The Principle

Most condo associations are failing their owners. Not out of malice, but out of a shared fiction: the belief that they don't need to keep fully funded reserves.

The consequences are predictable. Deferred maintenance becomes emergency repairs. Emergency repairs become special assessments. Special assessments become financial hardship for owners who never saw it coming—and property values that decline while neighboring buildings hold steady.

This isn't just about money. The 2021 Champlain Towers collapse in Miami showed us what happens when buildings aren't maintained. People died. In response, Florida now requires certain capital assets to be 100% funded. But even without legal mandates, proper reserve management is simply the right thing to do.

The Reserves Pro Method is built on two principles: you pay for what you use, and your home's value depends on it.

When you own property with other people, you share responsibility for the building's major components: the roof, the elevator, the pipes, the parking structure. These are your capital assets, and they will all eventually need repair or replacement.

Every owner who enjoys the value of a well-maintained building should contribute equally to preserving it. The person who lives in your unit for five years and then sells shouldn't leave the next owner holding the bill for a new roof.

Full funding also protects your investment. When a buyer is choosing between two similar units—one in a building with 100% funded reserves and one at 45%—they'll pick the fully funded building every time. Or they'll demand a steep discount on the underfunded one. Either way, inadequate reserves cost you real money when you sell.

Our position is simple and non-negotiable: every association should maintain 100% funded reserves.

Not 70%. Not "as much as we can afford." One hundred percent.