Get a reserve study
Everything starts here. A reserve study is a professional assessment of your building's capital assets—what they are, what condition they're in, how long they'll last, and what it will cost to repair or replace them.
Commission one from a qualified third-party engineering firm. This is not optional, and it's not something the board should attempt themselves. You need objective expertise.
A good reserve study does three things:
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Identifies your assets. A thorough study will inventory every capital component your association is responsible for—including ones the board may have overlooked.
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Estimates remaining useful life. When will each component need attention? A roof with five years left requires different planning than one with twenty.
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Provides current replacement costs. The key word is current. A thorough study marks each asset to today's market value, not what it cost ten years ago.
Update your reserve study annually. Costs change. Conditions change. An outdated study is almost as dangerous as no study at all. Annual updates keep your planning grounded in reality.
The reserve study is your foundation. Every decision that follows—how much to collect, where to invest, when to act—flows from this document.