Condominium Reserve Fund Studies

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A Reserve Fund Study (or Reserve Plan) is an essential planning tool for condominium corporations or associations.

It provides the Board with a systematic way to track the repair and replacement schedules of the condominium assets over a 20 to 30 year period and is a fair way to distribute the costs to all members who benefit from them over the timeline. A properly funded Reserve Plan eliminates the need for special assessments, which are unfair to those who have to pay them. Plus, with adequate funding, maintenance gets done when it needs to get done rather than piecemeal or deferred.

Condominium Property Act and Regulations now requires that an association/corporation conduct a Reserve Fund Study within three years of its first annual general meeting.  The Board that follows a Reserve Plan is fulfilling its legal responsibility to protect and maintain the condominium's assets, which has a direct correlation to the members' home/unit values. Conversely, the Board that does not have or follow such a plan is non-compliant and failing in its legal duty.

A reserve fund study provides a current estimate of the cost to repair or replace major common area components (such as roofing, mechanical or pavement) over the long term.  Ideally, all major repair and replacement costs will be covered by funds set aside by the association/corporation as reserves so that funds are there when needed.

An analysis requires:

• examination of the association/corporation’s repair and replacement obligations
• determination of costs and timing of replacement
• determination of the availability of necessary (reserve) cash resources.

Because the board has a duty to manage association/corporation funds and property, a replacement reserve budget is very important. Not only does this information supplement the annual operating budget in providing owners with financial information, but the reserve fund study is also an important management information tool as the association/corporation strives to balance and optimize long-term property values and costs for the membership. For association members, reserve planning helps to assure property values by protecting against declining values due to deferred maintenance and the inability to keep up with the aging of components.

A good reserve fund study shows owners and potential buyers a more accurate and complete picture of the association/ corporation’s financial strength and market value. The reserve fund study should disclose to buyers, lenders, and others the manner in which management of the association/corporation (i.e. the board and outside management, if any) is making provisions for non-annual maintenance requirements. Preparing a reserve fund study calls for explicit association/corporation decisions on how to provide for long-term funding, and the extent to which the association/corporation will set aside funds on a regular basis for non-annual maintenance requirements. A good reserve fund study may also function as a maintenance planning tool.

While 30-year plans are common, 30 years is a long time and things can happen that are impossible to predict. Inflation moves up and down, as does return on invested reserves. Construction costs vary based on competition, the state of the real estate market, and the economy in general.

One of the biggest variables in this 30-year projection is how well preventive maintenance is done. Preventive maintenance covers those little things that, if left undone, have a huge impact on a component's useful life. For example, if a roof is not kept clean of moss or does not have small seam separations repaired, the normal useful life could easily be cut in half. Siding that is not inspected, repaired and caulked on a regular basis can fail years sooner than it should. Failure to perform regular and adequate preventive maintenance can undermine the financial projections. 

How well the Board invests reserve funds also has an enormous impact on the funding model. Improving the rate of return an average of only 1 to 2 percent over the 30-year period can reduce owner contributions by thousands of dollars (in condominiums with extensive assets, it can be hundreds of thousands of dollars.)

The message is clear:  A Reserve Fund Plan is an essential planning tool for all condominium associations/corporations. However, in order to be truly useful, a Reserve Fund Plan must be revisited and refined over time.  In order to be most effective, a financial update is recommended every five years.  See Services for details.

(Mandatory within the first three years)

In a full reserve fund study, we conduct a component inventory to identify and quantify the common area components, perform a condition assessment based upon an on-site visual inspection, and provide life and valuation estimates. We use a very comprehensive software package to customize a report to meet your funding goals and adhere to government requirements.

A full reserve fund study includes the following reserve fund study tasks:

• component inventory (based on the condominium's bylaws)
• condition assessment (based upon an on-site visual inspection)
• life and valuation estimates
• fund status
• funding plan

It is suggested that an on-site reserve study be revisited very 5 years to ensure it is up-to-date and continues to meet your needs. 

A reserve study update includes the following five reserve study tasks:

• component inventory (verification only, not quantification)
• condition assessment (based upon an on-site visual observation)
• life and valuation estimates
• fund status
• funding plan

The following is a list of the minimum contents to be included in a reserve fund study:

• Summary of the association/corporation's number of units, physical description, and reserve fund financial condition.
• Listing of the component inventory, component quantity or identifying descriptions, useful life, remaining life, and current cost.
• Description of methods and objectives utilized in computing the fund status and development of the funding plan.
• Source(s) utilized to obtain component current cost estimates.
• Description of the level of service and fiscal year by which the reserve fund study was prepared.

The following are the minimum disclosures to be included in the reserve fund study:

• General - Description of other involvement(s) with the association/corporation, which could result in actual or perceived conflicts of interest.
• Physical Analysis - Description of how thorough the on-site inspections were performed (e.g. representative sampling vs. all common areas, destructive testing or not, field measurements vs. drawing take-offs, etc.)
• Financial Analysis - Description of assumptions utilized for interest and inflation, taxes, and other outside factors.
• Update Reports - Disclosure of how the current work is reliant on the validity of prior reserve fund studies. 

There are six basic factors that determine the cost of a reserve fund study:

1. Size of the condominium complex (# of units)
2. Type of condominium units (e.g. apartment, bare land, townhouse, walk-up, etc.)
3. Number and type of common area assets
4. Age of the condominium complex 
5. Location 
6. Time of year (in-season or off-season)

With large assets of differing types (e.g. elevators, pools, etc.), and with more history to review and reconstruct, the complexity of the study increases. In addition, travel time and expenses for on-site inspections outside of Regina, SK may also affect the cost.
 

The Full Reserve Fund Study is our most expensive service, but usually only needs to be done once every ten years for each association/corporation.  The Reserve Fund Study Update is performed for proportionally lower fees due to the reduced amount of time required for this service.

Please contact Dave Kindred at (306) 537-7199 for more details. If you would like a quote for a Reserve Fund Study, please complete the two-page Preliminary Information Form below.