one of its forms may result in financial loss or a contract which is unenforceable. On a Montebello purchase, the condominium resale contract carries terms a house sale lacks. Give those condominium blanks a second read before you sign, and ask about any you do not follow.
Read every page before you sign, and ask about any blank left empty or any box left unchecked. Ask too which version of the form you are holding. TREC updated its contract forms in a set whose use became mandatory on January 3, 2025.
Can I get the TREC condominium forms and fill them in myself?
TREC publishes its forms, and it says anyone obtaining them for possible use in a real estate transaction should contact a real estate license holder or an attorney for assistance. That advice fits a Montebello purchase well. The condominium resale contract and the resale certificate each exist only for condominium sales.
The reason sits in TREC's own warning: an error in using a form may mean financial loss or a contract that cannot be enforced. For a home here, the person you bring in should read the association's certificate and the recorded declaration alongside the contract. Ask any agent you interview whether they have read a Montebello resale certificate and the building's recorded declaration.
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