If you’re buying in Laguna Woods Village, the Trust Facilities Fee adds $10,000 for a unit priced at $200,000 or higher, or $3,500 for a unit selling below $200,000. The resolution calls it an obligation of the purchaser. It also provides an installment option and specific waiver and refund rules for qualifying replacement purchases.
This is general information and not legal advice.
If you’re selling a Village unit and buying another, the waiver and refund paths depend on whether the old unit sells before or after the replacement closes. For co-op-to-co-op exchanges, Bulletin 2026-07 says the fee must be paid at acquisition and a refund may follow if all eligibility requirements are met.
What fee applies to your purchase?
The Trust Facilities Fee is $10,000 at a sales price of $200,000 or higher and $3,500 below $200,000, until modified by the Trustee.
The Golden Rain Foundation of Laguna Woods (GRF) board adopted Resolution 90-26-44 on May 5, 2026. Published in Bulletin 2026-3, it sets those amounts for escrows opened, or purchase contracts signed, on or after January 1, 2026.
The resolution names United Laguna Woods Mutual, Third Laguna Hills Mutual and Laguna Woods Mutual No. Fifty among the developments covered. Its wording makes the fee an obligation of the purchaser.
There is also a transition provision. A purchase contract entered before January 1, 2026 is treated as occurring before the effective date if escrow also opened before January 1, 2026 and closed on or before March 31, 2026.
The resolution’s title and Bulletin 2026-3 text differ on whether $10,000 is new; confirm the amount that applies to your contract date with the sales office.
I worked with a buyer who had budgeted for the purchase price and monthly assessments in Laguna Woods Village but had not included the Trust Facilities Fee. She initially thought it was another recurring HOA charge. We reviewed the resale and membership costs together so she understood when the fee was collected and how it fit into the total amount needed to complete the purchase.
Can you spread the payment over time?
The resolution gives each new purchase the option to pay the fee in full at transfer or through a seven-year installment plan.
The Village’s bulletin attributes that payment option to compliance with California Civil Code section 4580. Under the installment option, the Trustee may collect billing and financing costs. The resolution lists a $252.00 handling fee until later modified by the Board, interest if applicable at the minimum rate allowed by law, and a one-time fee for the promissory note.
Monthly payments are due on the 1st. The resolution also lists a $10 late fee.
Before selecting installments, ask for the payment documents showing the applicable costs. The seven-year payment period does not remove the transfer requirement: a seller must pay the remaining balance before transferring the unit. If you’re selling after using installments, ask for that remaining balance when reviewing the closing paperwork.
When does a replacement purchase qualify for a waiver?
A waiver may be applied during resale when you sell your existing Village unit before buying its replacement and meet every criterion.
The fee must have been paid in full on the prior unit, which you must have owned for at least two years. Owner names and vesting must remain unchanged, except for death, divorce or marriage. The replacement purchase must close within 180 days of the prior unit’s sale.
You must also notify escrow of that prior sale before submitting the resale packet. The policy is not intended for investors owning more than one unit.
The buyer bears the responsibility of demonstrating eligibility. Once the resale packet goes to the Board, vesting cannot be changed.
Resolution G-87-15, the 1987 resale fee waiver for intra-community escrow transfers, and Resolution 90-25-78 are superseded and cancelled.
What if you buy before selling your current unit?
The refund process requires you to pay the current fee when the replacement purchase closes, then meet the conditions for a refund after selling the previous unit.
The previous fee must have been paid in full, vesting must remain unchanged, and you must qualify as a multiple-unit owner. The current unit must have been owned for at least two years. Its sale must close within 180 days of the replacement purchase closing.
The refund request goes to Community Services within 180 days of the previous unit’s sale. These are separate deadlines: one governs the sale closing, and the other governs the refund request.
The policy excludes refunds or waivers for purchases of additional units or for flipping units.
What changed for co-op-to-co-op exchanges?
Bulletin 2026-07 says GRF no longer accepts Trust Facilities Fee waiver requests at purchase for co-op-to-co-op exchanges.
The fee must now be paid at acquisition. Under the September bulletin, a co-op buyer signing an Interim Dual Ownership Agreement has six months from execution to close escrow on the previously owned unit.
After that unit sells within the required time, the buyer may request a refund. The bulletin says a refund may be issued if all eligibility requirements have been met.
The bulletin gives ongoing failures to comply with Interim Dual Ownership Agreement terms as the reason for the change. For your transaction, identify both the agreement’s execution date and the closing deadline. Keep the bulletin’s six-month requirement distinct from the resolution’s 180-day provisions when reviewing the documents with the sales office.
How does the fee fit into membership approval?
Paying the Trust Facilities Fee does not replace the Village’s required membership approval process.
The Village says anyone wishing to reside in the community must obtain prior approval from the appropriate board. Prospective buyers must also meet financial requirements as a condition of membership. The published sales process moves through filing, counselor review, manager review and board review, followed by an accounting demand to escrow and closing. The board approves or denies the application, and escrow is notified.
United revised its financial qualifications on July 14, 2026; Third revised its policy on August 18, 2026. Both require a full credit report showing a minimum FICO score of 700, with an explanation letter when a lower score accompanies late payments or collection accounts.
Both bulletins say the policies are updated frequently. Obtain the current version from the Sales Information page. Membership counselors are not realtors and do not provide advice on Village sales.
For the association documents in your purchase review, see the California HOA disclosure guide.
Which documents and questions belong in your review?
Your review should bring together the fee resolution, any applicable exchange bulletin, the current mutual policy and your transaction documents.
The Village distinguishes United’s stock cooperative housing from Third’s condominium housing and Mutual No. Fifty, the Towers, a condominium association. GRF is responsible for shared community amenities, while Village Management Services Inc. manages GRF, Third and United.
As a published occupancy rule, the Village states that under California Civil Code section 51.3, at least one occupant must be 55 or older and other household occupants must be at least 45. Certain exceptions are permitted under the law. Check the mutual’s current documents for the applicable rules.
Ask the sales office which fee, payment documents and eligibility requirements apply to your purchase. Bulletin questions can go to [email protected].
For the general seller paperwork in a sale, see the California seller disclosure guide. For the county tax charged on a transfer, see the California documentary transfer tax guide, which concerns a separate charge from the GRF trust fee.
The short version
The Trust Facilities Fee adds $10,000 or $3,500 to a covered purchase, with a seven-year installment option and conditional replacement-purchase relief.
If you already own a Village unit, establish the closing sequence, prior fee payment and vesting before submitting the resale packet. For co-op-to-co-op exchanges, plan for payment at acquisition and follow the refund requirements afterward. Keep membership approval and the current mutual qualifications in the same transaction review.
As you plan your next step, you can also check your home’s value with the home value tool.
Common questions
How much is the Trust Facilities Fee?
The fee is $10,000 for units with a sales price of $200,000 or higher and $3,500 for units selling below $200,000, until modified by the Trustee.
Can you pay the fee in installments?
The resolution provides a seven-year installment option with billing and financing costs, including a $252.00 handling fee until modified by the Board. A seller must pay the remaining balance before transfer.
Can a co-op-to-co-op exchange receive a waiver at purchase?
Bulletin 2026-07 says GRF no longer accepts waiver requests at purchase for co-op-to-co-op exchanges. The fee must be paid at acquisition, and a refund may be issued afterward if all eligibility requirements are met.
Who must demonstrate eligibility for a waiver or refund?
The buyer bears responsibility for demonstrating eligibility. The policy includes prior payment, ownership duration, vesting and closing deadlines.
